Heym versus Rigby

[SStomcat]

Heym is selling the Heym Jumbo in .600NE for € 46.600 (boxlock) and € 50.000 (sidelock) sans tax.

That is a bargain today..

https://www.heym-manufaktur.de/media/d8/a8/00/1763973062/Heym%20Preisliste%20Doppelbuchsen%20+%20Wechsellauf%2011%202025%20english%20final.pdf?1763973062

600 ne with 50$ a pop for ammo if u can find them, is more nostalgic than a meaningful hunting rifle to be carried and used in the bush, me think

 

[rookhawk]

600 ne with 50$ a pop for ammo if u can find them, is more nostalgic than a meaningful hunting rifle to be carried and used in the bush, me think

And the weight is beyond practical in my opinion. Honestly, for a professional elephant hunter of infinite financial means, the very best caliber ever made is the 600/577 REWA. A 600NE necked down to .577. That is maximum penetration and maximum rifle weight to practically carry as a mortal.

Barring the above, if someone is smitten with elephant hunting and that’s the only DG they want to do the rest of their life, a .577NE is the weapon of choice. I’m a guy that is smitten with elephant hunting, but I cannot abide the cost of a .577NE and the loss of PG versatility that comes from something more practical like a .470NE.

 

[Rare Breed]

Interesting @rookhawk I am currently enjoying the great elephant hunter books from various authors of yesteryear and their #1 rifle they quote is the .577.

 

[Adam Stevens]

And the weight is beyond practical in my opinion. Honestly, for a professional elephant hunter of infinite financial means, the very best caliber ever made is the 600/577 REWA. A 600NE necked down to .577. That is maximum penetration and maximum rifle weight to practically carry as a mortal.

Barring the above, if someone is smitten with elephant hunting and that’s the only DG they want to do the rest of their life, a .577NE is the weapon of choice. I’m a guy that is smitten with elephant hunting, but I cannot abide the cost of a .577NE and the loss of PG versatility that comes from something more practical like a .470NE.

Before I could afford a double, I started buying single cartridges of each NE for a display.

The day I picked up a .577 it was different. The weight etc. it took half a second for it to become my alltime favorite NE caliber.

Practicality wise, I love the .450 most. I guess I'm a straight wall NE fan

 

[farmer_john]

And the weight is beyond practical in my opinion. Honestly, for a professional elephant hunter of infinite financial means, the very best caliber ever made is the 600/577 REWA. A 600NE necked down to .577. That is maximum penetration and maximum rifle weight to practically carry as a mortal.

Barring the above, if someone is smitten with elephant hunting and that’s the only DG they want to do the rest of their life, a .577NE is the weapon of choice. I’m a guy that is smitten with elephant hunting, but I cannot abide the cost of a .577NE and the loss of PG versatility that comes from something more practical like a .470NE.

Imean your almost to a barret in weight.

 

[SStomcat]

When I look at a double I think of two things apart from felt recoil etc. Is this something I can haul around comfortably in the African bush/ heat and how quickly I can maneuver the rifle to reload. I did handle some 15-16 pounders and for me my limits were obvious

 

[woodsrunner]

Commenting in particular on bolt rifles, no one amongst the premium brands designs more handsome magnum magazine rifles on average to my eye than Rigby, and this has been true since their very first offerings in the early 19-teens (photo.) Their lines are bold yet still always graceful, usually recognizable at a glance once you've seen enough, and yet they still produce variations on the basic themes that keep things in motion while remaining yet fully iconic of the brand. I think the new 98 Mauser Magnums are almost as handsome in their own way, also bold yet graceful, but the variations in stock aesthetics are so far nil, it seems. The Martini-designed Heym magazine rifles certainly conform to what i feel i've come to learn as Martini's one ideal where shaping a stick of walnut into a bolt rifle is concerned. It's a classic, highly streamlined, even elongated look leaning more towards graceful as opposed to bold. Slender, super long/straight wrists widening for their length to the buttstock with its oval pancake-resembling cheekpiece (who doesn't like pancakes), slender tapered fore-ends into a ubiquitous tapered and slightly elongated ebony tip. I would say that nothing about the design stands out to jar the eye (beyond perhaps the elongated shape of the ebony tip, which may be the closest thing to a Heym design trademark along with the elongation in general and which jars my eye just a little). This is great if that design represents the ultimate to you, why mess with it? The result is an undeniably beautiful yet rather generic looking rifle. Plenty of shooters seem to gravitate to the Rigby lines where the subject arises, and i've seen where the modern popularity of the brand's style has manifested some professional jealousy. "Rigby this, Rigby that!" they may beef. Unwilling to admit perhaps that there's good, deeply enduring reason for this. All this said, i would not doubt for a minute that Heym rivals their peers for quality.

