I realize that this is from last year, I found it while doing general research on a Merkel. I thought I would post the procedure in case someone else did a search on it. I do this every year or so on my Merkels to give them a deep cleaning - or every time they get rained on.
Remove fore end and barrels. Release the hammers. Remove the back screw on the trigger guard and rotate the trigger guard off the receiver. Remove the large screw under the trigger guard. Remove the two screws on the bottom of the receiver. If the triggerplate does not drop out, tap a wooden dowel on the plate, through the top of the receiver between the action flats and it should come out.
The buttstock will now come off easily.
