Heym 7x64

[Aaron N]

Good morning Gents,

Can anyone shed some light on this rifle? I can’t find much online about older Heyms. The seller says it’s from the 60’s.

Any info would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance

 

[HWL]

Proof marks may show you, when the barrel was installed/sporter was made.

Action probably made from a WWII German service rifle, stamped codes show the manufacturer of the action.

Heym always made it's own barrels.

Nice, reliable "West German cold war gun".

HWL

 

[Aaron N]

The seller thinks its a SR21, but I can't come across any pictures that match. It seems more like a western field/heym, possibly?

 

[sestoppelman]

Yeah, pretty sure that isnt any SR21 or any of the SR series for that matter. As above, ex Mil action. What caliber?
What is he asking for it?

 

[thirdbite]

The Western Field/Heym were built on Zastava intermediate actions and didn't have the thumb cut.

 

[Aaron N]

Yeah, pretty sure that isnt any SR21 or any of the SR series for that matter. As above, ex Mil action. What caliber?
What is he asking for it?

2200 with with accessories. It’s a 7x64

 

[sestoppelman]

Yeah, I did see the cal on the header, but forgot, LOL. Short term memory issues? Scope value will have some effect and the accessories whatever they are.
With the high scope and low comb stock with lots of drop, might be a stretch to see thru the scope without a riser. Could always change all that of course but that costs money too.
All depends how much you like it I guess. Great caliber.

 

[sestoppelman]

The Western Field/Heym were built on Zastava intermediate actions and didn't have the thumb cut.

What specific action are you referring to here? Thanks.

 

[thirdbite]

The actions were built by Zastava and were barreled and stocked by Heym in the late 1950's and/or early 1960's. They were sold by Montgomery Ward branded Western Field model 720 (and others). The actions were intermediate length and were milled out in the front for longer cartridges such as 270 and 30-06. It seems like they were basically copies of 1924 FN but no thumbcut nor clip guide in the rear ring and may have been mfg using FN tooling. All I'm aware of had hinged floorplate with lever release.

 

[sestoppelman]

Pretty sure you are thinking of FN actions. Zastava didnt make commercial actions until 1969 and only made one length of action, using the mag box to determine what rounds would fit. Zastava also to my knowledge never used the lever release, the early ones had the Oberndorf style inside the trigger guard, and later a side push button affair just ahead of the top of the trigger guard.

 

[Muskox]

It is not an SR20 or SR21, it is a Heym 98.

The SR20 and SR21 are similar and loosely based on the old Voere Titan, with the SR21 being upgraded quite a bit.

There are also rifles marked Mauser 2000 that were made by Heym, these are also in that Voere Titan family (though different enough that nothing will fit).

As thirdbite says it is a Mauser of some manufacture rebarreled and stocked by Heym.

Scope mounts are problematic, if the scope gives up the ghost you will have $1400 in fitting new scope rings to the new scope if you want to use the claw mount.

It is a $500 rifle.

 

[Muskox]

https://www.egun.de/market/item.php?id=14002333 You could import this one.

 

[thirdbite]

Pretty sure you are thinking of FN actions. Zastava didnt make commercial actions until 1969 and only made one length of action, using the mag box to determine what rounds would fit. Zastava also to my knowledge never used the lever release, the early ones had the Oberndorf style inside the trigger guard, and later a side push button affair just ahead of the top of the trigger guard.

No, they were not FN actions. FN wasn't making a commercial intermediate action at the time. There have been discussions on another forum and there is general agreement that they were made by Zastava, perhaps licensed by FN and possible using FN tooling. To my knowledge, they were not branded Zastava and may not have been sold at retaill.. The action you are referring to was a full length Mauser imported to the US by Interarms, sold as Mark X and also possibly made with FN license and tooling. I purchased one in 1969 for $60 if I remember correctly.

