I have three pre war Simson guns I consider among my favorites. One is a light weight 16 gauge O/U gun that does indeed appear to be very similar to a Merkel design, the other two are nicely engraved S x S 16's, well above "entry" level guns but not elaborate, very similar to Sauer designs, and they all handle and shoot like a dream. Remember that Simson was the largest gun maker in pre war Europe, much larger than either Sauer or Merkel, this according to published materials from the GGCA. The designs might be similar to Merkel, or to Sauer, but I believe they were original to Simson. They cetainly had the ability and capability to design their own stuff, being that large.
