Please educate me on the Heym89B

[Pondoro]

They look very nice and people seem to like them..this is Heyms obvious tribute to the british bolock double rifle..
But what is it..? I have not yet handeled one, to me it looks like a modern/copied PHV-1 boxlock action as made by Webley & Scott.. But is this so or are the locks different inside..? Anyone..?

 

[AZDAVE]

I unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to shoot a 88 or 89. I have a 55 for a number of years in 7x65. that said I have handled both the 88 and 89. To me the 88 feels a bit boxy and oversized. the 89 is more like a classic British double and feels better in my hands. if i were to buy a Hyem in a DG caliber it would be a 89.

 

[rookhawk]

They look very nice and people seem to like them..this is Heyms obvious tribute to the british bolock double rifle..
But what is it..? I have not yet handeled one, to me it looks like a modern/copied PHV-1 boxlock action as made by Webley & Scott.. But is this so or are the locks different inside..? Anyone..?

The Heyms are there very own actions, not copies internally of a British Boxlock. Heck, even their 88BSS sidelock is their own animal.

The 88B has a unique look and offers a few nice features like cocking indicator pins (visible detection of a loaded chamber). The 89B has the external styling of what we would call "A British rounded boxlock action".

Both are excellent, but they are Heym's creations through and through as to the internals and solely their patents.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

They look very nice and people seem to like them..this is Heyms obvious tribute to the british bolock double rifle..
But what is it..? I have not yet handeled one, to me it looks like a modern/copied PHV-1 boxlock action as made by Webley & Scott.. But is this so or are the locks different inside..? Anyone..?

Pondoro, I know that you will probably shoot me for saying this. But I actually find that a Heym Model 89B can give any of the four major English double rifle manufacturers (Holland & Holland, John Rigby, James Purdey and Westley Richards) a serious run for their money.

These things are relatively lighter than other brands of double rifles in similar calibers (and with shorter barrels), but for whatever reason (be it excellent stock fit or balancing) I have never found recoil to be unpleasant.

Externally, the action is quite similar to the Webley & Scott PHV-1 of the 1930s. But the internal workings are fairly different.

The Model 89B in up to .500 Nitro Express caliber are regulated with Hornady ammunition. The .577 Nitro Express and .600 Nitro Express variants are regulated with Labor Fur Ballistik ammunition.


The owner of Heym (Mr. Thomas Volkmann Heym) is not just a money hungry corporate CEO who thinks about how to cut corners. But rather, an extremely passionate sportsman who’s got several African Safaris under his belt.

There’s a reason why amongst all the white hunters who own currently manufactured double rifles… seven out of ten will prefer a Heym these days.

You HAVE to get one in .600 Nitro Express, my friend. You will thank me.

P.S: Heym didn’t pay me to write all this !

 

[rookhawk]

Pondoro, I know that you will probably shoot me for saying this. But I actually find that a Heym Model 89B can give any of the four major English double rifle manufacturers (Holland & Holland, John Rigby, James Purdey and Westley Richards) a serious run for their money.

These things are relatively lighter than other brands of double rifles in similar calibers (and with shorter barrels), but for whatever reason (be it excellent stock fit or balancing) I have never found recoil to be unpleasant.

Externally, the action is quite similar to the Webley & Scott PHV-1 of the 1930s. But the internal workings are fairly different.

The Model 89B in up to .500 Nitro Express caliber are regulated with Hornady ammunition. The .577 Nitro Express and .600 Nitro Express variants are regulated with Labor Fur Ballistik ammunition.


The owner of Heym (Mr. Thomas Volkmann Heym) is not just a money hungry corporate CEO who thinks about how to cut corners. But rather, an extremely passionate sportsman who’s got several African Safaris under his belt.

There’s a reason why amongst all the white hunters who own currently manufactured double rifles… seven out of ten will prefer a Heym these days.

You HAVE to get one in .600 Nitro Express, my friend. You will thank me.

P.S: Heym didn’t pay me to write all this !

@Hunter-Habib I'm surprised you glossed over the very best stopping cartridge for a desi gentleman in your reply? Where is your love for the 600/577 Rewa? Now THAT is a stopping round!

 

[Hunter-Habib]

@Hunter-Habib I'm surprised you glossed over the very best stopping cartridge for a desi gentleman in your reply? Where is your love for the 600/577 Rewa? Now THAT is a stopping round!

@rookhawk

That it is. But for some whimsical reason, the .600/577 REWA never quite captured my fascination the way the .600 Nitro Express did.

It all started when I read "O Benguela" as a little boy. I read the story of Danish hunter Karl Larson bagging seven lions with nine rounds in two minutes by using his .600 Nitro Express W.J Jeffery snap lever boxlock ejector in 1904.

