I saw in the latest Safari Magazine, a modest advertisement for Heym that said that Ivan Carter had lost his Heym Ph 88 Double Rifle in the Zambezi River and that it took him three days to find it, but find it he did. It even had a picture of the double rifle and another one of Ivan and the double with an elephant that had been shot. I had never heard the story and was very curious as to the full details. Can we possibly get the "rest of the story" from the man himself?

That would certainly be an appropriate time to use the F word!

He apparently found it, but only after three days of diving and swimming for it, with his client protecting his arse for those three wonderful days. We really need the full story on this one!

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
I saw in the latest Safari Magazine, a modest advertisement for Heym that said that Ivan Carter had lost his Heym Ph 88 Double Rifle in the Zambezi River and that it took him three days to find it, but find it he did. It even had a picture of the double rifle and another one of Ivan and the double with an elephant that had been shot. I had never heard the story and was very curious as to the full details. Can we possibly get the "rest of the story" from the man himself?

I'd like to hear it from Ivan as well! I heard the story from Cris Sells in the Heym booth at DSC. The rifle he lost in the river was an 88B with upgrades, and a nice rifle. I handled it in the booth, and Ivan's new Heym "JUMBO" 600NE. I can certainly see why Ivan would spend three days in croc , and Hippo water looking for the 88B, but I'm not sure I'd have done so! Those crocs have big jaws, and the hippos have some big teeth.

A fiend of mine was there as well, and when I said I'd love to own Ivans 88B, my friend said he'd love to own it simply because it belonged to Ivan Carter, I concur! However, I think I'd rather look for the rifle in the water than carry his new 600NE double around all day everyday, even if someone else would carry the ammo for it.

Come on Ivan tell us the rest of the story!

Hmmm.... I am very interested in hearing more about his new .600, how it shoots, the weight and what ammo it is regulated for...?

Deutsche Waffen Journal tested one of these, they complained that it was a bit on the light side..

I have seen some pics of these rifles, I really like them...

Ivan....please update us on your rifle..

BTW....what are your thoughts regarding choosing the .600 over the .577...?

Do you plan to use it as an elephant stopper or as your regular hunting rifle..?

by the sounds of it the barrels weren't free floating (sorry about that but it it friday)

people ...here is the story ..

It was several years ago, we were crossing a deep water channel in a canoe, it was on the mana pools waterfront where i was guiding a canoeing and walking safari. One of the hazards that is very prominent with those trips is the huge hippo population ...when guiding on a canoe one has to be conmstantly aware of whats coming and where the resident pods are ..

in this case we had seen the bull , quietly resting in a backwater , unbeknown to us he had slipped downstream (I thought he went down and remained there). I sent the other two canoes ahead , i always like to be the last across in the situations so i can keep an eye on what is going on ...the channel was about 60 feet wide in the deep p[art and flanked on one side with brush and the other side with a shallow sandbar.

the two canoes got onto the shallow bar easily and as i had done hundreds of times in the past i followed across..after about two of three paddlestrokes(it feels like just yesterday) there was a huge whoosh and a giant bubble of air came up just in front of the boat ...bear in ind its a fibreglass canadian canoe , three feet wide at its widest and 18 and a half feet long , loaded with all the drinks and lunch stuff for the day ...they dont stop easily !!!!

my tracker who was in the front and i dug in deep and put as much as we could into getting some speed over where the hippo was , he violently came up under the boat ,hitting us juist back of centre and his bottom two teeth came through the bottom of the boat right at my feet !! i have to say in slow motion as i watched those tusks coming up from between my feet all i did was reach back and grab my rifle ...

my rifle was tethered on about ten feet of parachute cord with a quick undo knot , as i got it in my hands and released the knot , the hippo hit the boat from the side , i lost grip of the gun and the canoe tipped over ...

by now i was just ten feet from the shallows , so my tracker who was in the front of the boat literally fell into three feet of water and then grabbed the canoe, i drifted about 50 yards in the strong current while trying to swim, to the shallows , expecting at any minute to kiss the hippo!!!


nobody was hurt and apart from some lunch gear we didnt lose anything other than my rifle that had been flung from my grip when he hit the second time .. the radio gear was wet and wouldnt work so we gathered our wits and i was left with no real choice than to carry on ...

the rest of the day i made an effort to keep everyone lighthearted and happy , and by evening it was seen as truly just a big adventure ..that night i had another guide fill in for the rest of the trip for me and i planned on getting back to the spot and retrieving my double ..

the current was fast there and there was no way you could get to the bottom (about 8 feet) without drifting ...my tracker was sitting on the bank with my old .375 watching (not sure what would happen if i got munched but made me feel better anyway ) so by lunchtime , totally exhausted i realised that i needed to change the approach ..

i rigged a wooden plank on a piece of rope that i tethered on a log about 60 yards upstream and then lay flat on the plank , the current would pull the plank (and me) down if i angled it downwards right if i leaned right , left if i leaned left etc etc ..

