To the membership:

This morning I received an email from "010166", whose identity I will protect unless he chooses to reveal it. His very kind email made me realize he felt I had been abrupt or rude in my post about "pure crap" above. I did not intend to be rude, and I have apologized to him. Let me now post my reply to him, and in so doing, offer an apology to the membership at large:

010166,

I just got your email. Thanks for the contact. From what you have said, I assume you posted as "010166".

I think from reading your email you took my reply to be rude or abrupt. I just went back to the thread on NE.com and re-read all the posts from the beginning. I can fairly see that my post might be interpreted as an attack on the messenger. That was not my intention, and I apologize.

The internet is a most wonderful means of communication. It allows worldwide discussions of almost any topic. In our case, it allows discussions of guns, rifles, and hunting. I am one of the most ardent fans of NE.com, both for its topics and for its civility.

At the same time, the internet is a blunt instrument. We see no facial expression; we hear no tone of voice. It lacks many subtleties of personal conversation that add meaning to what we say almost as much as the words we use. I am confident had we been face to face you would not have deemed my response as rude, abrupt, or condescending. But having read it again this morning in the light of your email I see that you did. Please accept my assurance that my intentions were good.

I have no interest in promoting Merkel. I have no stake in the company, nor do I sell their products. I am strictly a consumer; and I happened to buy one of the very first of their DR's chambered in .500NE. That cartridge has been mythical to me, and when I heard they were chambering their inexpensive rifle in that round, I set out to buy one. At that time, the old myth about Merkels being soft, coming off face, etc., etc. was rampant across the internet. I was determined to find out for myself, and I was willing to plunk down the money it would take to find out. Mind you, I didn't put much credence in the disparaging rumors. After all, Merkel had been making double guns and rifles for 100 years. I figured they knew a thing or two. But that was the context of my purchase, and I set out to put as many rounds through that rifle as I could, while still under warranty, to find out the truth. If the myth turned out to be true I intended to make their lives miserable.

To backtrack a bit. The U.S. importer was GSI. I had met one of the principals of that company some years before at the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show. A man named Einer Hoff. In searching for a .500 to buy, I got Einer on the phone. I wanted to know if any had been imported, how many; and I wanted to grill him about the "myth" of poor quality. I found out that only 5 were in the U.S. at that time. They were having some trouble importing the rifles because of it being .50 caliber. Three were still in stock at GSI. Einer steadfastly denied any quality control problems and assured me that the rumors were untrue. I virtually extracted a "money back guarantee" from him. I had a friend who wanted a .500 also, so we ended up buying two of the three that GSI had. We received them on April 17, 2004. The rifles were SN 3 and SN 13. My friend and I chose them at random, and I got #3. I told my friend I didn't want #13, the unlucky number!

Then we set out to destroy the rifles by using them as they were intended to be used. We couldn't destroy them. I have detailed the findings several times on NE.com and won't repeat them again here. My two problems were the weight in the stock and the safety. Same problems with #13. These problems are easily fixed. Yes the rifles have a few warts. Interestingly, the "myth" never said anything about these minor problems. None of the storied myth is true.

When mine arrived it was stiff and difficult to close. Slamming it shut resulted in the lever being well to the right and the Greener crossbolt being out to the left somewhat. Operation of #13 was similar, but not quite as stiff. Merkel specifically mentions this stiffness in its owner's manual and assures that after a few hundred rounds the gun will ease up. During this "break in" period you should close the gun and push the lever fully to the left. My rifle has smoothed up considerably and is just about to the point of not needing to be pushed to the left. The other rifle, #13, smoothed up a little quicker. I am entirely satisfied with this break in period. These are not hand-made rifles. They are dirt cheap in the context of what double rifles cost.

So I dispelled the myth from my mind and have endeavored to dispel the myth from the internet. Yeah, the rifles have their warts, but money-wise they are the best deal on today's market, in my opinion.

I am not a connoisseur of cheap or entry level doubles. In the context of what I collect my advocacy of Merkel is far overblown. I don't like to see a product get hammered unjustly. Believe me, if my rifle had confirmed the myth I would have made Einer Hoff and GSI utterly miserable. My internet posts would have chronicled the undoing of Rifles #3 and #13. That just hasn't been the case.

I have received nothing from GSI, Einer Hoff, or anybody. I paid for my rifle, and I have paid for all my ammunition. Nobody asked me to undertake my quest. I have no axe to grind other than my desire to own a .500NE and my curiosity of whether the myth could possibly be true.

Now back to your email. Again I sincerely apologize for giving the impression of rudeness or impatience. That was not my desire. I do my best to maintain the civil atmosphere of NE.com, to the point of calling people down when they argue. Please feel free to join in. I will not shoot the messenger. Also feel free to continue any private discussion with me by way of private email. I am an enthusiastic advocate of double rifles and guns, and I like to converse with those of like minds.

I will take the liberty of also posting this reply to NE.com to dispel any notion that your post was inappropriate or that I had any anger in mine.

Thank you very much for your email.

Sincerely,
Roscoe Stephenson
"CptCurl"