Anyone who owns a Merkel 500 can you tell me What you think of it? and what kind of accuracy you get from it ? I have sold my 470 ,which now i regret, mainly out of sentimental value ,but i gave my word to the fellow that i would sell it to him, so have to part with it ! so iam trying to decide whether to get a New 500 or to do something ''different '' and buy a Waffenfabrik single shot in 577

577NitroExpress has one...shoot him a PM with your questions...I believe he is happy with it...that is his "beater gun" now!

I have one and had it at the range today as a matter of fact. I love mine. I also have a Heym .470, but prefer shooting the .500 Merkel. Today I was practicing off hand shots at 25 yards. I shot a six-shot group with all the right barrel shots touching in the bullseye and the left barrel shots about an inch to the left. I am shooting 106 grains of IMR4350 behind a 570 grain Woodleigh soft point. I get about 2050 fps consistently. I will end where I started, I love mine.

I love mine. My father and I went into the desert and shot it yesterday. I have more fun shooting it than any of my other rifles.

Once you start shooting the big doubles nothing is the same...


Mike

I bought one a few months ago. It is alot of fun, guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

i had a sercy 500 and loved it......i have also fired a few merkels in 500 and liked them to but the sercy fit me better..

i did manage to get my hands on 1 hym 500 and i liked it even more it just fit me better.


im saving money for a waffenfabrik 700 nitro.....i loved my double so much i kinda miss it.....but hey some times ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

boucanier:

I have had my Merkel .500 NE for a little over two years.

For me, the gun, off the shelf, fit me like a glove. When shouldered, my natural point of aim and head placement has me looking right down the barrels - perfect.

I did have JJ at Champlin's install a recoil pad and he put in a mercury recoil reducer. I didn't really need the mercury tub, but JJ said to do it so I did.

The gun does have a nice, sharp punch in recoil, however. I find it more "painful" than my .577 NE, which has a bigger "shove."

Accuracy. I'm still playing around with loads to find the perfect diet to feed her, but I can probably get the rounds in an area the size of a large orange.

Note that the Merkel .500 NE is built very slim - too slim for some people. I personally like it. The gun is a hair under 10 lbs in weight and not a bear to lug around on a hunt.

Would I recommend a Merkel? Absolutely. It is a great price for someone wanting to get into a truly big bore at a damn fine price. (I got my Merkel for $7000.)

If you have a few extra grand to play with, look hard at a Searcy.

I have only one problem with my Merkel: the safety "sometimes" automatically switches to SAFE after I fire the first barrel. In talking to owners of other Merkel .500s, the problem appears to be with the tension strength of the spring that Merkel uses on the safety. Having it replaced with a heavier duty spring, I am told, solves this problem.

Hope this helps.

Oh, 95 grains of Reloader 15 works well in my gun with just about 2 gains of filler over 570 grain Woodleigh softs.

Did you get the Hattori Hanzo "Bud" sword for Xmas?

577NitroExpress wrote;

"I have had my Merkel .500 NE for a little over two years. I did have JJ at Champlin's install a recoil pad and he put in a mercury recoil reducer. I didn't really need the mercury tub, but JJ said to do it so I did."

What else did J.J. say? Or did you ask him his opinion of Merkels? Aren't he and George the 2 most vocal detractors of the the big bore Merkels?


"Note that the Merkel .500 NE is built very slim - too slim for some people. I personally like it. The gun is a hair under 10 lbs in weight and not a bear to lug around on a hunt."


Is it or is it not built on a receiver (20 gauge?) too small for the caliber? George has stated to my dealer, who's known and done biz with him for 25 years, that if you choose a Merkel in anything bigger than 375 that you are taking your life in your hands. This is odd given that the 375 operates at 50k + cup and the 470/500 at mid 30's. More evidence is that here alone are many, many Merkel owners who are more than happy, to say the least, with their Merkels. I've searched here and can't find anyone unhappy with their choice.

I'm this close to buying one. I just wish they offered an ejector model. It may come down to the Chapuis.