I've decided my life will not be complete without a 9.3x74 double. I would appreciate hearing from owners of both and the reasoning used to make their decision which one, Merkel or Chapuis. I plan to scope it with a low magnification scope and am in a bind which to select. I think I can get past the French thing.

I would hold my nose and buy the Chapuis. They make a nice rifle.

Both make good guns, buy the gun that meets your needs.

Both are excellent guns. The Merkle comes with approximately 22 inch barrels and the Chapuis comes from the factory with approx. 24 inch barrels (both metric lengths). I personally like the longer barrels in the 9.3

On the other hand, the Merkle comes standard with the self adjusting regulating block, to me, a big plus.

You choose, you'll enjoy either one.

How do they compare in price?

Dave

I had a Merkel 470 and would not own another, ''a'' gunshop owner told me he had nothing but problems with both[Merkel and Chapuis] ,and said he would only sell Heym guns in future . It had many things about it [Merkel ] i didnt like, bad engraving ,some bad metal work ,rust in barrels when i bought it NEW !!!, no matter what loads you fed it, it would not produce decent groups from either barrel .With less'' expensive ''doubles i think you either get a very good one! or a very bad one !,i wasnt happy with mine, which was the most expensive and inaccurate rifle i ever owned !If i ever buy another double it would be a Searcy 500 ,but at the moment i cannot justify haveing $10,500.00 sitting in the cupboard ,while iam no expert on doubles, i believe Butch Searcy puts his money where his mouth is, when it comes to doubles and he is the only one i would trust for service etc !when it comes to something as finicky as doubles

boucanier, your post puzzels me! What I mean is I've been around S/S double rifles all my adult life. I have owened almost evey common brand name you can think of, plus I have built some of my own doubles, getteing very good accuracy, and my regulation has always worked fine.

I find the Merkels to be very well regulated
"OFF THE SHELF" double rifles, and as accurate as any I've ever owned. I have two Merkel double rifles now, and have owned many Merkel shotguns, and rifles over the years, and been around many more owned by friends. I have not incountered even one that wasn't a shooter.

The engraveing, and polish has nothing to do with the working quality of a double rifles! Those things are like make-up on an ugly woman, she my look fine but what you see is not always what you get. The rust in the barrels was probably not there when the rifle left Merkel's plant, and if the dealer cleaned all the oil off the rifle before putting it on his shelf, that is most likely where the rust came from. Every Merkel I've bought, or seen bought by friends, new, were litterly dripping with protective oil. If the double you bought had rust in the barrels, why did you buy it?

With double rifles, the old saying applies:

"Beauty, is as Beauty does!" It is not what the rifle looks like that counts, it is how it shoots.

It seems you couldn't get your particular double to shoot properly! That could be because of one or the other of two reasons! #1 could be the proper load was not found, because of your inexperience with double rifles,you didn't know how to go about finding it! # 2 you did, in fact get a lemon, and it should have been sent back to the factory for re-regulating,
or testing to see if the problem was your loading!

You would be amazed at the number of good doubles I have bought, over the years, that did not shoot for a first time buyer of doubles. These rifle every one, shot like a dream once the proper load was found, and I got a bargain because the seller, thought he was getting rid of a LEMON!

It could very well be you are absolutely correct in you acessment of this rifle, but I doubt it applies to the run of the mill Merkel. There are about 15 Merkel double rifle belonging to friends of mine, and that combined with my experience with Merkel products, I can't think of even one case of a bad shooter amoung them.

The dealer you quote, is welcome to his opinion, but I find MOST dealers, and 90 % of well known gun smiths, have no idea what a double rifle is about, or how they work. I'd say that dealer is selling rifles to a lot of folks who know even less than he does.

Tha above is not to put down his confidence in Heym doubles, because they are fine doubles, but so are the Chapuis, and Merkels, in my experience!

How does the rifle shoot for the guy who bought it from you?

........................

quote:

Originally posted by dirklawyer:
Both are excellent guns. The Merkle comes with approximately 22 inch barrels and the Chapuis comes from the factory with approx. 24 inch barrels (both metric lengths). I personally like the longer barrels in the 9.3

On the other hand, the Merkle comes standard with the self adjusting regulating block, to me, a big plus.

You choose, you'll enjoy either one.

Dirklawyer, the barrel length depends on which model you buy in 9.3X74R. the 140E has 24" barrels, and are perminantly regulated, and fitted with selective ejectors. The Chapuis has shoter barrels than my Merkel. The Chapuis are a little over 23", not that it makes any difference in the shooting of either!

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:

Dirklawyer, the barrel length depends on which model you buy in 9.3X74R. the 140E has 24" barrels, and are perminantly regulated, and fitted with selective ejectors. The Chapuis has shoter barrels than my Merkel. The Chapuis are a little over 23", not that it makes any difference in the shooting of either!

Thanks MacD37 in the future I would choose the Merkle with the 24 inch barrels over the Chapuis

I was under the impression the 140E could no longer be purchased new. Am I wrong?

Unless you have a real distaste for the safety/cocker...Krieghoff makes a nice double in the same price range and the barrels are adjustable via a "wedge" that is adjustable with an allan type wrench supplied with the rifle.
Keith

Seeing as this thread started with medium bore but touches on big bore Merkel/Chapuis I'll jump in withour fear of being accused of hijacking. In the medium bore it's strictly a matter of features and looks and handling.

In the big bore realm of Chapuis/Merkel, now a peave of mine, calling one or the other out just doesn't hold water any more. I spoke with someone yesterday who still is concerned there may be inherent flaw in the big bore Merkels. I still would like someone like JJ or Ken Owen to come out and go on the record as to why big bore Merkels don't hold up. I can't find any solid evidence here, and this is the best place of all, or anywhere else.

