The Merkel 280 and 360 models (28 / 410) are nice and trim in my opinion, yeah, not as silky trim as a fine English or Italian 28 or 410 but still quite racy. Even the 16s are not bad because several of them are built on 20 bore frames (the 1620 series).
The levels of engraving vary depending on the engraver. I have a catalog from the mid 2000s and all the engravers are pictured in the back along with their years of experience. You can definitely see the difference on the more experience engraved guns.
I enjoy using mine and shoot them well, but truthfully not as well as my Spanish and Italian sidelocks with longer 29" barrels. I feel they are fun to shoot, will last a lifetime, and are a reasonably good investment as they do not cost a fortune to get into. The 28s and 410s sell very quickly on the used market.
