Revised "gun story" text follows. Additional comments encouraged. I want to get this both CORRECT and COMPLETE. I have not understood the factory rifle testing and its results, although it is discussed somewhat above in comments already posted. Perhaps someone can help here.

Two original Merkel “Factory Gun Cards” for this gun have been provided by Merkel to the present Owner. These cards have been interpreted from German to English in summary form by Merkel and in additional detail by a German gun enthusiast now living in Bonn, Germany. These gun cards followed the gun’s component parts through the assembly lines, and the Merkel master craftsmen documented its fabrication and testing each step of the way. The following gun information comes from the gun cards.

The gun as originally configured was completed on 21 August 1928. It was originally a 16 gauge over-under (O/U) shotgun, with just one O/U barrel, and did not have an extra combination (combo) gun barrel. The gun has serial number (SN) 16141, marked on the removable forearm and the barrel. The O/U shotgun barrel has a 2-3/4” chamber and shoots modern 2-3/4” shot shells but not magnum shells. The original stock length was 368 mm (14.5 inches) and this is still the case. The stock has a butt plate made of buffalo horn. The trigger guard is also made of buffalo horn. The front sight is made of ivory (elephant tusk). The barrel was completed in the Merkel factory in Suhl, Germany on 06 August 1928. The stock and its attachment to the action were completed on 15 August 1928. The gun was weighed on 21 August 1928 to be 6 pounds (2.7 kg). It is an engraved gun, Model 200E. It is documented as having “a very good shot capacity/pattern.” It was manufactured as a single order for Captain Hammer, a German Military Officer. It was delivered to its Owner on 31 August 1928.

Soon after taking possession of the gun the Owner decided he wanted to add a combo gun barrel to have both shotgun and rifle capability from the same O/U barrel. This added barrel set was completed at the Merkel factory in Suhl on 15 February 1929. The barrel set has a 2-3/4 inch 16 gauge shotgun barrel over a 7x57R cartridge rifle barrel. The combo barrel has ejectors for both shotgun and rifle. It is a Model 260E barrel. The commission number is 0339 (WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?). The added barrel is serial numbered 16141 to match the original gun, and the added barrel is also newly serial numbered 16867 to reflect it is an added item to this gun. After the added barrel was completed it was sent to the scope installation shop where it had a Zeiss Zielvier scope added as a factory original barrel enhancement. (Later these scopes later were widely used by the German Army for sniper duty.) The scope SN is 32085. The scope has an “Abkommen #5” reticle. The scope is mounted in a claw mount set with a see-through opening below the scope to sight the shotgun and the rifle via the flip-up rear iron sight in front of the front scope mount. The front trigger fires the rifle and the rear trigger fires the shotgun. The shotgun test fire in the factory indicates, “good dispersion, not scattering too much.” The added combo gun barrel was finished on 08 March 1929, and the last date entered by Merkel on the gun card was 28 March 1929, about 7 months after the original gun rolled out of the factory (31 August 1928 to 28 March 1929). The Merkel action, stock, barrel and Zeiss scope have been together now for almost 85 years. As far as known, the barrel and scope have never been separated.

In those days in Germany it was commonplace to order a 2-barrel set O/U shotgun with a combo gun barrel in the same order, or to order a second accessory barrel for the gun at a later time. The original O/U shotgun barrel serial numbered 16141 has been lost to history and its current location is unknown. The current Owner of the gun would like to find the original barrel to bring all the original parts of the gun back together. The combo barrel added a few months later in early 1929 and the original action/stock completed in late 1928 remain together, with original factory installed scope also intact. How this combo gun came to America is unknown. It is possible it was a “spoils of war” brought to America by a serviceman after World War II.

The 2 gun cards follow. Comments from readers are encouraged concerning the “gun story” above in the context of the gun cards and general knowledge of fine German guns.





TexasJack
The 2014 and 2016 elections will save or doom America's greatness. Vote.