Merkel 961L -Double Rifle Drilling?
- Thread starter ohiochuck
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Pine Marten
Well-Known Member
I don't have this particular gun but no drilling, double rifle, or double rifle drilling is intended to be used at 300 yards. I'd shoot my drilling confidently at 200m, but no double is intended to go beyond that.
375win
Well-Known Member
That's a lovely gun Jim. You probably know that Drillings are not the best tool for shots out to 300 yrds.
With some judicious reloading you may get acceptable accuracy.
You could email Merkel info@merkel-die-jagd.de and ask what load the rifle is regulated for.
With some judicious reloading you may get acceptable accuracy.
You could email Merkel info@merkel-die-jagd.de and ask what load the rifle is regulated for.
Jagare
Well-Known Member
They have several Merkel double rifle drilling and a few triple rifle drilling at my LGS. 200-300 yd shots, forget it. Normal driven game range excellent weapon. I have a Merkel side lock 8x57jrs double rifle that is accurate enough out too 100yds. Drilling are not made as long range weapons.
As long as the cartridges and the regulation match for the particular range...
Jagare
Well-Known Member
I've developed 3 loads that shoot extremely well in the double. One Sierra 175grn load and a 185grn fox and Lapua rounds. A new double rifle or double rifle drilling should come with the info about what ammo it was regulated with. With a bit of time and effort it's not to hard to work up a hand load that shoots well.
'Accuracy' is an interesting concept here. It'll be regulated for a particular load so that the barrels shoot together at a particular range. If the barrels like that load, it should shoot with commensurate precision (i.e. grouping from each barrel from cold) at any range. The interesting thing will the the relationship between points of aim and points of impact.
As Pine Marten says, a 'normal' triplet, with its single central rifle and a load it likes and from cold should be fine at normal sporting rifle distances.
With an o/u double-rifle shooting beyond the range at which it's regulated to shoot together I guess it's sensible to pick a barrel (most likely the one with the set trigger if fitted - the bottom one) and either set your sights or know your hold-off accordingly. The double-rifle-triplet is a s/s double-rifle in effect, so the cross-over is not just vertical, but also horizontal - so perhaps rather more of a challenge at longer range?
As Pine Marten says, a 'normal' triplet, with its single central rifle and a load it likes and from cold should be fine at normal sporting rifle distances.
With an o/u double-rifle shooting beyond the range at which it's regulated to shoot together I guess it's sensible to pick a barrel (most likely the one with the set trigger if fitted - the bottom one) and either set your sights or know your hold-off accordingly. The double-rifle-triplet is a s/s double-rifle in effect, so the cross-over is not just vertical, but also horizontal - so perhaps rather more of a challenge at longer range?
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
My experience of shooting a combination gun in 16 over 7x65r, that also has an Einstecklauf in 7x65r to turn it into a double rifle is as follows.
1) the main rifle barrel is MOA accurate provided the barrel is cold and the gun is held firmly and recoil is managed. I am perfectly happy shooting deer sized animals at 200. On the range we have a 5” diameter gong on a roe target at 300. I can hit this reasonably easily, but not well enough that I would take a shot on a roe at that range. As the barrel warms though shots go higher. In practice first shot is what counts, a second shot can be taken quickly enough and accurate enough. But its not a culling rifle.
I am using a 140gn RWS HIT ammo that is flat shooting - think 270win.
8x57r won’t be as flat so you need to take into drops.
2) With The Einstecklauf barrel, it is also accurate and I can dial it shoot close to bottom barrel point of aim. Its more than adequate for 50ish range targets for a quick one two type shooting on bigger animals.
But I wouldn’t use it to take a 200 type shot.
All multiple barrel rifles / combinations where barrels are soldered together will usually shoot accurately enough from one barrel for longer range shots. But how they shoot both barrels for longer range really depends on how they are set up / regulated.
An Austrian friend has a Blaser Bochdrilling - This has a 30 Blaser in bottom barrel, 20 bore top and a 222 on the side. The barrels are free floating and can be adjusted to shoot to same point of aim.
Its mounted with a Swarovski scope with dial able turrets. I have seen it used to shoot marmots at good distances with the 222 barrel and chamois with the 300 blaser.
1) the main rifle barrel is MOA accurate provided the barrel is cold and the gun is held firmly and recoil is managed. I am perfectly happy shooting deer sized animals at 200. On the range we have a 5” diameter gong on a roe target at 300. I can hit this reasonably easily, but not well enough that I would take a shot on a roe at that range. As the barrel warms though shots go higher. In practice first shot is what counts, a second shot can be taken quickly enough and accurate enough. But its not a culling rifle.
I am using a 140gn RWS HIT ammo that is flat shooting - think 270win.
8x57r won’t be as flat so you need to take into drops.
2) With The Einstecklauf barrel, it is also accurate and I can dial it shoot close to bottom barrel point of aim. Its more than adequate for 50ish range targets for a quick one two type shooting on bigger animals.
But I wouldn’t use it to take a 200 type shot.
All multiple barrel rifles / combinations where barrels are soldered together will usually shoot accurately enough from one barrel for longer range shots. But how they shoot both barrels for longer range really depends on how they are set up / regulated.
An Austrian friend has a Blaser Bochdrilling - This has a 30 Blaser in bottom barrel, 20 bore top and a 222 on the side. The barrels are free floating and can be adjusted to shoot to same point of aim.
Its mounted with a Swarovski scope with dial able turrets. I have seen it used to shoot marmots at good distances with the 222 barrel and chamois with the 300 blaser.
The o/u double with have vertical POI/POA changes with range off its regulation range. I've no experience of a Bockdrilling, but with one barrel off the to the side I guess it an be regulated to a particular range after or before which there will be horizontal as well as vertical differences between POI and POA for the little rifle - rather like a s/s double, or Doppelbüchdrilling?
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
Probably, but the owner of the bochdrilling likes his dialling so has developed dialling charts for both barrels. It also has a bipod.
Sounds complicated - but if it works for him...
I guess you'd have to do something similar with any double-rifle far beyond the regulation range - unless you can remember the hold-offs.
Which shots are from which barrel?
Jagare
Well-Known Member
Right hand pair from the righthand barrel.Left hand pair from the left hand barrel. When I did the load development I took a photo of the group from the final load .All the photos are on my old computer. I have got the targets for each final load in a folder somewhere but as I moved house a short while ago and am suffering from man flu I have no idea where that folder is lurking.
HonestJohn
Well-Known Member
The barrels will be set to converge - so I guess that will be at a particular distance.
However, they are set to converge so that they shoot together with a particular load at a particular distance. That distance is AFAIK historically 25-50yds for heavy dangerous game rifles, and 100yds/m for lighter-bore (9,3x74R and smaller) specimens.
If you look at Jagare's 50m diagram, you'll see that the barrels are shooting slightly worse than bullet-on-bullet for each barrel, but that the points of impact are an inch or so apart - which is neither here nor in practice, so that's grand. A 75m and 100m diagrams would be interesting to see, too!
My understanding of a double's performance at the regulated range for a particular load would be that the two barrels would produce a composite group of, for example, three shots from each fired within 6seconds of each other from cold. By 'composite group', I mean that by looking at the group you wouldn't be able to tell which shot came from which barrel.
Jagare
Well-Known Member
Three different loads all have been used on driven days and taken ,boar ,red and fallow plus a fox on the last hunt.I thought I had a copy of a 100mtr target, it must be on my old computer, that shows a group that would be quite acceptable for stalking but for normal stalking I would choose my Mauser M03 every time. Driven days its the double that is taken out.
I was thinking the same.
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