The standard options I offer for leather-covered pads and stock bending for left-handed shooters are available for Merkel shotguns.

Additionally, the Merkel Model 16 gauge is offered with a choice of single or double triggers; straight English or pistol grip; a combination 16/20 gauge barrel set; plus a variety of trim options in "E" and "EL" Models.

The Merkel 1620 features quality oil finished walnut, case hardened receiver with light Arabesque engraving and Holland & Holland ejectors. List price: $4,995. Sale priced, while current supply lasts, $4,495.

The Merkel Model 1620E features quality oil finished walnut, coin finished receiver with hand engraved game scene, Holland & Holland ejectors. List price: $5,995. Sale priced, while current supply lasts, $5,395.

The Merkel Model 1620EL features "Luxury Grade" oil finished walnut, coin finished receiver with hand engraved game scene, Holland & Holland ejectors. List price: $7,695. Sale priced, while current supply lasts, $6,995.

The Merkel Model 1620SL is a true side lock gun (no single trigger option on this model) with "Luxury Grade" oil finished walnut, coin finished sideplates with hand engraved game scenes and Holland & Holland ejectors. List price: $11,595. Sale priced, while current supply lasts, $10,495.

Sale pricing also applies to Merkel's small frame Model 280 Petite 28 gauge and Model 360 .410 side-by-sides and is limited to stock on hand.

The Merkel 280 and 360 series small frame side-by-sides built on an Anson and Deely boxlock, Greener cross-bolt with double under barrel locking lugs. Both single (non-selective) and double trigger are available with Holland & Holland automatic ejectors. Oil finished, Turkish walnut is used for the English straight grip and splinter forearm, with Luxury grade wood on EL models. Standard stock dimensions are: 1-1/2” x 2-9/16” x 14-3/8” with 1/4” cast-off. Barrels are 28” long and choked M/F in .410 and IC/M in 28 gauge. The .410’s are chambered are for 3” shells, the 28’s for 2-3/4” shells.

Pricing on all Model 280 and 360 grades

EL Grade top-of-the-line with hand-engraved receiver (as shown) with Luxury Grade wood.
List price: $7,695, sale priced at . . . . $6,925 + $75 S&H

E Grade with hand engraved hunting scenes on silver-grayed receiver. List price: $5,995, sale priced at . . $5,395 + $75 S&H

Model 280 or 360 with scroll engraved case hardened receiver.
List price: $4,995, sale priced at . . . . . $4,495 + $75 S&H

Choke changes: While fixed chokes -- like Improved Cylinder/Modified -- found on S&W, Grulla and Merkel shotguns work well for a lot of hunters, they are less than ideal for working in close cover or over close-working dogs in the field.
I discussed this situation with Briley and they came up with some ideas that you might want to consider:

First suggestion: They will open your 20 gauge fixed choked shotgun to any chokes you want -- Cyl/Cyl, Cyl/Sk 1, Sk1/Sk2, etc. They are also capable of back-boring barrels to increase the effective constriction to maybe M/F from IC/M. So there are a lot of possibilities, depending on your needs. They charge $95 per barrel, plus S&H.

Second suggestion: A complete set of five 20-gauge Briley screw-in chokes -- any choke constrictions you want --is probably the most flexible choice. This service runs $399 (other gauges cost more) plus S&H.

Briley’s phone number is 800-331-5718. Briley offers a good, professional service so you don’t have to have any concern there.
The potential downside to altering you shotgun is that this will void your warranty from the manufacturer. That’s not necessarily a deterent, but it’s a situation of which you should be aware.

A dynamite new product now offered as an option. The NECG (New England Custom Gun) Universal Recoil Pad solves a problem that has plagued birdhunters for years. The length of pull requirements vary with the season. Shooting doves or quail in your shirt sleeves with, say, a 14-1/4" LOP might suit you to a "T", but chasing last-season birds with snow on the ground while wearing an insulated parka calls for a LOP a quarter-inch shorter.

The heart of the NECG Universal Recoil Pad is a unique Quick-Lok locking system that lets you change pads in twenty seconds. We install the system to your "summer" LOP length and furnish a second "winter" pad, a quarter-inch shorter than "summer."

The pads are the highest quality soft rubber, so they do what they are supposed to do in absorbing recoil. They feature a classically styled leather grained face, so they won't hang up on your shirt or shooting coat on the way to your shoulder. And because the pads are available in thicknesses of 1-1/4" and 1-1/2" we can easily lengthen butt stocks that are too short.

Cost for installation of the NECG Universal Recoil System, complete with two pads, shipping and handling $525.

Optional Leather covered Decelerator™ Recoil Pad -- a six-pound gun offers little protection in the way of recoil absorption, so a recoil pad makes sense. My pads are covered with hand-sewn black leather by an experienced gunfitter. They are not only look beautiful, but they utilize the recoil absorption power of the Decelerator™ pad, yet will not hang up on the way to your shoulder. The further benefit is that they can be custom fitted to your length of pull requirements -- as long as 15" if desired -- at no extra charge.

Price: $450. Your gun is shipped to the gunfitter who completes the pad work, then drop-ships the gun to your FFL holder.

When a right-handed shooter with a dominant right eye brings it up to his shoulder the gun is pointing where he is looking. Cast-off is what makes instinctive shooting possible for him. You keep your focus on the flushed bird and when you bring the gun up to your should you don't have to find the sight plane or associate the front sight with the departing bird because the gun is pointing to where you are looking.

This eliminates a head-fake on your part and clips maybe five yards off the distance the departing bird is trying to put between him and you.

However, when a left-handed shooter cheeks a cast-off or cast-neutral stock, he pushes the butt stock to the left and down so he shoots a couple of feet to the right and high. The only time they "get lucky" is on a rising bird that flushes to the right.

Trust me, if you are left-handed with a dominant left eye, having the stock bent to accomodate your shooting requirements is the best $400 investment you'll ever make. It will change your life.

How to order: Basically, I need payment (check or money order, no plastic) and a copy of someone's Federal Firearms License (FFL) where I can ship your gun. Fax copies of FFL's are now legal. Your dealer should put your name on his license, so I can match it up with your order. I will enclose a copy of my license for your dealer when I ship your gun.