I own a Merkel shotgun, and while no double rifle, I can still share some thoughts. I picked up the Merkel as an aside shotgun for situations to which I did not want my H&H shotgun exposed. First of all, it happens to handle just like my H&H, did not have to readjust, shoots well for me. As it was meant to be my bang-around, gun, it was exposed to exactly that: Dirt (lots of it) , torrential rains, being thrown into the back of trucks, hitting things all over the place. Never a jam, never a malfunction, and all the mistreatment never put a real dent into the gun. Not as pretty as my H&H, but works very well and is built solidly with tight tolerances. For a working gun, a good choice.