 

[PCC600]

It’s always hard to gauge from photos and I have never held a Rigby ph so my opinion is worth little on that front. But if the drop is the same as the highland stalker then I’d call it a scoped rifle that can be shot with irons rather than a great irons rifle.

However, I’d defer to your opinions if you’ve shot both the heym and the ph as I have not.

Both my Rigby bolt actions a 450 PH and a 416 Big Game are single square bridge actions and only have iron sites . The 450 is unquestionably the best shooting rifle I have ever used . I have total faith in shooting it out to 150 yards . It is incredible . The 416 also has a Rigby Peep sight on the cocking piece . It is fantastic too but I only use the peep sight on close animals < 50 yards . I have never looked to see if the stocks are different on Rigby double square bridge rifles ( more drop )to facilitate scope use. From my experience the greater the drop in a heavy rifle’s stock the more unpleasant they are to shoot .

 

[PCC600]

And the weight is beyond practical in my opinion. Honestly, for a professional elephant hunter of infinite financial means, the very best caliber ever made is the 600/577 REWA. A 600NE necked down to .577. That is maximum penetration and maximum rifle weight to practically carry as a mortal.

Barring the above, if someone is smitten with elephant hunting and that’s the only DG they want to do the rest of their life, a .577NE is the weapon of choice. I’m a guy that is smitten with elephant hunting, but I cannot abide the cost of a .577NE and the loss of PG versatility that comes from something more practical like a .470NE.

You are right regarding the 600/577 Rewa . There is one here in Australia . The owner has 600 Jeffery , 577 NE Westley Richards to name a few in the super heavy rifle class . The Rewa is just incredible on buffalo . It leaves the others big rifles for dead .

 

[JPbowhunter]

Both my Rigby bolt actions a 450 PH and a 416 Big Game are single square bridge actions and only have iron sites . The 450 is unquestionably the best shooting rifle I have ever used . I have total faith in shooting it out to 150 yards . It is incredible . The 416 also has a Rigby Peep sight on the cocking piece . It is fantastic too but I only use the peep sight on close animals < 50 yards . I have never looked to see if the stocks are different on Rigby double square bridge rifles ( more drop )to facilitate scope use. From my experience the greater the drop in a heavy rifle’s stock the more unpleasant they are to shoot .

If we ever cross paths I’d love to have a feel of your big boys. What part of the country are you in?

 

[PCC600]

If we ever cross paths I’d love to have a feel of your big boys. What part of the country are you in?

I am in Brisbane Australia . You are welcome anytime . Other AH members have been through to look at my heavy bolt actions and doubles . Always enjoy a chat . Cheers

 

[JPbowhunter]

I am in Brisbane Australia . You are welcome anytime . Other AH members have been through to look at my heavy bolt actions and doubles . Always enjoy a chat . Cheers

Sounds great mate.
I’m down in Vic, may get up north later this year. If so I’ll touch base to say Gday

 

[Wildwillalaska]

I am on my second Heym 89b double. Couldn't with for a better double, they tick all of the boxes.

What is your second? I recall you having a beloved 450/400, what else?

 

[SWS1]

You are right regarding the 600/577 Rewa . There is one here in Australia . The owner has 600 Jeffery , 577 NE Westley Richards to name a few in the super heavy rifle class . The Rewa is just incredible on buffalo . It leaves the others big rifles for dead .

Would that be the one built by KDT?

 

[PCC600]

Would that be the one built by KDT?

The very same . And shown in Graeme Wright’s book with its twin a 600NE .

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

What is your second? I recall you having a beloved 450/400, what else?

470

 

[woodsrunner]

From my experience the greater the drop in a heavy rifle’s stock the more unpleasant they are to shoot .

