FIT FOR A KING: MERKEL’S K3 STUTZEN

Real riflemen know many rifles, but in truth, love none. They’ll bear the sorrow of some, and with others, have fun. Eventually, they’ll always find and run home to one they truly trust. Rifleman are all different, skipping among rifles like a gypsy moves from place to place, looking for that perfection that always seems to be just past the next crossroads.

But, sometimes, that special rifle will fall into their hands. For many, it never happens. For most, it takes half a century or more.

My son was lucky: He found his at the tender age of 19.

The Merkel K3 is a single-shot rifle with a Jeager tilting block that’s manufactured by Merkel Jagd- und Sportwaffen GmbH, which is located in Suhl, Thuringia (in Germany). Merkel has been manufacturing weapons since 1905. They’re currently distributed in the United States by