Guys, what is your take on the Chapuis doubles? For those of you that have them, how do they shoot and how have they held up? Any problems? How does a Chapuis compare to a Merkel?

Ask me again, in a week or so.

Rich

No offense to the owners of the former, but I have never understood why people might choose a Chapuis over a Merkel. Given the more traditional styling of the Merkel, the couple thousand dollar price difference, and the obvious durability of the German gun (see other thread), the Chapuis never appealed to me.

JMHO

I have one in .470. I love mine. It shoots straight and wont break the bank. It is a little more expensive than the Merkel, but there's a reason. Better engraving, better wood, and IMO, a better gun all-around. Just about all doubles, with the exception of the really cheapos, will last the test of time, and shoot straight. What you are paying for above and beyond that is for engraving, wood and name. If you're looking for a great gun around the 10k level, Chapuis takes the cake in my opinion.

Oh yea, and they have ejectors standard, which is really what the difference in cost is between the Chapuis and the Merkel. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that a Merkel with ejectors will cost you about the same as a Chapuis standard.

Not to be nit-picky, but I am almost certain ejectors are standard now on the Merkel.

Been very pleased with mine. Only complaint is the rear trigger is heavier but heard it is a easy fix, just never boxed it up and sent it to Dale to get it fixed yet.
Easy to load for, accurate, very pleasing to look at and it didnt cost much. Plus the stock was built to my specs.
Never seen any new Merkel that could be picked up for the price of the UGEX.

I really enjoy my 470 nad shoot it quite a bit.. It shoots where you point it and it didn't break the bank to own it.
My only complaint of any Chapuis rifle is that big ugly beavertail fore end!!

I have a Chapuis 470 and I love it even after owning two British doubles. But I think most Americans think something engineered in Germany is superior to something engineered in France. After all, Germany gave us the '98 Mauser, the ME 262 and Porche while France gave us......well, Bridget Bardot. Okay, It's a DRAW.

quote:

Originally posted by 7kongoni:
I have a Chapuis 470 and I love it even after owning two British doubles. But I think most Americans think something engineered in Germany is superior to something engineered in France. After all, Germany gave us the '98 Mauser, the ME 262 and Porche while France gave us......well, Bridget Bardot. Okay, It's a DRAW.

In fairness, the '98 Mauser, the ME 262 and the Porsche have all aged better than Bardot.

...Bridget who?

quote:

Bridget Bardot

Are you really saying the best thing from France is a 100 year-old animal rights activist?

Champagne, the TourDe France, or bread or something else from France-- must be better than Bardot???


Yes, I had to look her up on Wikipedia, and OK she is only 75.

I have one in 9.3 X 74 R and I have 0 complaints.

Heck, I forgot Bridget was an ARF. I'll bet she doesn't like Chapuis or Merkel. Still, I have fond memories of her. In fact, some of my early naughty thoughts involved Dear Bridget.

I could have got a Merkel for about the same money as the Chapuis, but all the Merkels i looked at had very plain to awful wood on them. The Chapuis i chose shoots very good, and even has decent triggers on it, plus it has some REALLY nice wood on it...

I would prefer a slimmer forearm, but i can live with what it has...

I'm very happy with my choise...

DM

I really like my 9.3/7mm two barrel set. I think they are one of the best values in double rifles today. I did not like the 470NE I shot last summer. It was very accruate but it did not fit me well and Kicked the hell out of me after shooting it. The fella selling it had similar problems. I would have no issues owning one provided it fit me well.

Don't forget, France also brought the world the Citroen and Peugeot automobiles.

Add One to the German side, the 525+ horsepower V-10 in the R8. I am working on that one with the little woman. Got her to at least sit in one yesterday. Now to work on the test drive...

Rich

Chapuis guys seem to like their guns. So, where is the best place to buy one? I am more interested in the Jungle model. Has anyone ever seen one of those guns? Any clue what a Jungle model goes for?

Dave,

There should be a number of used ones out there. I just checked George's site (Champlin Firearms) and he lists two Chapuis .470's including a Jungle Model, but these may have been sold.
http://www.champlinarms.com/Default.aspx?tabid=30

The Chapuis shoots very accurately. They don't fit me and I don't like the triggers, but no complaints about the quality as a more economical double.

One is a Jungle model 470 with spare set of 12 gauge barrels.

Bring Money!!

Rich

I have a Chapuis in 9.3x74, all it need was a little trigger work that I did my self and a little thicker recoil pad to make the stock as long as I need. I have a 1.5x 4 meo with K-dot.
It is my favorite deer stand rifle if range is expected to be 100 yards or so.

I have a Merkel 470, that came with a crack in the toe of the stock with a piss poor repair job.

It also has some machine marks in the neck of the chambers that will mark the brass enough to see, but it does not cause any problems.It is very accurate for a double. I was not very pleased with the QC, and even less with the response I got from the gunsmith who does the warranty work.

The Merkel was the only big bore I could afford, and with a little work I have made it into a good working well balanced rifle. If I had 10 K to spend I would go Chapuis or Heym
I would also feel better about JJ doing any warranty work.

The 9.3 Chapuis are cheaper than the Merkel. The big bore Merkel are cheaper than the Chapuis. You have to decide what is a better investment.
JD