Hold on, let's not damn Merkel with faint praise. Their day to day, base model DRs are well built and functional at a very reasonable price. That does not mean that Merkel automatically means low end or shoddy. Their sidelocks are also the least expensive in the current market and are very nicely done as well.

Although they are rarely brought into this country, the ones that are have mostly been ex-EWA guns GSI buys at the end of the show and imports in very small number. Some display the unfortunate penchant of Suhl engravers to depict animals that appear to have been inflated with helium rather than shown in anything close to their normal state. Others, however, have very well executed scroll or game scenes from one or more of their crew of in-house engravers. I have acquired several sidelocks and boxlock specials this way for what turned out to be very inexpensive and, in one instance, down right silly bargain prices. (An ex-EWA 160 sidelock in a 8X75R with fantastic engraving and great wood for $8,500.)

I need to get some photos up in the appropriate section of the forum, but once you have a chance to take a good look at the higher end Merkel products, it is difficult to appreciate what they are capable of doing. For a start, check out Captain Curl's photos of his 323E as an example of their earlier work. Dave