I'd like to see something like earn x amount of merit in y period, and you can post there.
If they need merit for being able to post in bounty section, they have to make post in other boards and we will probably see more spam in the forum. It's also possible we will see more abuse of the merit system. I don't like encouraging them to post outside bounty section.
The bounty hunters I noticed are like a strong force of spammers in the forum who prefer to enjoy their board while making some funds too. The merit system pushed them away from the other forum boards, where spam is not needed, if they get such a demand on their side it'll drive them away from the forum or attract some hunters to mess up the serenity of the forum, either manually or with bots. So, with such activities and posts counts of the above user, I don't think the merit system led to the departure of some members in the forum, as these people have nothing to bother about merits since their line of work in the forum doesn't demand it, unless they want to switch and join signature campaign.