Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting Heym AG's factory and head office in Gleichamberg, Germany. The visit was organised by the official UK agent, Simon Freedman of Reeves UK. Heym do not at present have an official agent in Switzerland. I had been talking to Holland & Holland about having one of their Royal double rifles made in .500 N.E. and felt it would be prudent to look at the Heym alternative before making a decision. In particular I was interested in quality of engineering and finish together with the degree of customisation possible.



Myself and Simon stayed overnight in Frankfurt close to the airport and after a 3 hour drive the next morning arrived at the Heym factory at 10am. We were warmly greeted by the owner Thomas Wolkmann, Sales Manager Manfred Eisenbrand and Master Gunmaker Bernhard Helbig and shown into the gun showroom.

An assortment of completed and partially completed doubles were brought out and I was immediately struck by the quality of the workmanship. At less than 1/4 of the price of a Holland & Holland my expectations I felt were realistic, but they were surpassed by quite some margin.





I was interested in the 88B Sidelock Safari and which is the beautifully engraved model you see above. Apart from the flawless finish when I mounted the rifle I felt the balance was too barrel-heavy and a bit too light at around 10lbs. The balance is better on the 88 Jumbo model, but at 12lbs I felt it was too heavy, so 11lbs was my target weight for a double .500 N.E. Much to my surprise I was told they would be producing a slightly larger version of the existing 88B sidelock action later this year! Mechanically the same but 2mm wider overall this would address the balance issue by moving the centre of gravity issue further aft.

The second surprise is that Heym are now producing 26 inch barrels as standard. When I asked why the more usual 24 inch length was not preferred I was simply told that it was because of requests from the USA. I would be interested in finding out more!



Next I was given a full guided tour of the factory. I'm always conscious about taking photographs in production facilities, just in case the company wants to protect details of certain procedures, so I left my camera in the gunroom. After the tour I was told they had no objection at all to photography so I proceeded to take a few snaps from that point onwards (including the pic above). I hadn't quite realised that Heym make over 90% of all components in house. Whilst the factory is small many areas are crammed with large machines and operated by highly skilled staff, most of which have been Heym employees for many years. You can almost taste the sense of craftsmanship and pride of work in the air. Heym make a considerable quantity of barrels including those made for a number of other companies including Kreighoff. I watched barrels being hammer-forged and rifled with bores inspected by a cherished employee who trained for 10 years to learn his trade. I don't know what they do when he goes on holiday! Next I met the stocker who gave me a preliminary assessment as to my ideal stock dimensions. Much to my surprise Heym are able to offer a fully custom stock-fitting service to personal callers which at 6ft7in was music to my ears. The gap between Heym and H&H was getting smaller by the minute.

Time to fire a gun.





There were no .500's available to shoot so I was offered a .500/.416 weighing just under 10lbs. The .500/.416 is a relatively big round but I've got bigger hands



Taken from the offhand shooting position the door is usually closed and the rifle fired through the large aperture, if you are less than 6ft7in. So the door stayed open and I could then see the target. Recoil was fine and probably about the same as my .416 Rigby bolt-action.



Two shots about 3 inches apart offhand at 50 yards. Not bad for the first time I ever fired a double.



The barrel regulation area is just outside the shooting range and it takes a total of around 5 days to properly regulate each rifle. This involves the heating of the last 5 inches of barrel and the insertion and microscopic adjustment of small wedges before re-soldering. Rifles up to .500 N.E. are then shot off the bench and readjusted until accuracy is at least within 2 inches at 50 yards.

I had expressed an interest in the engraving style of the rifle shown above and whilst I was having the tour and shooting, Heym management had actually called the engraver and asked him to come and meet me. He brought this action with him (excuse the photo quality).



We spoke about the engraving process and lead times and I thanked him for making the effort to meet a potential client.

I could fill many pages with photographs of outstanding workmanship I saw on this day, but there are 2 options I would like to show you that I thought were superb.



Sidelocks can be conventionally fixed my screws or fitted with this beautiful hidden hand screw option.





The "H&H" style folding front sight.





What a wonderful day. I left with the impression of exceptional craftsmanship, extremely high quality engineering and a willingness to provide me with a custom rifle that is truly unique. I feel I can trust Heym to do the job and have now ordered a fully custom built Heym Double Rifle 88B Safari Side Lock in .500N.E.(3") for delivery next year. If any of you get the chance to visit the factory you will not regret it. If you cannot and are in the market for a high quality double I urge you to take a close look at Heym.

I hope you enjoyed the report

Just great! Thank you for your report.

Beautiful stuff!

Great review! Thanks for taking the time to post this. The engraver they are using is a true artist. Those cape buffalo and lion's look fantastic.

What did you finally order?

Currently at 8 months waiting for my Heym PH 450/400 but with luck will have it in a month.

Thank you, MB. Clearly Heym is a quality operation. Those hand-detachable sidelocks were a treat to look at along with the mix of engraving.

Believe you are correct to seek 11 lbs. for the weight of a 500NE. The 450-470 family usually go 10-1/2 lbs or a little more and mine is comfortable to shoot at that weight. But I had to have a .470 reamed out to .500 due to corrosion in the chambers. The rifle was just too tough for me to enjoy as a 500NE so I sold it.

Regards, Tim

It is wonderful to know that craftsmanship and quality engineering are still alive and well. While I cannot justify the extra bucks for the engraving, I still enjoy my Kreighoff in 500/416 and my Blaser in 500NE. The QD mounts on my Blaser 500 NE are truly a joy! I echo the 11 lbs. for the 500NE.
Great report. Thanks for posting.
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Snowwolfe:
Great review! Thanks for taking the time to post this. The engraver they are using is a true artist. Those cape buffalo and lion's look fantastic.

What did you finally order?

Currently at 8 months waiting for my Heym PH 450/400 but with luck will have it in a month.

A Heym Double Rifle 88B Safari Side Lock in .500N.E.(3") for delivery next year. It will be a totally custom proposition with full-custom stock, deep-relief engraving and a number of special features. The new action will not be available until the end of this year, and delivery should be during May next year.

Thanks for the report; now all I have to do is stop drooling.

Mark, That will be a great thumper in Africa. I also had the pleasure of meeting and hunting with Tom in Texas a few years back.

Mike