Any Problems with "Heym"?

[soumya sarkar]

"Better than a new Purdy or Holland & Holland?"

What is guaranteed to be better about these weapons is the snob appeal.
No wonder, if you can add a zero to the selling price.
Unfortunately I am not at home in oil sheikh circles, then I would certainly have one too.

Obviously you pay premium for the brand, no question about it. As I have said I wonder how many of these actually see the African bush. On the other side they have lot of manual work, engraving etc and depending on the engraver deserves further premium. A hand Chiseled work on a Purdy I saw retailed for $325 K, one of the drivers being it was engraved by Phil and Simon Coggan (arguably one of the finest engravers, I'm told) Similarly a work by Paul Grifnee will command a premium over the others, so it depends...

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

When I visited Rigby's I saw their master engraver, I forget his name, putting the finishing touches to a portrait of Frederick Courteney Selous on the rear square bridge of a Big Bore for Big Game rifle, on an area of no more than 19mm x 19mm. He was working through a lighted magnifying head set using a tiny little tapping hammer. The picture was amazing, like the plush of a persian carpet it changed shade as you moved your head from side to side. I was as fascinated by the intricacy of the work as I was by the thought of who would have commissioned and paid for this? When you get to this level I suppose you already have the Aston, but this isn't about showing off, few would ever see it, fewer still would even know who was depicted there. But he, or she knew. I also noticed that this was a double square bridge rifle....

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Personally know of a brand new Heym in 500 N.E that double discharged, brand new out of the box after the hunter used the rear trigger first.
A lot of finger pointing between Heym and store that sold the rifle. Heym offered to "repair" the rifle once their gunsmith visited the country for one of the local outdoor shows. First of all, I would not accept a repair in this case.
I can find out, but don' think that the issue has been resolved, and this happened about 3-4 years ago.

Was recently talking to an African white hunter of mine on the phone and we casually brought this topic up. Apparently Heym said that the rifle was fine and that the rear trigger should never be pulled first ?

Is this true ?

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Was recently talking to an African white hunter of mine on the phone and we casually brought this topic up. Apparently Heym said that the rifle was fine and that the rear trigger should never be pulled first ?

Is this true ?

Which part of the question are you asking for clarification on? Whether Heym said the rifle was fine, or if one should never pull the rear trigger first? If its the latter, then nonsense.
Having the ability to switch between barrels is one of the purposes of carrying a double. Personally, I shoot my front trigger first, but I know many who fire the rear trigger first in order to avoid strumming the triggers.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Which part of the question are you asking for clarification on? Whether Heym said the rifle was fine, or if one should never pull the rear trigger first? If its the latter, then nonsense.
Having the ability to switch between barrels is one of the purposes of carrying a double. Personally, I shoot my front trigger first, but I know many who fire the rear trigger first in order to avoid strumming the triggers.

Obviously whether really Heym said that the rifle was fine and whether they really said that the fault lay in firing a particular barrel first.

I 100% agree with you. A key advantage of using a double is to have a soft point in one chamber and a solid in the other chamber. And being able to decide which barrel to fire first. If the manufacturer stipulates that a particular trigger must be pulled first, then they definitely won't be having me as a customer.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Obviously whether really Heym said that the rifle was fine and whether they really said that the fault lay in firing a particular barrel first.

I 100% agree with you. A key advantage of using a double is to have a soft point in one chamber and a solid in the other chamber. And being able to decide which barrel to fire first. If the manufacturer stipulates that a particular trigger must be pulled first, then they definitely won't be having me as a customer.

They offered to repair the rifle through one of their gunsmiths visiting one of our local hunting shows.
The stock broke through the entire process and I think they managed to replace that.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

They offered to repair the rifle through one of their gunsmiths visiting one of our local hunting shows.
The stock broke through the entire process and I think they managed to replace that.

What had Heym attributed the problem to ?

 

[Daniel Cary]

Anyone have an 88 willing to part with?

Thank You,

 

[soumya sarkar]

Contact Chris, he had one in .375

 

[Safari Dave]

I got a Heym 88B in .470 NE back in 2000. It doubled on me when I pulled the rear trigger first, shortly after I got it. I staggered around "punch drunk" for about 30 minutes.

I sent it back to New England Custom Guns and they tweaked the sear of the action of the other barrel.

I used a dummy round in the right barrel for a year to regain confidence and it has never happened again.

Every gun can have issues, but I think a Heym is the best double available.

 

[Pondoro]

I got a Heym 88B in .470 NE back in 2000. It doubled on me when I pulled the rear trigger first, shortly after I got it. I staggered around "punch drunk" for about 30 minutes.

I sent it back to New England Custom Guns and they tweaked the sear of the action of the other barrel.

I used a dummy round in the right barrel for a year to regain confidence and it has never happened again.

Every gun can have issues, but I think a Heym is the best double available.

The rifle doubled on you and still you claim Heym is the best around..? Strange logic..

 

[soumya sarkar]

Every gun can have issues, but I think a Heym is the best double

Best in the price range pushing 25K?

OR better than H&H, Purdey, Rigby and WR?

 

[sureshot375]

The rifle doubled on you and still you claim Heym is the best around..? Strange logic..

