Hello Corbin!
I have had a Merkel 141E in 8x57JRS for some time now. As you might now this is NOT the same gun as a 140. The 141 is based on a 28cal action where the 141 is based on a 20cal action.The difference in weight would be roughly 1 lb.
To my mind there's not all that difference between a 7x57 and a 8x57 but as they say "your milage may vary".

I'm very pleased with this nimble little gun! So far I've bagged about 10 big game animals with it. they have been deers, mooses and a boar. Since I'm from Sweden most of my hunting has been for driven game where a quick little double comes in very handy.

Mine is scoped with a 1.1-4x20 scope in detachable swingmounts from recknagel and the have worked like a dream.

I have used the muzzle adjustment arrangement to regulate the gun for 196 grain Norma Oryx bullets at 2400 fps. The result is 4 shots at 2" at 100m. Thats good enough for me ;-)

The only downside so far is that the gun is still a bit too tight after 300 rounds. But it will take a lot of shooting until this baby gets off face, that's for sure.

All on all I can only recommend this lovely little gun.

Regards,
Henrik