Merkel 500 ne

[Lyleedward]

I’m having a bit of a problem with warranty on my 500 double. It doubled fired sent it back to the importer here in Australia Mialls gun shop Over a year ago. Every time I ring they are waiting for parts. I have sent many emails to Merkel asking them to hurry them up but they won’t even reply to me. I’m staring to love my Krieghoff 470 better. Anyone else had this lack of help from Merkel?

 

[Rare Breed]

no but your problem is a broken Sear. i had to send mine in 470 NE to JJ Perodeau to fix it versus depending on Merkle

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

I’m having a bit of a problem with warranty on my 500 double. It doubled fired sent it back to the importer here in Australia Mialls gun shop Over a year ago. Every time I ring they are waiting for parts. I have sent many emails to Merkel asking them to hurry them up but they won’t even reply to me. I’m staring to love my Krieghoff 470 better. Anyone else had this lack of help from Merkel?

Merkel's after sales service is non existent. Find a good gunsmith and get the job done.
How long have you had the rifle?

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I've seen 4 Merkel double rifles develop double discharging problems over the years (up until now). At one time, Merkel's response to the aggrieved customer was to simply "Always fire the left barrel first".

 

[JvW]

Yes, unfortunately Merkel has a bit of a reputation for after-sales problems. Double discharging seems to be one of the biggest problems, but I've also seen one .500 NE of which the chambers were off-centre. No quick fix with that one, and I cannot recall what the owner did with the rifle.

 

[Rare Breed]

JJ told me the sear

no but your problem is a broken Sear. i had to send mine in 470 NE to JJ Perodeau to fix it versus depending on Merkle

completely eliminated a double discharge but found it was broken a lot and just needed to be fixed. it was a small charge and problem fixed. i would not take any of my DRs to a local gun smith…take it to an expert who knows them like JJ or Ken Owen

 

[Lyleedward]

Merkel's after sales service is non existent. Find a good gunsmith and get the job done.
How long have you had the rifle?

3 years now 2 at hm 1 at gun shop waiting.

 

[BeeMaa]

Always loved the Krieghoff double rifle.

Not that there's anything wrong with owning several double rifles, but what will a 500NE do that a 470NE can't? Is there an inherent advantage to the half incher?

 

[SFRanger7GP]

Merkel's after sales service is non existent. Find a good gunsmith and get the job done.
How long have you had the rifle?

This! I had oversight of a factory that was close to the US rep/distributor for Merkel in Alabama. When I had to go to the factory, I always made time to visit Merkel USA. They treated me well and I bought my first double and a pair of single shot rifles from them that we still have. I have owned several other Merkel firearms as well. Thankfully, I have never had an issue with any of them. I reached out to the factory several times about barrels, accessories, etc. No answer. Ever. I asked Merkel USA about their failure to respond, and they replied, "they never answer us either!!"

Safe shooting

 

[Lyleedward]

This! I had oversight of a factory that was close to the US rep/distributor for Merkel in Alabama. When I had to go to the factory, I always made time to visit Merkel USA. They treated me well and I bought my first double and a pair of single shot rifles from them that we still have. I have owned several other Merkel firearms as well. Thankfully, I have never had an issue with any of them. I reached out to the factory several times about barrels, accessories, etc. No answer. Ever. I asked Merkel USA about their failure to respond, and they replied, "they never answer us either!!"

Safe shooting

Our distributor in Australia. (Mialls gun shop) is absolutely useless very polite but usless. They tell me parts have arrived on Monday. But of course they haven’t checked to see if mine are there. So I guess that’s going to be the next excuse.

 

[matt85]

Sounds like it's not a good idea to buy a Merkel rifle.

Heym's customer service was very responsive and my 89B in 500 NE was very well made. I've also had some great chats with the folks at Verney Carron.

-Matt

 

[Lyleedward]

Sounds like it's not a good idea to buy a Merkel rifle.

Heym's customer service was very responsive and my 89B in 500 NE was very well made. I've also had some great chats with the folks at Verney Carron.

-Matt

Yep not happy with service at all. Guns itself seems ok and once they upgrade this fault I’m sure it will be great, just absolutely no correspondence at all. I have 450/400 Merkel it’s fine. And 470 Krieghoff it would be the overall pick of the 2 makes for me.

 

[Green Chile]

Keep the Verney Carron in mind if you're shopping. Love mine in 500ne. The round body models carry very nicely.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

3 years now 2 at hm 1 at gun shop waiting.

Have you identified the issue?

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

3 years now 2 at hm 1 at gun shop waiting.

Have you identied the issue?

Sounds like it's not a good idea to buy a Merkel rifle.

Friend of mine's Heym doubled straight out the box. Last I heard was around 2 years and they still hadn't done anything towards fixing it.

 

[Daniel Cary]

I'm sorry, nothing is guaranteed.

A lot of members talked highly of K's customer service. Not to say that's a-problematic, .. just hate to hear individuals' issues.

They'll resolve it ✞

 

[Lyleedward]

Have you identified the issue?

No. I don’t think they have taken gun out of the case. The said Merkel knows what it will be and have sent the upgrade? I was going to get my gun smith to look at but he said since it a warranty claim just send it back to importer. It only double fires if u use back trigger first. I had to on charging bull as I had solid in left barrel. Forgot I had Merkel in my hands not Krieghoff. Oops.

 

[Lyleedward]

I'm sorry, nothing is guaranteed.

A lot of members talked highly of K's customer service. Not to say that's a-problematic, .. just hate to hear individuals' issues.

They'll resolve it ✞

Hi Daniel. It’s a Merkel that they are not fixing. The Krieghoff 470 is great. If that’s what u mean by K’s.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

It only double fires if u use back trigger first. I had to on charging bull as I had solid in left barrel. Forgot I had Merkel in my hands not Krieghoff. Oops.

Sounds like a sear problem. Whether you fired the front or the rear trigger first, or whether you had a soft or solid in the left barrel is a non issue and certainly not the cause of your failure. This is exactly what a double rifle is made for. You should be able to fire your right or left barrel first on demand.
Reason why I asked, I have seen front triggers on Merkels bend and gets bent so much out of shape that they eventually touch off the rear trigger, through no fault of the shooter, causing a double discharge.
Had this happen to a friend's 470 and my triggers were starting to go on my 500. Luckily noticed mine while rifle was having a new bead put on. This was due to a bad batch of triggers fitted to Merkels, as I have read of quite a few of these instances. Subsequently, replaced my triggers on the Merkel.
Saying all of this, if your mishap occurred from firing the rear trigger first, then it won't be the trigger issue, but I would have a careful look at them. By the way, got zero service from Merkel on the trigger issue. Could not even get an answer from there where to purchase new triggers.

 

[BeeMaa]

I don’t own a double rifle, but if I were on the market…Merkel would be off the list with after-sales service like this. Shameful.