the rest of that afternoon io tried and tried and as you can imagine lots and lots of imperfections and reworking of the plan ..

the following day after animated and heated fireside discussion i tried the same this time i had found some goggles so at least i could see instead of just feeling in the muddy water .

mid morning , exhausted, crestfallen and ready to face the hard facts , my foot that was trailing behind on the board touched onb a stump and i got gouged by a spike on that stump ... it felt very cold , and something not right ,

i let go immediately of my board and reached for the stump and it was the barrel of the rifle sticking out of the sand ...but it was so buried that i couldnt prise it free and i knew that i would never get to that same spot again , so i jabbed it back and forth will absolutely all my strength in swift current that was incredibly hard but suddenly it slipped free seemingly with no effort at all ...

i kicked to the surface almost sobbing for air , i had been down so long that tike that my tracker later told me he thought i was gone ...he was standing at the bank and rushed in to help me ...i lay there for a good ten minutes just face up in the sun trying to get my breath back and in the realization that i had found my rifle ...

thats about it as clearly as i can remember , i looked back at my diary and all i wrote that day was .."i found my double" !!

quote:

BTW....what are your thoughts regarding choosing the .600 over the .577...?

Do you plan to use it as an elephant stopper or as your regular hunting rifle..?

i will keep using my .450 as my primary hunting rifle and my .600 as a backup gun for wounded game and when in the valley in the green season hunting cows and the like ,which is often very close and pretty hairraising... i guide about 180 days a year and consequently spend a lot of time around elephants so the probabilities are higher of close surprise encounters ...make no mistake i love my .450 and it has served me very well , but i dont mind heavy recoil and the 600 is an excellent stopper.

i will say this that i believe for most people who are not hunting elephant all the time that the 450 or similar is a far better choice , i would rather see a well placed shot from a light calibre than 4 badly placed shots from heavy because a guy wasnt practiced or comfortable.

my .577 is shooting at 2150 fps and it has very healthy recoil , but with that load i get incredible penetration ...i did have some ammo at one point that was cronographed at 1850 and the penetration was horrible ..

why 600 over 577 ...no reason just wanted to try the 600.

Great story Ivan about the recovery of your double.

Amazing that you found it at all.

Ivan,
That story deserves a chapter in your book. You are going to write a book aren't you?

Ivan, that is a great story! I hope you don't mind, I copied your post above to a file in my Personal accounts of happenings! You know how things get changed in the telling, by others telling the story second hand , as time goes by. I like the accounts from the "HORSE'S MOUTH" so to speak.

I handled your 450NE Heym at the DSC Heym booth, and love the honest wear on they rifle! Glad you didn't loose it! I'm not sure I would have had the intestinal fortatude to go about finding it in those waters. Good show sir!

....................

Holy crap, Ivan. That's one hell of a story, and much better than the information set forth in the ad! Talk about looking for, and finding "a needle in a haystack"!!

Crap, Ivan, you have done everything, up until now very well. You need to teach that double how to swim. Seems it can do everything else!!!!

Ivan, you are the man!!!
Great story.. thanks

Ivan.....
Man, what an adventure as well fond memory for you....Thanks for sharing....always enoy your photos and TV shows........waiting for more SAFARI info from the Pro.

Clift Sammons

I am leaving April for RSA. Remind me to stop at the store and buy a 50 foot reel of 1/8th inch parachute cord. Tie one end around my waist and the other to my Searcy 470 NE. I was also privileged to handle Ivan's rifle. If it could talk we could just have it write the book, or a couple!

thanks for sharing the story...

Rich

Ivan...that's another incredible story and adventure in itself...

I, too, await the day of your book...

Great story. When you get it, let's see that 600.

What an adventure!!

Ivan,

We would love to see the pictures of that rifle after the recovery if you have it.

Great Story Ivan

Must have been a bit nerve racking in the muddy water. I know it's a bit creepy diving in sharked up waters wnd you have that niggling doubt about what might just show up for dinner and you hope it's not you on the menu.

Jeff

thanks for all the comments guys i am blessed to have had the experiences i have and god willing there will be lots more !

IDAHO: I envy your forthcoming trip to RSA and will forward to a report.

Taking Wieland with you?

Ivan -
Check your PM regarding an Ele hunt.
Mike

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or most people who are not hunting elephant all the time that the 450 or similar is a far better choice

Ha! I always thought this was the excuse for using a 375 H&H?

And no matter how many guys get dumped at Mana Pools or their kids get eaten by crocs, the need to paddle down the creek is perpetual.

THE CANOE CARTEL MUST LOVE YOU GUYS.

Will, better to paddle down stream, Then to be up "shits creek without a paddle."

Ivan, what can one say but a fantastic tale.

Mike

Or rather, "Than to be up shits creek without a rifle"

quote:

"i found my double" !!

Ho hum, another day

The picture of the Zambezi River "miracle" rifle can be found on Ivan's post under "Pics of Battle Scarred Rifles". It's the one on the right of the two doubles and the one alone with the ele tusk.