Does anyone have experience with purchasing a set of 20g shotgun barrels to go along with a Merkel 140 in 500 Nitro. I've been thinking of doing this but wonder about the balance. I've been thinking that since the shotgun barrels are around $3,800, would it just be a better idea to purchase a Merkel 20g instead. Thoughts?

I thought about a set of shotgun barrels for my Chapuis when I ordered it til I realized I could get a very nice shotgun for the price of the other pipes!
IF you had to send it to Germany and have the new barrel fitted it's be more paperwork and expense as well as MIA time than it'd be worth IMO.

A gun originally intended as a 500 will be real butt heavy as a 20ga shotgun and will weigh more than it should as a SG.
Also a second barrel should be ordered when the gun is made, sending it back for a retrofit will cost more.

quote:

A gun originally intended as a 500 will be real butt heavy as a 20ga shotgun and will weigh more than it should as a SG.
Also a second barrel should be ordered when the gun is made, sending it back for a retrofit will cost more.

THIS IS 101% CORRECT.
:-)

quote:

Originally posted by Kebco:
A gun originally intended as a 500 will be real butt heavy as a 20ga shotgun and will weigh more than it should as a SG.
Also a second barrel should be ordered when the gun is made, sending it back for a retrofit will cost more.

Yea, that's the reason I asked the question. I thought that would be the case. I'm thinking a new SXS shotgun is the better choice.

Travel packing is easier one way; but two fully separate
firearms will each be better at what they do.

I briefly thought about the travel packing convenience with a second barrel set but, the compromise in function was too great. I bought a used SxS shotgun for psuedo-DGR practice and a nice O/U for the field. Now I can shoot a SxS in my pasture at clays on the cheap as much as I want and save the time and expense of travel to a range to shoot $$$ ammunition. I also have a nice O/U that works well for birds.

In this case, the 500 and the 20ga are actually built on the same frame, and they use the same stock (same forend iron and ejectors too.)

So it's not the fact that it's a 500 frame size or related stock that make the rear of the gun heavier, it's the steel bar in the butt used to add more weight on the rear of the rifle (and balance with the heavier rifle barrels), but that's the only difference.

It would make an easier to transport "1-gun" package with shotgun barrels.