in the past i have always bought searcy when it comes to doubles.

a 500 nitro ph wich i sold .....lol to my ph after he bugged me for it through out my hunt.

and a 700 nitro box lock both great rifles.

i have a chance to buy a heym 500 nitro 88b for a outstading price its in mint condition and comes with a case from heym as well

unfortunaly i dont know much about heym rifles.

there only one down fall to searcys.....they have absolutly no resale vaule compared to a good euro gun or british double rifle.

thats why i seriously considering picking this gun up. dont get me wrong i love searcy guns there damn tough but from a resale point of view i would think i would be better off with the heym. what do you guys think.

any heym owners out there????

700nitro
If the Heym fits you it is a good choice.
In calibers from 400 up I much prefer a double rifle to a BOLT ACTION.

all of my african hunting axp has been with doubles i took my elephant with the 700.

the heym fits me and i like the weight and balence.

as a side note i would never buy a double under 500 nitro i see no point.

some people love buffalo some like elephant im one of those.....so basicly all my guns are 50 and up.


i do have a 505 gibbs custom bolt action on the way i tried my friends and loved it the balence is so close to that of a double it scary.

the loads that are being developed for this gun will shoot a 600 grain wooleigh at 2500 fps. from a 22" barrel.

but a nice little 500 double would take care of my back up rifle and i can use it for plains game as well the only plains game i wish to take are zebra, kudu and wildabeast

I'm not sure what you mean by resale of Searcy's. I imagine (if I remember your rifles) that a "specialty" (like the .700) might be harder to sell and get all your money back, but with the Field Grade and PH models, I've gotten penny for penny return... I've got a Classic on order and got it for the pre-Dallas SCI price. There is already a retail increase of $3000. I'll bet I can always sell it for what I'll have in it ($12000) ... but if I were to put several thousands of dollars in options like engraving, articulating trigger, left hand (if I were)... who knows?

judge you do have a valid point the selling market for a rifle such as the 700 is extreamly small.

thats why im sticking with the 50 caliber class of rifles now much easyer to turn around if i have to.

hopefully these rifles will be with me till i deside to retire from the game fields

700 Nitro,

I have a Heym 88B in .470 Nitro. It is a great rifle. It handles well, looks nice and is very accurate. I posted a picture of a target on Sunday that I shot with the Heym. A four shot group at 50 yards that is just under an inch and a half. I bought mine going on two years ago and the new ones are selling for $4K more than I paid.

Mike

I have a Heym 88B Safari which JJ at Champlins just got finished rechambering from .458 Win Mag to 450 3 1/4 inch. There are no complaints here. As far as resale.....it ain't goin' nowhere, period! My new gun policy (since selling Mike Starling my 9.3X62 CZ which shot VERY accurately awhile back) is "If it shoots well, fits well, DAMN WELL keep it." Anyway,I'll bet most of us have blown more money than we are talking about here in a not-so-good new car deal over the years. Everyone, except me, of course. You oughta see the deal I got on my last pickup. Whew Boy! Wait'll the guys at work get a look at this baby! Sorry, I got off track there. At my age the mind tends not to just wander; mine packs up and takes an extended vacation. Good shooting!
Mike

Mike (FourTails),

Glad to hear that you've a new policy. It's one I have practiced for a long time. Sorry to hear that it resulted from the 9,3x62 you blessed me with.

Must admit, though, that I'm really appreciative that you were so kind before learning the lesson

Thank you again!

quote:

Originally posted by 700 nitro:
there only one down fall to searcys.....they have absolutly no resale vaule compared to a good euro gun or british double rifle.

Actually, Searcy rifles in .470 and .500 typically sell for a couple of thousand bucks more than the owner paid if he waits a couple of years. Used ones usually go for only $1K less than a new one due to the waiting period to get a new one.

But in .577 cal. and up, all rifles seem to move slowly. There have been 2 other .700 NE rifles for sale on the internet lately in addition to yours, and there seem to be no eager buyers.

700, the Heym 88 is a fine rifle, and is well made, and strong! They are a little light for chamberings like the 500NE but not so much that they are not user friendly. I had an 88 a few years ago when they sold for only $4000, and it was a real fine shooter, and I wish I had not sold it!
As you found out double rifles chambered for cartridges bigger than the 450s, and the 470NE usually sell very slowly! The market is just not there, f! In the lower chamberings the 470NE, and the 9.3X74R out sell any other chambering on the market today, regardless of where they are made. In the above 450NE class, and below the 600NE class, the 500NE will sell twice as fast as anything larger, and IMO anything above a 577NE is not needed on this planet, and very few needs for the 577NE. That doesn't mean the rifles larger than 500NE are useless, just that they are not needed. The 500NE will do anything the 577, 600, or 700 will, with less recoil, and weight to carry, and sell better when the time comes.

I don't think you will go wrong with the Heym 88 500NE, it is a fine rifle chambered for a fine cartridge!

the owner of the rifle has given me the rifle for a week or so to try and and to see how i like it i have 50 rounds of ammo i will report back.....

it hard to tell but i may actually prefer the searcy we will have to wait and see.

I know of a "used" Searcy 470NE PH model that was just sold at a "new" price, because the purchaser didn't want to wait to have a gun built.

700

I would be interested in seeing the gun. I have never handled a Heym. If interested send me a PM with where you are located.

ILW

i live in niagara falls where you from.

i will also have aryan breeding 505 bolt acition by the end of this year as well.

all i need to do now is book a trip for 2-3 elephants at least.

I'm on Manitoulin Island. I don't get down that way very often but will give you a 'heads up' when I do.

quote:

as a side note i would never buy a double under 500 nitro i see no point.

700,
With all respect for your affinity towards larger calibers, I'm curious about your comments towards bullets slightly smaller than what you've enjoyed. Under what circumstances would there be no point in using a .465 or .470 in a double when elephant hunting?

sorry about that id didnt mean any disrespect twoads the smaller boars but i my self prefer larger guns when hunting elephant epecialy since all other game is nothing but second place takings.

when i go to africa is elephant first every thing else second and no one here will argue a 500 nitro is better medicin than a 450-400 if you can handle it.

I can understand if a fellow feels there is no point in him buying a smaller bore double, say a 450-400 or .465, if indeed he has a strong preference for larger bores. There would be no point in me buying a .40 cal. handgun, as I strongly prefer .45's.

I seem to remember a recient shoot where two "fellows" one my brother, the other shall remain "nameless", were shooting my 475 Linebaugh Freedom Arms Revolver. After a couple of shots, they both "wimped out", as the recoil was to bad for them, and went back to shooting a 500 nitro double.

After all, a Man has got to know his limitations.

Strong in the shoulder, but weak in the wrist?

500grains
You tell me.
Do we want to do 2 days of Prairie Dog shooting. Would a Sat/Sun be best, or are week days OK?

I can be flexible, although I will probably shoot for one day only. Sometime in late May or June I will be travelling for a couple of weeks, so when you have an idea of your dates please let me know.

Americans loving everything American like they do. I predict that any Searcy is a damned good investment. Some day when Butch isn't making the guns anymore they will become a finite resource and the price will skyrocket. If you look at some of the antique furniture made on the Eastern seaboard 150-200 yrs ago and what they sell for now-100's of thousands, well you get the point.

the chef

500grains
Will do.

I purchased a classic from Butch this past January and had him make an extra set of 375FL Mag barrels for it. I was wondering if the 450, 3 1/4" would fit on the same frame?