I am on my way out the door to get a copy of an FFL so I can overnight it, along with a cashiers check, to the dealer where I am purchasing a Merkel 140-2 .500 NE!! I hope to have it in my hands by mid-week next week!!!

Thanks 470CapstickA2 for helping me find this deal.

WAY TO GO!

I have the same rifle and LOVE it.

You will love it!

And if you decide to sell it in a few years, you will get more than you paid. So there is really no risk in owning a good double (unless you get stuck with a damaged vintage gun).

quote:

And if you decide to sell it in a few years, you will get more than you paid.

Dan:

You are 100% correct.

I got my Merkel about 18 months ago from Hendershot's in Hancock, Maryland. The rifle I bought was listed on gunsamerica.com. I saw it there, call Lance Hendershot, then drove the three hours to their shot to check it out. The grain flow of that particular is what sealed the deal.

I paid $7499.00 for the rifle - NEW! It was a GREAT deal. I believe the same gun new is in the upper $8000s today.

Congratulations! First thing you need to do is buya recoil pad!

Lhook7,
Congratulations! Hang in there! The week that it will take for the rifle to get into your hands will seem like a month, but it sure is worth the wait!

Thanks everybody. I feel like a kid at Christmas!!

Do any of you know where I can buy some ammo until I get tooled up to reload my own? I'm probably going to order all the dies, brass, etc... tomorrow, so I'll only be looking for about 10 rounds to tide me over.

Congratulation Lhook7! Onother one for the DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTER'S SOCIETY! Welcome aboard Lhook7.

Thanks Mac. After purchasing the rifle and all the assorted reloading equipment, I think I may be able to afford one of the cool DRSS caps by the next DSC convention.

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:
Thanks Mac. After purchasing the rifle and all the assorted reloading equipment, I think I may be able to afford one of the cool DRSS caps by the next DSC convention.

quote:

Do any of you know where I can buy some ammo until I get tooled up to reload my own?

Call Superior Ammo and they will set you up. Their stuff shoots well in my Merkel.

I don't have their number in front of me, but if you do a google search for them, you'll find'em!

Thanks 577,

I tried Superior, but they are three weeks behind, and then my order would take another two weeks. I should be able to reload some by then.

Westley Richards will have some.

Lhook7:

Congrats on your purchase ...I have a Merkel in 470NE and enjoy it very much...

Does it already have a recoil pad on it?

I shot 577's Merkel 500NE without a pad...what a BLAST!

I am sure you will enjoy your DR.

Welcome Lhook, I know the feeling! I finally got my rifle and shot it last week, I am giddy as a schoolgirl. This is the beginning of a great love affair!

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
Westley Richards will have some.

Thanks LJS. I'll give them a call this morning.

No, the rifle does not have a recoil pad, but after reading all the posts on how light the 500 Merkel is over the last few days, I am definately going to have one installed. I've been following the other thread on this board and will probably go with a kick eez pad.

I've got 10 rounds on the way from Westley Richards. I'm looking forward to playing with my new toy next weekend!!!

I'm sure you will love your new 500, I received my 470 last Friday and shot it. My first shot was 2' low & 1' left due to my flinch. after that I shot 4 to 5" group offhand at 25 yards, I am going to go to the range this PM and try to shoot it off the bench to see how it groups.
I had to buy everything new, my old rcbs rock chucker was too short for the length of the 470.

I am going to send my rifle to have a recoil pad installed, will probably be pachmyer and then when I get it back, I will remove the pad and install a mercury recoil reducer. It is not bad offhand with my old Past recoil pad, but I don't like recoil.
Good luck with your dr I hope you like yours as much as I like mine. I think Merkel is a great gun. I think it is Rigby that used the same action for their double

Out of curiosity where did you find your Merkel. I looked at one in .500 Nitro a week or two ago from a place called Classic Arms near Memphis. By the price the guy was asking I thought he was really trying to sell. Just curious if you bought it from them.

300magman,

That is the one. I wasn't planning on buying one until I got back from Namibia in June, but the price was too good to pass up.

