30-06 Heym/Westernfield

[Rob404]

Built for Montgomery Wards by Heym in West Germany On a large ring short action Mauser, maybe started life as a 7x57 ,I can't find a ton of information on this Rifle built as a limited offer sometime in the 50s-60s . The barrel is slightly long at 21" for a Mannlicher stock. The action is slick and the bore is bright and shiney. Should make a nice shooter

 

[Royal27]

Montgomery Wards? Never would have guessed that!!!!

Nice rifle...

 

[enysse]

That a beauty for sure, I love everything about it.

 

[Nyati]

Nice, Heym makes very good rifles.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Cool story. Excellent rifle in excellent caliber.
Witold

 

[Slugs Away]

Very nice, interesting bolt handle.

 

[Rob404]

Thanks Guys,it only weighs 8.5lbs scoped so it Should make a nice Plains game rifle, the Bolt Handle is called among other things a Butterknife and is still popular in Europe. heres a pic of the floor plate release a pretty upscale touch

 

[CAustin]

Montgomery Wards? Never would have guessed that!!!!

Nice rifle...

I'm with you Royal.....would never have landed on "Monkey Wards" as we use to say.

 

[TallGrassHunter]

What a nice find.
It reminds me too of when Montgomery Wards and Sears were my favorite reading which is a whole another good feeling .

 

[Rob404]

Some updates the Rifle was made in the 60s and the Action is based on a mid sized Mauser action, these were built in limited numbers and Most were 30-06 calibers, it doesn't seem to like 180+ grain bullets but shoot 150s extremely well, I'm going to load some 125s today and see how it handles them.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Rob404, that looks in great condition! I'll give you $50 for it? Just kidding! Excellent find!

"Monkey Warts" as we called it, was one of my favorite places to visit in Fort Worth, TX growing up. If they didn't have it, you didn't need it.

The Sears special catalogs, Jeep Parts, Model T & A Parts, etc were awesome too.

This does bring back long forgotten memories.

 

[sestoppelman]

Likely length of the action is std military. I assume there is no thumb slot on the left wall, but it has the military bolt shroud. I once had a later Heym called the Model 2000 in 7x64. Afraid I didn't think much of it and it went down the road after a short visit. How many 180 brands have you tried in it? I wouldn't give up on the weight too soon, its probably the best overall weight for the '06, though I like 200 as well.

 

[D.M.V]

Wow i wished I could find one of these. Wards ? Wow. The good old days when department stores sold stuff like this. Really really nice gun

 

[ScottG]

Wow great find I hope it shoots straight for you.

 

[sestoppelman]

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/699245458

Hey look! Just saw this on GB.

 

[sestoppelman]

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/697393207

Why here is one just like up top!!

 

[Rob404]

Well I loaded some nosler 125s behind 52gs of RL15 and got some excellent groups, the wind was kicking up so it was tough to get in dialed in but I was able to Chronograph a touch over 2700fps out of the short barrel, not to shabby

 

[Rob404]

Likely length of the action is std military. I assume there is no thumb slot on the left wall, but it has the military bolt shroud. I once had a later Heym called the Model 2000 in 7x64. Afraid I didn't think much of it and it went down the road after a short visit. How many 180 brands have you tried in it? I wouldn't give up on the weight too soon, its probably the best overall weight for the '06, though I like 200 as well.

I'm not so much interested in a heavy hitter as I am in a Fast Flat Shooter hopefully the 125s will give me both

 

[sestoppelman]

Well depending on what you want to do with it... however 2700 with a 125 is about the same energy level as a .30-30 so it wont be a flat shooter for very far. You should easily be able to get 3200 fps out of that barrel, or even more. 125's wont carry energy very far either, be better off with a 150 or 165 at around 2900 to 3000 fps.

 

[Rob404]

Well depending on what you want to do with it... however 2700 with a 125 is about the same energy level as a .30-30 so it wont be a flat shooter for very far. You should easily be able to get 3200 fps out of that barrel, or even more. 125's wont carry energy very far either, be better off with a 150 or 165 at around 2900 to 3000 fps.

at 52g of RL15 I'm loading light, I'll spend the next couple weeks experimenting with bullet weights and powder charges til I hit the sweet spot