hopefully not derailing this thread, i am trying to find information on merkel #14,351, brought in by a.f.stoeger during their time as importer. gun is a 12ga 200e, proofed in 8/26 (happy 100th b-day!) that on the left frame has a pigeon with both wings severed , and MARKE TAUBE. obviously made for pigeon shooters, and i wonder if it was a special run for stoeger.
recently have found another example:
https://reddingauction.com/item/406...ger-12ga-over-under-trap-pigeon-shotgun/ this gun is very similar (#14,263), differing mainly that mine has the typical fancyback contour, and is much lower mileage.
on one hand it would seem that the marke taube name would mean german market, but i have found nothing to support this notion...and if it were stoeger's concept, why would they use the german term?
any insight would be appreciated.
best regards