This is what i've heard as well. You certainly get more muzzle-jump. An interesting counter-detail i've seen mentioned by at least one celebrated gunmaker that i've yet to see repeated anywhere else, however, is in reference to the popular (once popular?) ideal of achieving a heavy rifle that "shoulders/points like a bird-gun." A feature one could absolutely imagine being beneficial in a backup rifle. Apparently key to this objective (according to this gunmaker, and I apologize in forgetting who it is), being designing stocks "with more drop to the heel than is the norm today." I guess you can't quite have it all in one gun. Typically it is/was the iron-sighted guns where scopes were never intended that had more drop, aiding the ease/speed of sight acquisition with low profile sights by automatically putting the head lower in the sight plane. Perhaps there were also balance benefits(?)

 

[farmer_john]

This is what i've heard as well. You certainly get more muzzle-jump. An interesting counter-detail i've seen mentioned by at least one celebrated gunmaker that i've yet to see repeated anywhere else, however, is in reference to the popular (once popular?) ideal of achieving a heavy rifle that "shoulders/points like a bird-gun." A feature one could absolutely imagine being beneficial in a backup rifle. Apparently key to this objective (according to this gunmaker, and I apologize in forgetting who it is), being designing stocks "with more drop to the heel than is the norm today." I guess you can't quite have it all in one gun. Typically it is/was the iron-sighted guns where scopes were never intended that had more drop, aiding the ease/speed of sight acquisition with low profile sights by automatically putting the head lower in the sight plane. Perhaps there were also balance benefits(?)

I believe it was jerome at riby that said that or something like that to me at sci this year.
Alot of modern stocks are just a bad compromise

 

[Wildwillalaska]

This is what i've heard as well. You certainly get more muzzle-jump. An interesting counter-detail i've seen mentioned by at least one celebrated gunmaker that i've yet to see repeated anywhere else, however, is in reference to the popular (once popular?) ideal of achieving a heavy rifle that "shoulders/points like a bird-gun." A feature one could absolutely imagine being beneficial in a backup rifle. Apparently key to this objective (according to this gunmaker, and I apologize in forgetting who it is), being designing stocks "with more drop to the heel than is the norm today." I guess you can't quite have it all in one gun. Typically it is/was the iron-sighted guns where scopes were never intended that had more drop, aiding the ease/speed of sight acquisition with low profile sights by automatically putting the head lower in the sight plane. Perhaps there were also balance benefits(?)

Ditto. Talking with Jerome this year at SCI and specifics of a Shikari build, he was wonderful and spent a good bit of time with me and his fitting rifle, which is a BGR but with dummy-double triggers since he uses it both for bolt guns and doubles. He went into detail what he wants to see in getting the right fit and mentioned having that immediate on target when the rifle is shouldered…basically mounting it as you would a shotgun, so eye on your target and the rifle mounts to you.

Also learned my proper LOP was a smidge longer than I thought. I had it figured at 15-15.125”, he had me at 15.35”.

He got me mostly sorted out on measurements and worked up a prospective quote for the rifle. While not at all deterred by the wait time, I was surprised by the final figures after realizing the scroll engraving I wanted was an addition of near 70% of the base rifle…and all in British pounds. I had started to warm to the idea of having one built for my 60th, which is still a smidge over 7 years away, so the timing was perfect.

After holding a mint Holland and Holland Royal from the 70’s or 80’s at their booth which was $125k US and a mint Westley Richards drop lock in 577 from the early 2000’s that was $99k, I really started questioning my judgment on ordering one altogether. Ultimately hit pause and since then decided to order another Heym 89b in 2-barrel set for now, and maybe I’ll find a nice pre-owned or slightly vintage H&H or WR for my 60th.

 

[JPbowhunter]

From my experience the greater the drop in a heavy rifle’s stock the more unpleasant they are to shoot .

The biggest rifle I’ve shot is a 416 but that was only a couple of shots and it was a straight stock.

I do own two 9.3x62 rifles. A Rigby highland stalker and a Cz 550 lux, the latter has quite a bit of drop in the stock. Ironically, I find it the milder of the two for recoil.
It could possibly be that I’m so used to shooting iron sights and lots of my guns do have a for bit of drop but I don’t know on that point.