I'm not sure what Champlin had against the Merkel, but he mentioned that they work on them all, Heym and Champuis are the only two modern doubles that he recommends. It could simply be that they don't sell Merkel, but he does sell a lot of used guns too. So I would think he must have some reason for his opinion. I'm currently in the market for a double myself. So, that's the reason i was asking him. As far as I've heard, he's the guy to ask.