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My Merkel 500 NE arrived yesterday, and I took it out in the desert today to fire a few rounds!! I only had 10 live rounds and my dies won't arrive from RCBS for a couple of weeks, so I shot 4 rounds today and plan on firing the other 6 next weekend. After reading about the amount of recoil a Merkel 500 packs, I was pretty tentative with my first shot. It hit about 7" low at 50 yards, but the recoil, while strong, was not nearly as bad as I thought it might be. My second shot was about 4" low. While I was walking to look at the target I realized my trigger finger was hurting. I had scraped a small piece of skin off the back of my finger with the front trigger while pulling the rear trigger. The trigger guard had also bruised the back of my middle finger. I'll definately have some shooting gloves before next weekend! On the next round, my first shot was the correct height, but about 2" to the left, and I banged my damned fingers during recoil again. The final shot I was concentrating on keeping my shoulder into the shot to try to save my poor fingers, and the shot was 3" low. Over all I loved shooting the rifle! It was a hell of a lot of fun, and different from any type of rifle I have ever shot. As I stated earlier, I'm going to give it a try with shooting gloves next weekend; if they help my fingers, I doubt I will install a recoil pad. Thanks to all of you who have given me advice and answered my questions when I was getting into this game! ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | ||
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Congrats on your Merkel 500NE DR! I debated back and forth on a 500 or 470 ended up with the 470..no regrets but 500s are great! I know your's will shoot well...I shot 577NE's 500 it's spot on... I got the ole knuckle smacked the first time as well...then learned to put more shoulder pressure.. Do you have a recoil pad on it? They are fun!!!! | |||
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ENJOY YOUR NEW RIFLE!!!!! Just about 7 days ago I too shot 577NE's 500 Merkle with Doc52, Cats, Retreever and HIS son, Matt. This AFTER it had it's recoil pad and mercury recoil reducer installed by JJ at Champlin Arms some time ago. I loved it. I wore leather shooting gloves from www.griffinhowe.com and still had middle finger swelling and the trigger finger of the GLOVE was scraped. Those little rubber bumpers from Galanzans seem like a good idea to protect the middle finger. What is the LOP and weight of the rifle with NO recoil pad? I shot in "shirt sleeves" only, did you wear a jacket or PAST pad? Jack OH GOD! {Seriously, we need the help.} | |||
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Congratulations, Sir! Rusty We Band of Brothers! DRSS, NRA & SCI Life Member "I am rejoiced at my fate. Do not be uneasy about me, for I am with my friends." ----- David Crockett in his last letter (to his children), January 9th, 1836 "I will never forsake Texas and her cause. I am her son." ----- Jose Antonio Navarro, from Mexican Prison in 1841 "for I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." Thomas Jefferson Declaration of Arbroath April 6, 1320-“. . .It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.” | |||
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Jack, The LOP (measured from the front trigger) is about 14.25". The rifle (according to the paperwork that came with it) weighs 4.64 kg or 10.23 lbs. ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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JJS, No, I haven't put a recoil pad on the rifle. I'm waiting to see if the gloves make much difference, then I'll decide. ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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This is interesting in that I was told that Merkels could not have an additional mercury recoil reducer installed due to the presence of the lead weight already installed. Thanks for this information and I will double-check with the Merkel dealer in the Chicago area to see what his story based on your information. I would like to go with a 500 but am concerned about the 70 plus foot-pounds of recoil in an 11 pound gun. I would like to get it to at least 12 to help make it more shooting and a little more fun versus an exercise in self-abuse. LHook - Glad to enjoyed the firing of the new gun. I know about banging fingers on trigger guards and triggers and how it can hurt. Good luck with the shooting glove. Best of all he loved the Fall.... E. Hemingway | |||
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Rubber bumper looked good to me for the .577, but it gets knocked off. I haven't tried it on the .500 or .470 as I don't need it on them. | |||
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I have similar recoil issues with My (Searcy) 500NE. I found that putting a bandaid in my finger(s) with the gauze pad towards the muzzle solved the bruised finger issue. It also helps to make sure you have the butt HARD against your shoulder and lean forward into the gun. I'm not sure the glove thing is a good idea as it might "weaken" your grip (cause slipage) in the wrist/pistol grip area and lead to even more severe recoil problems for you. Ya gotta "hang on tight" to these big SOB's (at least I do) and that is (for me) is somewhat counter productive for accuracy. Not that I don't really like my gun  Hope this helps. Roi DRSS member Constant change is here to stay. | |||
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510wells, I think my grip with my right hand is the majority of the problem. Nearly two years ago I was riding my Harley when an idiot in a pickup hit me. I got off lucky, but shattered all the bones in my right wrist. The doctor did a great job of putting me back together, but I don't think I will ever have full strength in that hand. I agree with you on accuracy and holding on tight. I think my shooting got better as I went along because I felt more relaxed and wasn't straining as much to hold on. ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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"Those little rubber bumpers from www.gunshop.com/galazan.htm Galazan seem like a good idea to protect the middle finger." Jack OH GOD! {Seriously, we need the help.} | |||
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LHook7, Your right hand grip is the issue. You should get one of those soft putty filled grip trainers. I broke both hands years and years ago playing footbal in college and for near a decade after that my grip wasn't very strong. Yried squeezing a tennis ball but its too firm to start with, got one of the putty things and with less than perfect effort my grip is a heck of alot better. Thin gloves can help your grip but you loose some feel too. I have found that a longer LOP will also keep your fingers off the gaurd and front trigger. Might want to try one of those cheap rubber slip on butt pads and see if it doesn't help. If it does then you can have the appropriate permanent pad installed, if not your out just a few $'s. Good luck, JPK  Free 500grains | |||
