Roscoe:

I hope all is well and life continues to be good in the VA mountains.

Over Thanksgiving, while back home in PA, we took the guns to the range.

Shooting 116 grains of RL15 in 40 degrees F as opposed to 120 grains of RL15 in 100 degree weather is A LOT more pleasant in my .577!

Anyway, this was the first time since August when I got to shoot my .500 NE Merkel for an extended period. During the shooting session I put about 12 rounds down range and noticed that out of those six 2 shot groups, the safety on the Merkel with switch to "SAFE" after the first shot (Right barrel) on four occasions.

If my memory is correct, you had a similar problem with your Merkel. If so, was there a reason for the rifle to click to "SAFE" after the first shot? Did you get yours repaired?

(To note, JJ [at Champlins] did install a recoil reducer in the butt, but on previous shooting session, the rifle did not switch to "SAFE" before.)