...just wondering whether anyone here has any experience with the heym safari express turnbolt...thinking of getting one in .416 rigby...really concerned about balance of the rifle and fit and finish...

...tia...

I had one. Sold now, but not because I didn't like it. Balance was excellent and fit/finish were top notch for a production rifle (better than Dakota). But it was a 600 NE, so I am not sure how the balance of a 416 rigby would differ.

Cabelas has a used Heym 416 rigby right now.

Heym makes excellent guns! I'd think it would be awfully expensive versus a CZ550 though! Heym is a phenomenal gunmaker in 577NE and .600 NE though. They have obviouslt spent alot of time in making things work properly/-Rob

...appreciate your replies...

...my dealer is just about to become a heym distributor, and i was thinking of getting a safari express take-down in .416 rigby or .500 jeffrey...this would be my 'big bore' for anything a 9.3 double could not handle...

...the heym express price is actually fairly reasonable, considering the quality...the pricing is similar to the dakota safari/african express, and much cheaper than a california rigby or british turnbolt...

Hi

I have one in .460 Weatherby. Excellent balance and the recoil is very, very soft for a .460. Nice rifle.

I have a Heym Express in cal..500 Jeffery.
The rifle is OK balance is fine. The action is very smooth now but I had to ship the rifle to the Heym due to lack of smoothness when it came back I was not satisfied so I drowe to Germany personaly ( I live in Denmark a 1000 km drive) I told them what I wanted then to do I was like they did not give a dame but the did some work to it and the product is now same what OK but fare from perfect. The rifle is NOT hand made and it shows.
The action is fine but the wood work is not to my satisfaction. Stock shape is fine. and the mag. capasity is 4 + 1 in .500 Jeffery.
If you find a master gunsmith and tell him what you want you will be more pleased.
To se my rifle e-mail andreflor@tdcadsl.dk and I will send a picture.
You get what you pay for.
Dumoulin of Belgium makes some nice guns and Rigby and G&H in america.

Cheers

HEYM IN 600 NE

...again, appreciate the responses and the great pictures...

...realize that the heym express is merely a production rifle, but need a moderately priced replacement for a problematic ruger rsm .416 rigby that would function as dg big bore for everything a new 9.3 double could not handle...

...really intrigued by the ability to get a heym express in .450 rigby or .500 jefferey (as opposed to the more or less prosaic .416 rigby), and wonder whether anyone had any thoughts on this...(...am a casual hunter that does a couple of hunts a year - big game and upland - if the schedule permits, and may tag along this summer with colleagues to tanz for plains game and buff)...

...tia...

My thought is that at $5500 at Cabelas, a Heym .416 is in the same price league as Dakota so pick whichever you prefer. The bigger calibers push the Heym price up pretty quickly.

I would suggest also considering a rifle from Ryan Breeding. www.rbbigbores.com

Often he has a few on hand in case you are in a rush.

I have a contact in Germany that have a 500 Jeffery built by Harald Wolf it was built for Tony A sanchez the price is 6950 euro and that is cheep for a hand built 500 se the rifle on www.cambodunum-safaris.de
But the 500 jeffery takes alot of practice to master the 416 is easy compared.

Cheers Andr�

This link should take you right to the Wolfe gun:

http://www.cambodunum-safaris.de/pages/buechse/Wolf.500Jeffery.htm

...thanks for the helpful comments...

...anyone know where one would be able to source .450 rigby ammunition?...

500grains,

...may i inquire what heym charges stateside for its .500 jefferey?...or how much heym charged for its .600ne?...my understanding is that a .416 rigby should be around usd5-5,500...

...tia...

andre,

...appreciate your comments...how difficult was it to master the .500 jefferey?...my only big bore experience is with a .416 rigby and .458 win.mag, the recoil of which really does not bother me...

...my sense is that a well-balanced rifle makes all of the difference in the world felt-recoil-wise...and, imho, the ruger rsm is one of the poorest handling/balanced rifles i have experienced...

...tia...

Thomas,
the 500 jeffe can be loaded to 416 rigby recoil levels, and then worked up to full loads.

It is BRUTAL the first time you touch one off, if you haven't prepared for it...

100-150 rounds down the road (10 outings or more)

It's far more reasonable and even becomes fun to shoot...

after this one, your 416 will feel like a 243

jeffe

TE, I only got a quote on a 600 NE and it was 13K. Cabelas has a used 416 for 5.5K, but I do not know how close that is to a new price. I have heard about 8K for a Heym in 505 but was never quoted for 500 jeff so cannot say.

Dear Thomas
Make up your mind on the caliber first.
Then find the rifle some brands are specialized in different calibers. Like Harald Wolf he specialices in 500 Jeffery.
You should bye a used quality rifle in a caliber like the 416 rigby or 458 Lott.

Here is a link to a nice 416 from Kimber African M89 Price 3850 $ this includes a swarocsky scope. Good price.
http://www.griffinhowe.com/riflemoreinfo.cfm

But like I said make up your mind first on the caliber.

Cheers

Andr�

Well

After been looking careful at a Kimber in 416. I would't like to pay that kind of money for it. Im my opinion it's junk.

The quarter rib is hollow and many had trouble with the magazine throwing up the cartridges after a shot and trying to camber a new round. It really the suits the name of dangerous game rifle Fit and finish is not good.

A Dakota is in my opnion much better and the best is a mauser. The Harald Wolf is a bargain. Owners of 500 Jeffery imp will have trouble finding ammo.

