Germany · 2006–2018

Merkel KR1

Out of production

Specifications

Maker: Merkel
Type: Rifle
Action: Bolt action
Era: Current (2000–)
Produced: 2006–2018
Magazine: 4 rounds
Swedish class: 1, 2

Chambered in

.243 Winchester
.308 Winchester
.30-06 Springfield
9.3×62

Stock

Wood

What it is worth

Value unknown

No published price was found for this model. Rather than estimate one from a comparable gun, the compendium leaves it blank.

Chapter 01

Overview

The KR1 — for Kurzrepetierer — was Merkel’s switch-barrel bolt rifle, presented in 2005, two years after Heckler & Koch took over the company. Gun Mart found it compact, light and handy, and hard not to compare with the Blaser R93.

Chapter 02

How it works

It is a turn-bolt with a six-lug head locking directly into the barrel, carried in an alloy bolt carrier on an inner chassis instead of a conventional receiver; two studs under the chamber draw the barrel down, and it returns to zero after a change. The four-round magazine loads from the top and comes out with the bottom metal for calibre changes, the bolt lifts about 60°, and the trigger is a single set.

Chapter 03

Variants

In the United States the rifle came in a Premium grade with partial scroll engraving, with the Jena (full scroll) and Weimar (hand-chiselled game scenes) grades above it. A left-hand version is simply a carrier with the handle on the left and the ejector and extractor reversed.

Chapter 04

In the field

One rifle can cover a season: barrels of the same case-head size swap with two hex screws, while going from standard calibres to belted magnums also needs the matching bolt head and magazine. RifleShooter’s .30-06 and 7mm Rem Mag barrels grouped between 3/4 and 1 1/2 inches; the scope mount returned to zero on the same barrel, but each barrel needs its own zero.

Sources

Written from: Merkel KR1 — Gun Mart, Merkel KR-1 — RifleShooter, Merkel Jagd- und Sportwaffen — Wikipedia (de) — read 2026-10-29

Cross-reference