I talked to the gunsmith at Merkel USA today. He was not an advocate of bending stocks on Merkels, as his experience was that the wood is typically difficult to bend. As a result, some gunsmiths get overly enthusiatic and damage the stock, bend the stock away from the action and/or the bend does not hold. I have heard that English walnut bends more easily than other types of walnut - I wonder if the walnut used by Merkel is more resistant to bending.
I took the gun to NECG this afternoon to get their opinion (the recent discussion about Mike Orlen left me uneasy about sending the job to him). Among other things, they will refinish the wrist where the first gunsmith managed to discolor the finish, presumably as a result of overheating the wood. Despite the recommendations I received, I will not be sending any more work to British Sporting Arms.