Cheers
/ JOHAN

Att Johan

You are proberly right about the Kimber. I will say it again You get what you pay for.
The best American mauser is the Rigby�s they are nice but the price tag is to much.
I also think that the Haralf Wulf is a good bye that it why I recomended it.

cheers

Andr�

If I were in the market for a 50 caliber, I would think carefully about the 5 shot .505 Gibbs.



http://www.rbbigbores.com

Based on past inquiries, they run $8K and up.

500grains,

...that is quite a price jump from the 416 rigby to a 600ne...i wonder what the 450 rigby-500jeffrey class express would be going for...

...saw a heym .416 rigby for sale at around 5.5 can (somewhat less than usd5,500) last fall when i was in canada for a wild geese hunt, tho the shop would not let me shoulder the rifle unless actually contemplating purchase...rifle looked superb...


jeffereydenmark,

...you are absolutely correct...tho in my case my main 'rifle' these days is a 9.3 ou double...the heym (in 416 rigby, 450 rigby or 500 jefferey) would merely be to replace a problematic ruger rsm, and would be used sparingly when i could not use the double (soon to be scoped)...

...as such, i thought that it would be interesting to consider an esoteric legendary calibre such as the 500 jefferey or a new release such as the 450 rigby, especially since the same can be had in a moderately priced heym...

Dear Thomas

I have great problems with my .500 Jeffery please read under african big game hunting where we have a thing going.


Cheers

Andr�

Wow, hard to see from the picture but looks like drop box mag. Also, there is neat running bead trim around the near side ejection port that looks great. Thanks for posting.

rgds

steve

andre,

...thank you for the warning...

...would you have any ideas on the .450 rigby as an alternative to the .500 jeffery?...and a related question: if you had to do it again, would you opt for the hyem express in .500 jeffery, or in some other calibre (e.g., .416 rigby)...how about a take down version?...

If I could turn back time I would NOT get a heym and I would not get a rifle in .500 Jeffery.
Heym quality is not what it use to be.
I had/have several problems with my rifle:
The chekering is machine made and it looks bad, all the double lines are broked.
there was/is one big mistake in the chekering on the pistol grip. This is some how corrected.
The forend of the stock was not cut symetric around the band to the swirl.

The action was not smooth enough when I got the rifle and it had to go to the factury two times before I was satisfied. I had a 416 Rigby to compare with. a demo rifle whare everything was perfect.

Heym was not helpfull in this process and they did not make you feel welcome. I drove 10 hours from Denmark to Germany and back.
The firing pin is far from center. This can be a big problem with a caliber like the .500 Jeffery.
The front iron sight was mounted wrong not straight.
If you can se one before you bye it and you are satisfied then you know what you get, but I ordered mine and was not happy with the end result. I might sell it.
If you want a 500 caliber rifle I can undestand you. Get a .500 A-Square or a 505 Gibbs. The .500 A-Square uses weatherby 460(378) brass and that is also cheeper. You can always download it to Jeffery specifications.
If I was you I would look for a used quality rifle. It will always be worth what you payed.

I do not like take down. Keep it simple

What about the new 465 H&H mag or a 460 wby mag.

Cheers

Andre

Mr. Edwards, I have an economical suggestion:

Get a cz550 action in 416 rigby and rebarrel to 500 a-square. Add a stock. Switch over the safety. $2K to $3K and you are set.

The XO concurs

Cheers,

Andr�

Gentlemen,
Why not spend a little more money and get a double rifle with NO PROBLEMS. One of the new made doubles in 470 by Chapuis,Heym, Krieghoff,or a Heym or Krieghoff in 500 Nitro will give perfect performance, with out all the problems big bolt rifles seem to have.
Seems like money saved in the long run to me.

450

If my .500 Jeffery keeps giving me problems I might trade it in for a Krieghoff 500NE.
I would just like also to shoot bigger plains game with my big bore and the precision of some doubles are not always as good as a bolt action.
I also have a 1,5-5 scope on my bolt action and I would not like mount a scope on a double, but I have seen it done looks funny.

Cheers,

Andr�

Jeffey

I have a scope on my 9,3 Chapuis double rifle, and I have handled several big bore doubles with scopes. They may look "funny" but believe me they work good. I have shot my Chapuis on paper to 200 yards and it hits as good as most bolt rifles. I recently shot a 500/416 Krieghoff and it shot very well. I have also shot a 470 Chapuis [iron sights] and was very pleased with its accuracy.

Get rid of that BOLT ACTION TRASH. Get a good double rifle, scope it with QD mounts and your problems will be solved.



You were born with two eyes, two ears, two arms, and two legs..... You were meant to hunt with two barrels.

the only thing I do ot like about the krieghoff is the fact that it has extracters I would like a double with ejector and it should be a 500 or bigger, but they are to expensive to good brands.
I still have faith in my 500 Jeffery project.

Andr�

The XO concurs
I even feel stupid having a scope on my 500 Jeffery it just looks to modern, but it is with a EAW XS detachable mount.
Blaser R 93 I just hate the fact that it has plastic in the mag, and everything else about it now when I think about it.

Iron sights are macho and clasic I like it alot.

Cheers,

Andr�

andre,

...appreciate your thoughts...if i do go with the heym it will probably be in .416 rigby...and when my dealer becomes a heym distributor hopefully i will be able to assess an inventoried item prior to purchase...

Then you will be in the clear. They are not all same quality.
The demo I saw was a 416 Rygby and it was perfect.
What to look for:
How tight are the bolt when you open it
How smooth is the action.
Chekering on pistol grip is it symetric

I recomend the matte finish on the metal if it is for DG it is a nice option.

you will proberly need to give the stock lots of oil to get a nice look.

good luck

Cheers,

Andr�

...thanks again...

...cheers, and good shooting and hunting...

I will soon post pictures of my 500 Jeffery

Cheers,

Andr