Fuhrmann,
A couple of others have said that the cheek-piece design was reminiscent of 19th century arms they had seen as well. I think we can agree that whoever ordered this gun was not your "Average Joe", as we say in the USA. He apparently was well to do and certainly didn't have a problem spending his money on engraving though gravur schiesst nicht (I like that one). This gun is also a little more "custom" than what we typically see, at least its not the norm for a Suhl gun, telling us that he was particular about what he wanted in a stock design, not just measurement. We will likely never know if his choice in grip specifications was out of fancy or need but it certainly has prompted some interesting discussion. The LOP is long for me but the gun balances nicely. If the weather holds as it is being forecasted today I hope to get out to my range this coming Sunday (afternoon) and finally see how it shoots. I'm crossing my fingers that right off the two rifle barrels group on a horizontal plain. If they do I'll see what if anything has to be done by way of custom loading to bring the two groups barrel distance apart. I wont know for sure until I shoot it but its hard for me to imagine Bernhard Merkel letting anything he made leave his shop that wasnt a good shooter besides being well made.
Regards,
Mark
