I've had this little rifle for over a year, but only got it out for a bit of hunting this past fall. It's a sleek, lightweight little number that brings to mind the K95 I had the pleasure to play with last year, but it came in at a much lower price. I have a couple of QD scope mounts for it that seem to be every bit as perfect in their return-to-zero as the Blaser mounts on my R93's...high praise, indeed.

Weight is a hair over 5.5 pounds naked; chambering is 7x65R. It fits me perfectly, and accuracy is exceptional. This is enhanced by the single-set trigger, which is very light and crisp even when fired un-set. If I had to voice a complaint, it would be the style of the QD mounts; they work, but are very bulky and look quite out of place on this slender wand. The top of the breech area is flat, and I have often toyed with the notion of having a smith d&t it and attach a length of pic or Weaver rail. I think this would streamline the gun even more.

I like takedown guns; I like 'em even better when they shoot beautifully, look graceful and (most importantly) when I can afford them!

Them and the Merkels are the same gun. The Merkels are a little more deluxe, but I don't see any financial advantage over buying a Merkel.

Nice rifle.

That is indeed a cool little single shot. I have looked for an alternative to the TCR 83 I sold to a forum member a while back. This looks like it might be comparable. It needs a double set trigger and a good supply of barrels but it looks like it might work.

Nice. I keep looking for a lightweight single shot like that and this might be the one. A TCR 87 is what I have been looking at to avoid the double triggers.

Really like the slender lines of that rifle.

Jeremy

What's the price range for those? I see that there is no US importer.

Yes, the more I use it, the more I like it.

I should mention that when I got it, I asked out of idle curiosity if interchangeable barrels were going to be available. The answer at the time was "We don't think so..." followed by a caveat that if barrels were brought out, they would probably require factory-fitting, no Blaser-style drop-ins. I wasn't concerned, but if you are looking for a switch-barrel you might be disappointed.

The single-set trigger is very nice when used conventionally, and perfect when set. I'm not certain that a double-set trigger would be possible in this triggerguard; especially up here, north of Winterpeg, two separate trigger blades plus a gloved finger would be a dangerously tight fit.

I've shown a couple of trophy pics that featured this gun to some friends at work. Normally, I am accustomed to something along the lines of "What kind of goofy gun are you using now?" This time it was "Hey! That's a cool little gun!"

These guys aren't just bolt rifle trash; they are trashy bolt rifle trash, so this was unexpected!

Frank, I just checked to see the current damage on these...and was disappointed to see that the importer up here doesn't list them anymore. The next time I am in their shop I'll ask what happened.

The gun was about $1800 Canadian a couple of years ago. QD scope mounts were about $400.

I would love to have something like that...not too common here in the US. I'd take one in 6.5X57R.

quote:

Originally posted by jwm:
Frank, I just checked to see the current damage on these...and was disappointed to see that the importer up here doesn't list them anymore. The next time I am in their shop I'll ask what happened.

The gun was about $1800 Canadian a couple of years ago. QD scope mounts were about $400.

Thanks, I need a 7x57 and that would make a nice one.

They are heavily related to the Merkel Kr1.

Since Merkel and Haenel are owned by the same company this makes sense.

Beautiful fly rod of a rifle!