I played with the Merkel before I bought the Searcy and liked it. Actually, the Searcy field grade is cheaper, and had better wood than the Merkel. I liked them both, but in the end the heftier Searcy won me over, not to mention the extra $1,500 I saved. While I've heard some negative things about the Merkel "shotgun tubes" thing (and I have no real knowledge of whether it's rifle on shotgun tubes or vice versa), I wouldn't be too concerned about it for the average hunter. I think any modern rifle is probably strong enough to withstand the uses that a hunter is going to put on it. If something were to go wrong, I would hope Merkel would fix it. I know Searcy warrants his guns for life.