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Don: I sent the .500 to JJ at Champlins to have him put on a recoil pad. He also suggested I consider a recoil reducer, which I agreed to. I wanted the keep the LOP (as the gun fit me like a glove), so JJ had to cut the stock. I don't know what exactly he did, but my gun is proof that a competent DR gunsmith can put the recoil reducer in a Merkel. 577NitroExpress Double Rifle Shooters Society Francotte .470 Nitro Express  If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming... | |||
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Not to steal anyones thunder but I just shot my 500 NE 3" yesterday (Merkel 140-2.1) and I loved it. Have had two 470's and like the 500 better already. I know what you mean about the "finger thing" I have a calcium deposit on the back of my right index finger at the first joint. About once a year the recoil kind of "busts it up". Doc tells me it can be disolved with shots but it will just come back. To me it is a Double Rifle "badge of honor". The display of PURE POWER is nothing short of AWESOME ! 1 JOHN 3:18 | |||
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Lee: See what happens when you move out of Texas. You become a "whimp" and just can't handle the big stuff anymore-------Bill | |||
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One of Us - Congratulations on the new rifle and I am glad that you like it so well. Could you please elaborate as to what you like better about your 500 than your previous 470s. It was many years ago that I got a 458 Winchester and first experienced the "finger thing" too. Frankly it surprised me as I had never read about the trigger guard whacking fingers when firing large caliber guns prior to this experience. For a long time I thought perhaps I was the only one enduring this "problem". After lurking around this forum I see that it is a more universal problem. Enjoy the new rifle..... Best of all he loved the Fall.... E. Hemingway | |||
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Hey Bill, Glad to see you finally post something! You know I try to make it back at least once a month just to make sure I'm not turning into a wimp.  ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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Grats on the shooting Lee... don't let gimpy give you any grief  NRA Life Memeber SCI Life Member Dallas Safari Life Member DRSS We Band of Bubbas | |||
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Don in Colorado I should have qualified my remarks as not being hunting based but personal comparison. Some friends and I shoot 5 gallon buckets full of water with the lids duct taped on. The 470 made a mess out of them, for sure! We noticed the 500 blew the water and the pieces of bucket over a larger area and the same type buckets seemed to be riped apart. I can only (unscientifically) compare the two results and the 570 grain bullet with the .035 larger bullet dia. and frontal dia., although not great, seem to have a real effect. Just as many, more ecperienced, people before me have written about. We noticed the same effect with the 505 Gibbs but passed it off as prejudice for a new gun. However, the same result with another, slightly, larger dia. 50 cal. bullet. Although the seams split we noticed additional "stress ripping" if you will of other portions of the buckets. The other thing I noticed right off is the slightly shorter case is nice to work with in my RCBS rockchucker press. Although I have to back the die out after seating, not as far; and with R-19 powder I do not have to mess with poly filler. I've only fired about a box of ammo and do not really notice a difference in reoil in a 10 1/2 lb gun as compared to a 11 1/2 and a 12 1/2 lb 470's. The Merkel seems to be very accurate (off hand shooting only) thus far, will bench it when weather clears. The display of PURE POWER is nothing short of AWESOME ! 1 JOHN 3:18 | |||
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I know... He gives me grief, but I had to listen to the story about his bum hip yesterday morning. I kept expecting to hear, "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!" ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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L...sent you a video clip of shooting the 450 and 500..email Mike | |||
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Thanks Mike! I got the video and responded to your email. ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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As a side note, I had my 375 out that day and fired 10 rounds through it after shooting the 500. By comparison whe 375 felt like a 270 and I shot my best groups to date off the sticks with it. ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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I am with you on that L7, so true so true... In the video that's me closer to you, and retreever - he being the better shooter - is playing the role of my PRO backing me up!!!  Jack OH GOD! {Seriously, we need the help.} | |||
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I spoke with JJ at Champlins today. I'm going to send him my rifle in a few weeks and have him add a mercury recoil reducer, recoil pad, and change the sights. I figure I'll send it in early May so he can be doing all this while I'm in Namibia, that way I won't miss my rifle as much.  ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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I can see explaining that reasoning to my wife...  ------------------------------- Some Pictures from Namibia Some Pictures from Zimbabwe An Elephant Story | |||
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Now that you mention it... I'm sending my rifle to Enid, OK and my girlfriend is going to visit my parents in Ardmore, OK... So both my girlfriend and rifle are going to enjoy Oklahoma, while I have to rough it half way around the world in Namibia. I'm sure I'll be miserable, but I don't begrudge either of them of their fun. Do you think she'll believe me when I put it like that?? ____________________________________________ "Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life." Terry Pratchett. | |||
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