This is my Chapuis. It is not the utility grade, but i will post it anyway. As best I can tell, it most closely approximates the REX; there are some differences from the features described on the Chapuis site. The date in the case indictes manufacture in 1978.

I had been looking at the Merkels and the various doubles posted on the seller sites. The utility grade mentioned above (on GA) has been listed quite a while. IIRC the original price matched the tag. We have some dealers here that when they have a gun in inventory for a long period, they raise the price listed as the price of replacing that stock goes up.

I purchased the Chapuis out of Texas. THe story I got was that it had come from the estate of a double collector; I guess his wife did not have the same love of doubles that he had. There were several other doubles in the store supposedly from the same source, but most were for a lefty. One barrel is marked with what I assume to be the original owner's last name and Austin, Tx.

As for fit/finish, I have no complaint. I do not have another Chapuis to compare it to directly. It is much better than the Merkels I have seen. I am not bashing them; I have a nice handling 20ga Merkel. I will probably get one eventually as the Price of the Merkels seem very good for a user.

Douglas Mays