doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion German & Austrian Sporting Guns @ doublegunshop.com GDR Merkel SXS Information wanted

Re: "The West German SAUERs were a different model altogether and not like the older SAUERs"

Thanks, this helps ....but muddies the water at the same time. If the West German Sauer is "a different model altogether" then why is it nearly identical to the East German Merkel? The West German Sauer Model VIII that I have is a virtual twin of the East German Merkel, except of course, that it is much better made, better wood, much better fit and finish overall...but the basic architecture of the gun is identical. Something is missing in this history as outlined in the postings above..I guess I'll need to actually see an East German Sauer (or Fortuna?) to notice the differences....also...are these Merkels worth anything and is there a model number for this gun?