Initial barrel offerings in the U.S. are standard short calibers: .243 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, .308 Winchester; standard calibers: .270 Winchester and .30-06; magnums: .270 WSM, 7mm Remington Magnum, .300 WSM and .300 Winchester Magnum. Standard barrels are 20 or 22 inches; magnum barrels are 22 or 24 inches. All barrels are fitted with open sights, with additional barrels priced at $795. The basic rifle, in Premium grade with one barrel and the SAM scope mount, is $2,495 in standard calibers and $2,695 in magnums.

The KR-1 is seen here broken down into its main components.

The initial barrel selection offers considerable flexibility in a switch-barrel rifle. You could pair up a .243 barrel with any of the other choices and have, literally, a rifle for all seasons. Or you could select something faster and flatter like the .270 Winchester or .270 WSM with one of the .30 calibers.

Of course, this rifle doesn’t have to have interchangeable barrels to be interesting. It’s a good hunting rifle in any of the offerings. Also, part of the attraction of a factory-available interchangeable-barrel rifle is that you can start with one chambering and add more as need or budget dictate. Chances are that there will be more choices available in the future, especially since a quick check of Merkel’s website (www.merkel-waffen.de) suggests that our European counterparts have quite a few other useful options, including .22 centerfires, .338 Winchester Magnum—and some interesting metrics, including 7x57, 8x64 and 9.3x62.

Given time, and the popularity the rifle deserves, barrel options will increase. In the meantime, the test rifle came with .30-06 and 7mm Remington Magnum barrels. This combination would not be my personal choice in a switch-barrel rifle because the hunting applications of the two cartridges are very similar (if not identical). The point, however, and my request to Merkel, was to play with a rifle with a standard barrel and a belted magnum barrel, and for test purposes this obviously redundant combination filled the bill perfectly.

In order to remove the barrel, you must remove the magazine and the locking housing, then loosen the two hex-head screws in the forward bottom metal. The barrel then simply lifts out.

As I said, I needed to read the directions carefully before attempting switching barrels. Once you understand it, it’s quite simple: Drop the hinged floorplate, remove the magazine, remove the locking housing (with bolt), undo the two hex-head screws forward of the magazine well, and the barrel simply lifts out. Place the second barrel in the channel, tighten the screws, and reverse the procedure. The only tricky part comes if you’re changing between standard case-head diameters and magnums. Then it’s critical to make sure that the proper locking housing or locking bolt head is in place, likewise the proper magazine. Assembly is equally simple, and the parts are well marked. The bolt head is clearly inscribed on the top “ST” for standard cartridges and “M” for magnum. Even I couldn’t screw it up, but you’d better remember.

The test rifle had barrels in 7mm Remington Magnum and .30-06. To switch between magnum and standard calibers you must have, in addition to the barrel, an additional locking bolt head (or complete locking housing, as shown) and a magazine.

Switching back and forth between the 7mm Remington Magnum and .30-06 barrels, the rifle produced decent groups between 3/4 inch and 1 1/2 inches with each barrel, group size varying with the loads. On the bench, the single-set trigger made the rifle extremely easy to shoot. With just one scope, it was necessary to switch the scope from barrel to barrel. The zero was not the same (why should it be?), but with the same barrel the mount was absolutely repeatable. Whether you’re looking for a top-quality interchangeable-barrel rifle or just a top-quality rifle, Merkel’s KR-1 fits the bill. I hope it achieves the popularity it deserves.