 

[sestoppelman]

Well, I disagree with that assessment, FN and Zas were never in business together to do anything nor did one make the other. One company is Yugoslavian and the other Belgian.
The AR guys have its "facts" wrong.
Dont get hung up on the intermediate thing, I dont have a Heym or Western Field around here but I own several Zas rifles in various calibers and all are the same action with a screw spacing of 7.75" and werent made until 1969.

 

[Red Leg]

It is not an SR20 or SR21, it is a Heym 98.

The SR20 and SR21 are similar and loosely based on the old Voere Titan, with the SR21 being upgraded quite a bit.

There are also rifles marked Mauser 2000 that were made by Heym, these are also in that Voere Titan family (though different enough that nothing will fit).

As thirdbite says it is a Mauser of some manufacture rebarreled and stocked by Heym.

Scope mounts are problematic, if the scope gives up the ghost you will have $1400 in fitting new scope rings to the new scope if you want to use the claw mount.

It is a $500 rifle.

Concur.

I would suspect it is an early post-war rifle (Bavarian proofs would tell you) built around a surplus Mauser 98 action. Many private gunmakers were building the same sorts of rifles for American servicemen who were stationed primarily in Bavaria. Though this one, because of the caliber and claw mounts, was likely made for a German hunter after gun ownership was reinstated in '52.

The scope is problematic. It is an old steel single turret model which almost certainly requires windage adjustments be made with the off-setting screws in the mount. It would fetch $80 from a collector at a gun show. The scope itself won't have anything like the clarity of a modern one. It would be unusable in inclement weather. Someone like JJ Perodeau could build a set of rings to fit those bases (utilizing a straight tube scope) for around a 1K USD.

The stock has a tremendous amount of drop mirroring pre-war designs which many modern shooters would find very difficult to shoot well. The current scope accentuates that problem.

If you could get it for $500, you would still incur a $1000 in mount work, $200-500 in stock work (primarily bending and resetting and replacing the pad). You would then have 1800 - 2000 in a rifle that would have a value of maybe $750 - $850.

 

[Aaron N]

I love this site for the wealth of knowledge of the membership! I appreciate all the info, and am surprised that the Heym name doesn’t carry the same pedigree as it does today!

 

[Red Leg]

I love this site for the wealth of knowledge of the membership! I appreciate all the info, and am surprised that the Heym name doesn’t carry the same pedigree as it does today!

On many of its older rifles it does. But not this one. Though the seller would like to think so.

 

[thirdbite]

Well, I disagree with that assessment, FN and Zas were never in business together to do anything nor did one make the other. One company is Yugoslavian and the other Belgian.
The AR guys have its "facts" wrong.
Dont get hung up on the intermediate thing, I dont have a Heym or Western Field around here but I own several Zas rifles in various calibers and all are the same action with a screw spacing of 7.75" and werent made until 1969.

Think what you will. No one said that Zastava and FN were in business together. Also, they were intemediate length with hole spacing of 7.62". Your ignorance of the rifles doesn't mean they weren't made and sold. Your experience with post -69 Zastavas is correct - they were regular length receivers with 7.835 hole spacing. As I said earlier, I bought one in 1969 and swapped out the zastava action for an FN - perfect fit.

 

[thirdbite]

Think what you will. No one said that Zastava and FN were in business together. Also, they were intemediate length with hole spacing of 7.62". Your ignorance of the rifles doesn't mean they weren't made and sold. Your experience with post -69 Zastavas is correct - they were regular length receivers with 7.835 hole spacing. As I said earlier, I bought one in 1969 and swapped out the zastava action for an FN - perfect fit.

Just an addendum. The Yugo 24 was an intermediate action provided to Yugoslavia by FN. It was later mfg under license from FN Herstal by Kragujevac Arsenal which became Zastava, who also modified the 24's to 48's. That probably explains the early commercial action utilizing the same tooling.

 

[sestoppelman]

Well, could be. I have never heard nor seen any reference linking in any way FN to Zas so thats news to me. I am aware of the mil version M48 and that they were a little shorter than normal, but that was a mil action with a thumb cut.
On the one hand you tell me nobody said they were in business together, but it sure sounds like they were if they were making guns for each other doesnt it?