Mike,

Be careful not to throw the balance off by increasing the weight in the butt. You won't like it if the rifle ends up muzzle-light.

The Merkel was designed to be rather light, and there's not much you can do about that. You can't add weight to the barrels. If you put weight into the forend it will probably come loose. So any added weight will be in the butt and throw the balance to the rear. Not a good idea.

On the other hand, for carrying, the Merkel is about as handy as can be. In a hunting situation the rifle will hurt you a lot more from carrying than from kicking. Those Germans did us a favor by putting it into a 10 1/4 pound package, in my opinion.

Once you get a standing rest the recoil issue will fade away. I'll be the first to admit that the Merkel .500 is a real handful off a bench. It is manageable, though.

Curl