I saw that 500NE at Classic Arms last week as well...he has good prices on Merkels...but so do some other dealers...I ended up purchasing a 470NE from a dealer out of state, his price was even better...and no taxes, so saved about $800...

Prices on Merkels as well as other DR have gone up over the last 18 months and continue do so...All the Merkels I have seen are real shooters...for the money they are difficult to beat...very good working DR...

Lhook, I handled the gun at the gunshow in Jackson. I was very impressed with it. It was much trimmer than I was expecting and pointed very well. Wood and metal finish was very nice. It is an exceptional rifle. I think you will be very happy with it.

oh and another aside Classic Arms also had a nice .375 Dakota with Talleys listed on Guns America. I handled this gun as well at the show. He wanted alot less and I mean alot less for it at the show than he has it listed for. He may be willing to take offers to anyone interested.

quote:

Originally posted by 300magman:
Lhook, I handled the gun at the gunshow in Jackson. I was very impressed with it. It was much trimmer than I was expecting and pointed very well. Wood and metal finish was very nice. It is an exceptional rifle. I think you will be very happy with it.

Thanks for the information. I can't wait to see it in person. I was very impressed with the pictures.

I lived in Jackson for a couple of years. I was a project manager for Johnson Controls and lived up by the resevoir in 2000-2001.

Congratulations on your purchase. I am looking at Merkels from the dealer in the Chicago area and the primary concern I have regarding the 500 is the recoil. I am concerned that the recoil will be sufficiently intense to simply take the "fun"" out of practicing and even sighting in off the bench. I was also told that it would not be possible to add in a mercury recoil reducer given that Merkels already include a weight in the stock. (Which per prior postings on another tread tend to shear off due to the recoil.)

I thought it was interesting that the dealer was really pushing the 500, especially versus the 470. Frankly, I had expected that he would be pushing the 470.

I look forward to your comments as to the recoil and your overall thoughts as you get the chance to shoot this rife.

Again, congratulations.

Don,

I was actually looking for a 470, but 500 was all he had,the price was right, and this was his last one. I'm going to give it a try without a recoil pad, but with my past pad to see how it feels. If it is too rough I'll go ahead and have the recoil pad installed. From all I have read, I imagine that will be the case. I'll post results after shooting it next weekend.

quote:

Originally posted by gi:

I had to buy everything new, my old rcbs rock chucker was too short for the length of the 470.

Is the Rock Chucker Supreme large enough for 500 NE rounds?

Lhook7:

I had the same problem when I first got the .500. I only had the rock chucker. It can be done, but each time you go to seat bullets, you have to take the die off. It gets VERY time consuming!

However, I don't have any experience with the rock chucker supreme. I know that they enlarged it to fit larger rounds, but not sure how much larger they made it.

IMHO, go out and buy the ammomaster. I think it's around $212.00 at Huntingtons. It is a heck of a lot easier and faster than trying to do it on the original rock chucker.

Lhook7:

There is a current discussion going on in the big bore forum and the guys say that the roch chucker supreme is large enough for the nitros.

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/4711043/m/750104244

Hope it helps.

Thanks again 577.

quote:

Is the Rock Chucker Supreme large enough for 500 NE rounds?

In a word...Yes. I have the R C Supreme and load both .470 NE and .500 NE with it, no worries at all.

Geronimo

quote:

Thanks again 577.

Lhook7:

No problem. That's what we are all here for - to help each other!

The ammo arrives today and the rifle will be here tomorrow.

I think I've tracked the rifle on UPS.com about 100 times since Monday.

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:
I think I've tracked the rifle on UPS.com about 100 times since Monday.

Been there, done that with much less important packages!

Congratulations again.

Thanks Charles. The pigs on the Pitchfork aren't going to know what hit them this fall.

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:
Thanks Charles. The pigs on the Pitchfork aren't going to know what hit them this fall.

I see some sausage in your future!

Are they getting some rain or fire instead?

It looks like we should be getting rain through the weekend.

quote:

Originally posted by Lhook7:
It looks like we should be getting rain through the weekend.

Excellent! I am hoping for at least a tropical depression so the stock tanks can get filled up in South Texas -- of course I hope there is no damage to people or property.