I doubt there is any manufacture of dangerous game double rifles that hasn’t had one of the rifles double and need to be repaired.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

I doubt there is any manufacture of dangerous game double rifles that hasn’t had one of the rifles double and need to be repaired.

Exactly! Anything man made may have a problem. Additionally, those problems that one hears about were caused by what? Human error fanning a second trigger? Dirty and/or rusted action? Shooting loads the gun wasn't designed or tested for? The list goes on and on...

I heard or read on the Internet that someone had a problem with a Ford F-150. Does that mean that my pickup will have the same problem? Probably not. If however I learn of multiple occurrences of the same or similar problem, then I will investigate my truck.

Someone got food poisoning from eating a McDonalds burger somewhere in the world. While I may have caution until I learn of the cause, the 999,999 other similar burgers sold on the day in question did not result in food poisoning. Hmmm, could the cause be human error such as a dirty kitchen, a "lot" (batch) of tainted meat or condiments, of a person that got food poisoning from another source and wants to sue McDonalds? Only a detailed investigation/analysis will reveal the source or possible sources.

To judge an otherwise good product of high reputation to be faulty based on one occurrence that someone hears about or reads on the Internet is frankly, silly.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

Per my above post, if others want to believe all Heym doubles are faulty, then please do so. As the demand for them decreases, their price will decrease. I will then buy them, all of them that funds will allow. When the naysayers realize there "sky is falling" is nothing but a fairy tale, the demand for Heyms will increase. At that time, if financially motivated enough, I may sell off those Heym doubles at a profit.

 

[soumya sarkar]

The post was about a Heym doubling,probably a new 88B in year 2000. OP said he sent the gun for repair and it was fixed. Many of the things that you write are assumptions and far fetched from truth. I have handled a Heym, they are great rifles probably one of the best in its category but I'd hesitate to call them the best all around rifle especially compared to London's best.
It could well be in OP and yours eyes and that is fine but that does not mean you call out others that don't agree with you and OP's.

BTW there are pictures of a Heym action cracking open somewhere in this forum resulting in some injuries...

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

The post was about a Heym doubling,probably a new 88B in year 2000. OP said he sent the gun for repair and it was fixed. Many of the things that you write are assumptions and far fetched from truth.

Wow! Far fetched? I think not. You just keep bad mouthing Heym doubles and drive down their prices...

Did I write that Heym doubles are the best doubles ever made? No, but overall they are the highest quality double that I can afford.

The Heym that reportedly doubled was not the OP's, it was his PH's. I am not doubting the OP but it wasn't his gun, nor him shooting it.
Did the PH'd gun double? Probably. I doubled a Chapuis but I accept it was my operating error.
I have shot my 1986 Heym 88B a recorded 500 rounds in the last two years. Lord knows how many rounds the previous owner shot it. No problems with my Heym. One item does not however make a good sample set for a statistic analysis. Ten is normally a minimum and 50 is far better than 10.

Did one Heym frame crack from firing Lord knows what for ammunition? There are photos of a cracked frame.

Do we have reports from long term members who regularly provide positive contributions to this forum that their Heym double and/or frames crack?

Hearsay from me? Nope, just stating facts, or lack there of. In a court of law stating that someone told you of an incident would normally be hearsay. All the lawyers reading this please correct me if I am wrong.

Also, all those members who have personally had their Heym double please join. I really want used Heym prices to fall.

 

[rookhawk]

The rifle doubled on you and still you claim Heym is the best around..? Strange logic..

So the Heym isn't the best around as that's way too broad a statement. (Two of them behind me in a cabinet as I write this, a third I sold). The Heym is the least expensive double rifle in the world that has the RELIABILITY and ACCURACY on par with a London Best.

Saying it a different way, it's the least expensive double rifle in the world that many people would bet their life upon.

Saying it yet another way from another angle, It's a lot of gun for $25,000.

Saying it a final way from an aesthetic perspective. While the 88B was a Fugly gun compared to an English designed weapon, it is well crafted and meets all reasonable requirements other than attractiveness. Obviously with the recent 89B the Fugliness of their design was resolved by creating an Anglo-aesthetic version of a similar action.

Postscript: I feel quite youthful today being able to us the word Fugly in a sentence.

 

[sureshot375]

Per my above post, if others want to believe all Heym doubles are faulty, then please do so. As the demand for them decreases, their price will decrease. I will then buy them, all of them that funds will allow. When the naysayers realize there "sky is falling" is nothing but a fairy tale, the demand for Heyms will increase. At that time, if financially motivated enough, I may sell off those Heym doubles at a profit.

I never thought of it like that. So what I meant to say is that Heym rifles are the absolute worst. Total garbage. If you own one you should sell it now. If you own an 89b in 500/416 with a set of shotgun barrels you should probably sell it to me immediately for scrap value.

 

[rookhawk]

I never thought of it like that. So what I meant to say is that Heym rifles are the absolute worst. Total garbage. If you own one you should sell it now. If you own an 89b in 500/416 with a set of shotgun barrels you should probably sell it to me immediately for scrap value.

I'll be happy to scrap one of mine. $38k and this can be yours to melt down into base components.