I have a more tragic (in hindsight) memory with the .600 Nitro Express in 1974. When I went on my life’s first African Safari to Kenya in 1974, I had the good fortune to visit the famed Kenya Bunduki gun store in Nairobi. The secondhand rack was a double rifle lover's paradise. Best Grade English double rifles of the highest quality could be had for mere peanuts, because the sole manufacturer of Nitro Express ammunition at the time (I.C.I Kynoch) had ceased operations in 1969. I had the opportunity to purchase a very beautiful lightly used .600 Nitro Express sidelock ejector built by James Purdey & Sons in 1946 (regulated for the higher velocity 110Gr cordite loading). Along with the original rosewood case and all the cleaning accessories. For an amount of money which is less than what a Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum costs today. I didn't avail the opportunity, because I was worried about the absence of factory loaded ammunition for the .600 Nitro Express. Looking back to that day 51 years ago, I immensely regret my decision now. I could have had the most beautiful .600 Nitro Express in existence for a dirt cheap price. And I didn't take my chance. An opportunity like that never presented itself to me ever again. Due to easier availability of factory loading ammunition (or at the very least, reloading components), the demand for those double rifles has peaked again. And with it, so has prices.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

I really need to shoot a 600NE, at least a pair.

I will add that looking down the 89b it does have a more fluid, trim, rounded appearance compared to the 88b. I’m new to both and opposite end from expert to either…however I did pour over every inch, aspect, crook and cranny of my 450/400 and 470 88b’s (both Safari frames) this summer contrasting the two, and then the same between the 470 88b and 450 89b. The later being built on a Gross Box which is equivalent to the large frame in 88b. It’s still very sleek looking, not clunky at all, but when you break it open, you notice the extra meat around the chambers.

I just put it through its paces on a trip to Zimbabwe with Dalton & York, using it to take a nice old buffalo, two hippos, a warthog and bushbuck. The buff and both hippos were all taken in the 35-45yrd range. The warthog a little further and the bushbuck at 80-85 yards. It’s proven superbly accurate with a variety of bullets, and had found loads from 420gr CEB Raptors, 450gr NF softs and cupped solids, 470gr CEB Raptors and 500gr NF softs that all print around 1” or well under and have essentially the same POI at 60 yards. The widest variance is the 500gr softs hit 1.5” lower than the 450gr softs at 100 yards.

I was about to order a 500NE in the next couple weeks until I ended up trading my 470 with another forum member for a 500 88b. If I had ordered a new rifle, I would have absolutely ordered an 89b, not because I like them that much more than the 88b but because I know I tend to swap out guns at times and the 89b seems to have a higher demand these days. Talking through what I wanted to order with Sells, the first thing I asked was current difference in base price between the 88b and 89b. In the past there was a couple/few thousand difference but that has disappeared. Today, the difference in base price between the two is zero. They are the exact same price. I also really, really love the look of the 88b, maybe…just maybe…more than the 89b.

 

[Hornedfrogbbq]

I really need to shoot a 600NE, at least a pair.

I will add that looking down the 89b it does have a more fluid, trim, rounded appearance compared to the 88b. I’m new to both and opposite end from expert to either…however I did pour over every inch, aspect, crook and cranny of my 450/400 and 470 88b’s (both Safari frames) this summer contrasting the two, and then the same between the 470 88b and 450 89b. The later being built on a Gross Box which is equivalent to the large frame in 88b. It’s still very sleek looking, not clunky at all, but when you break it open, you notice the extra meat around the chambers.

I just put it through its paces on a trip to Zimbabwe with Dalton & York, using it to take a nice old buffalo, two hippos, a warthog and bushbuck. The buff and both hippos were all taken in the 35-45yrd range. The warthog a little further and the bushbuck at 80-85 yards. It’s proven superbly accurate with a variety of bullets, and had found loads from 420gr CEB Raptors, 450gr NF softs and cupped solids, 470gr CEB Raptors and 500gr NF softs that all print around 1” or well under and have essentially the same POI at 60 yards. The widest variance is the 500gr softs hit 1.5” lower than the 450gr softs at 100 yards.

I was about to order a 500NE in the next couple weeks until I ended up trading my 470 with another forum member for a 500 88b. If I had ordered a new rifle, I would have absolutely ordered an 89b, not because I like them that much more than the 88b but because I know I tend to swap out guns at times and the 89b seems to have a higher demand these days. Talking through what I wanted to order with Sells, the first thing I asked was current difference in base price between the 88b and 89b. In the past there was a couple/few thousand difference but that has disappeared. Today, the difference in base price between the two is zero. They are the exact same price. I also really, really love the look of the 88b, maybe…just maybe…more than the 89b.

I don't think the 88b is made anymore?

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I don't think the 88b is made anymore?

It's not ?

 

[Wildwillalaska]

I don't think the 88b is made anymore?

At least as of around October 13th Chris said the base price was the same as the 89b. Would seem strange for him to say that if it wasn’t even an option…but I also didn’t specifically ask him if they were looking to suspend production. He did say that most orders were 89b’s.

 

[Lowdi]

I don't think the 88b is made anymore?

Hi,
the 88 are still in production and will be available for order in the future.