Helo Gents,
I'm one of thoose europeans who uses a double gun as my prefered choice for driven game. I have owned a couple of doubles in 9.3x74R and they are wonderful for their intended purpose. But I have just taken delivery of a wonderful little Merkel 141 in 8x57 JRS and this is love at first sight for me!! In bolt actions 8x57 has already proven itself on all kinds of european game from mooses to roedeer and everything in between, the 8x57 JRS is basically the same thing but in a double gun package.

This is a very light gun which handles like a dream (for me), it weighs about 3.0 kg (3.5kg with a scope). This gun is based on a 28 cal sized action. I did try it in 9.3x74R before buying 8x57JRS and the reason I choose the smaller of the two chamberings is the muzzleflip (which is substansial in 9.3x74R) in other words my second shot is quicker and more accurate in 8x57 JRS.

In my opinion it's like comparing 375 H&H to 30-06 in bolt actions. Rifles in 375H&H are generally a bit heavier and bigger, where as 30-06 comes in a smaller package

(most of the times).

I'm still a very big fan of the 9.3x74R but in a smaller gun it might be a bit much, a lot of the 9.3x74R that I have seen or used have a weight of around 3.5 kg which is a perfect match for that chambering. But for my new gun I was looking for something a bit lighter and for me that meant going down in calibre as well. I intend to use this gun solely for european game, and for that I think that 8x57 JRS will be "enough gun"

I'm sorry for the bad english, but then english is my third language

Regards,
Henrik