I had initially contacted Merkel Germany too several years ago when I first found th problem and they also directed me back to Herrons. I can't remember the name of the gunsmith they referred me to but I did speak to him and I thought he sounded somewhat knowledgable but I didn't send the rifle to him because of the cost that he wanted for repairs. I decided to live with firing the right side barrel first, and I came up with a fix for the loose weight in the buttstock - another problem with the 470 and 500 shearing the mounting screw.