Some here have said they have seen some Chapuis big bores shot off face. I won't go back to find it because the general feeling is that it's a very good gun. The wood is often nicer but the barrel blanks are/were likely made by Merkel and Merkel steel may or may not be harder. Rigby uses Merkel receivers as have some others like EVO who is now using Chapuis. I don't like the lines, the looks of an off the shelf Chapuis compared to a Merkel 140-2. Merkel is less expensive and now comes with ejectors, so I ordered one, but that doesn't mean I've passed on Chapuis for good. I may still get both and sell the 2nd place winner.

SHOWBART, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Chapuis double rifle, and the same goes for Merkel, both are money well spent! All off the shelf doubles have pluses, and minus', and for every thing one is better at than other, the other has something the first one doesn't. I believe if you pick the one that has what you want, and the one that fits you best,you will not go wrong with either!

The Krieghoff, and the Blazer, are two that have some of the same features, but is clearly a better design for a DGR, than the other. The Krieghoff recocks it'sself when it is broken to reload, and all that is left to do is close the rifle, and fire it. The Blazer must be manually re-cocked after a reload. With a smaller rifle used for deer hunting this feature makes no difference at all, but with a DGR, it definetly does make a difference! The Heym, is one that has most of the positive features of a double that is fine for any game use, from coyote to Elephant, depending on the chambering, the same goes for the B. Searcy, these two being in the same general price range, and general quality!

I say pick you price, and your likes, and lay the money down, load up, and go hunting! Don't worry about what folks here think, it's your money, and all are worth their price tags!

quote:

Originally posted by LJS:
I've decided my life will not be complete without a 9.3x74 double. I would appreciate hearing from owners of both and the reasoning used to make their decision which one, Merkel or Chapuis. I plan to scope it with a low magnification scope and am in a bind which to select. I think I can get past the French thing.

LJS,

You might want to conside a Siace Alsaka Lusso EL. I will tray and attach a photo. The gun in the photo is a box lock with false side plates. There are several of these guns on order and should land by July. I have a good friend who has a lower grade Siace and its a really nice gun. ur opinion is that his Siace is nicer than Merkel and Chauis. He has all three so we can compare side by side) The EL version is an up grade from what he has and it has upgraded wood, engraving and H&H side bolsters, extended bottom tang that runs to metal grip cap. Its available in 9.3x74R, 45-70, 8x57R, 7x65R. We have several 45-70's on the way. A really nice rig. Im sure the price will go way up once the secret gets out.

Hello,
It always seems that there are conflicting stories/experiences, etc. with the various double rifles available, no matter the purchase price. The business of "finding the right load..." to obtain acceptable accuracy, performance, too hot, too mild, etc. is a problem with me and was giving very serious consideration to a Searcy, but believe after reading, hearing of all these "finicky" issues with the classic double, will cast my dollar votes with the Hein bolt gun. I own three of the lowly Ruger RSM's which just work fine, no class though, and will get me a bolt gun with lots of class and at one half the price of a double.
Not very many posts ago, Chapuis giving very poor accuracy/performance and weapon was sent back and maker was going to build another one!! Not the first time I have heard of similar problems with other makers and I can work a bolt gun fairly well and that is what I'll add to my future aresenal. Good Luck whichever way you go with your doubles!!

merkel model availability

i understand that the old 9,3 on the 20 ga frame with fixed regulation is no longer being imported.

it is still made for europe, but not brought into usa. you may find new old stock at a dealer. also used ones.

the new model with the adjustable barrels is built on the 28 ga frame. it handles beautifully. better than the old model.

both models have selective auto ejectors

I have a Chapuis 9,3x74R double.
It is scoped.
I have shot it almost 3000 times.

I have taken NA Game from beaver to black bear, including bobcat, turkey, deer, wild pigs, varmints like raccoon, skunk, armadillo, and coyote.

I have taken African game from guinea fowl to elephant, including klipspringer, impala, kudu, waterbuck, baboon,warthog, zebra, giragge and cape buff.

Probably some game I can not recall now.

I have found it to be one of the best hunting rifles on the planet.

Research some of my previous posts.

I have shot both frame sizes of the Merkels.

I recommend you handle and shoot all 3 if possible, and get the one that fits you the best.

My Chapuis shoots good with several different loads.

I have taken game from 5 yards to a little over 300 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by MacD37:
SHOWBART, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Chapuis double rifle, and the same goes for Merkel, both are money well spent! All off the shelf doubles have pluses, and minus', and for every thing one is better at than other, the other has something the first one doesn't. I believe if you pick the one that has what you want, and the one that fits you best,you will not go wrong with either!

I did Mac, I have a Merkel 470 ejector due in July. I was hand wringing over a Chapuis on GB for $9K but couldn't bring myself to put my money where my mouth is and buy 2 doubles just to figure which I like most, so I let it go. Besides, this time of year the IRS is in line for their washtub o' money and it's best not to PO the wife.

The 1 Chapuis I handled maybe didn't handle nor fit quite as well for me as the Merkel. I just wanted to shoot them both but then the DRSS hunt was iced for me. So short of buying both, I'm holding my breath and waiting for the Merkel. Holding my breath because I HAVE TO WAIT! The Merkel off the shelf always fit me like a glove and, bought new, if there's ever any issues it goes right back to my local dealer and on to Alabama for any warranty, service, repair etc...plus I'm getting a good deal.

I have no doubt that the Chapuis is a fine high quality rifle. Factory support may be more vague. If you buy from Champlin's they will support the gun and you'll pay full retail.