Very interesting thread! Two years ago I picked up a Merkel 1620 EL when I was in the LL Bean gunroom in Maine. As soon as I picked it up I knew I had to have one - it was a delicious gun. The Bean price was very high and they wouldn't budge a dime so I got one somewhere else, had the stock fitted to me and it has become my favorite gun for upland birds. The Merkel 1620 is built on their 20ga frame and my 1620 is lighter than my Merkel 20ga which I rarely use anymore.

It's the only 16 ga I own but it's the gun I shoot most. I get most of my shells from B&P.