Heym Model 89 in 500 NE

[CAustin]

Glad you got to shoot it more Matt!

 

[TOBY458]

Thanks for the update. At that price I would've hoped for more 5 star features. Hopefully it will grow on you in time.

 

[Opposite Pole]

I finally got around to shooting the new rifle a little at my neighbors backyard range. The range paced out to only 27 yards so it wasn’t an ideal test but it was better than nothing. Ill rate the rifle on a 1-5 star basis and give my thoughts on each aspect of the rifle. Please keep in mind that this is just a first impression and my opinions could easily change with more trigger time.


Accuracy/Regulation: Stars (****). Given the limited range I was shooting at, I cant be 100% certain of the rifles performance but at this range the rifle grouped and regulated very well with its regulation ammunition (Federal loaded with hydrostatic solids). With this ammunition it put both right and left barrels right next to each other with maybe a .25" gap between them. Windage was perfect but sadly the elevation was 3" low which is why I only gave it 4 stars. The elevation isn't a crisis since I plan on putting a red dot on the gun but ill be interested in seeing how it shoots at longer ranges. I also tried Barnes, Norma, and Hornady ammunition to see if any other factory loads regulated and I’m pleased to say the Barnes regulated quite well (which didn’t surprise me). The Norma loads also sort of work albeit they print about 1.5-2 inches apart, they would probably work in a pinch if nothing else is available. The Hornady loads did not work at all with one barrel hitting near point of aim while the other barrel hit about 12" away.

Fit/Finish: Stars (*****). The fit and finish of this rifle is flawless! The wood meets the steel perfectly with no gaps and the gun locks up like the finest made vault. You actually can’t be too gentle when opening and closing the rifle because the tolerances are so tight it’s a bit stiff (I’m sure use will make it easier).

Triggers: Stars (***). I have mixed feelings about the triggers. On one hand they aren’t overly heavy and don’t creep when pulled. On the other hand there is a first stage you have to get past before you hit a wall and then it fires. If you’re not prepared for it then the first stage will be a bit of a surprise. My first couple of shots with this gun were not great until I got used to the triggers. Keep in mind this review is from a trigger snob... if it were up to me this gun would have a 2 pound single stage trigger in the front with a 4 pound single stage trigger in the rear. Most of my hunting rifles have 1-2 pound trigger pulls and I'm very fond of set triggers.

Weight/Balance: Stars (**). This is where the rifle fails pretty badly considering its price point. The rifle is more then a little heavy at 11 pounds 11 ounces and the point of balance is about 3/4 of an inch forward of the action. This means that any gains in recoil reduction you might get from the gun being extra heavy are canceled out by the slightly muzzle heavy design. This is sort of a double edged sword, on one hand being muzzle heavy causes the recoil to dump strait into your shoulder. But on the other hand being muzzle heavy means you have almost no muzzle flip and your second shot is much faster.

It's still a little early for an overall final conclusion but at this point I have very mixed feelings about the rifle. After some more trigger time ill have a better formed opinion.

-Matt

Is the front site height adjustable? Do you know at what range the gun was regulated? Curios to know, if elevation is properly adjusted at the correct range, I guess I would be very surprised if it wasn't, particularly since the regulation seems to be top notch and that's the hard part. It's incredible how much the rifle didn't like the Hornady loads, 12" at that distance is huge! Goes to show how important the right ammo is in a double.

 

[CTDolan]

Does anybody know if this model has intercepting safeties? It’s rare for a boxlock but Matt’s description of the trigger pulls suggests that it might.

 

[ActionBob]

Is the front site height adjustable? Do you know at what range the gun was regulated? Curios to know, if elevation is properly adjusted at the correct range, I guess I would be very surprised if it wasn't, particularly since the regulation seems to be top notch and that's the hard part. It's incredible how much the rifle didn't like the Hornady loads, 12" at that distance is huge! Goes to show how important the right ammo is in a double.

I would not be surprised if the elevation is good once it get a to a 50 plus yard range. I'm guessing at 27 yards the bullet is still rising.

Hopeful at least!

Good luck with her growing on you Matt

Bob

 

[Bullthrower338]

Thanks for the review Matt, I was just happy that it showed up and wasn’t full of used pinball machine parts after all the shit shows you have had with rifles over the years! Lol
Cheers,
Cody

 

[matt85]

I would not be surprised if the elevation is good once it get a to a 50 plus yard range. I'm guessing at 27 yards the bullet is still rising.

considering elephant hunting is done at around 25-50 yards I would think it should be closer then it is. the gun has a flip up 100 yard sight that might help.

Is the front site height adjustable? Do you know at what range the gun was regulated? Curios to know, if elevation is properly adjusted at the correct range, I guess I would be very surprised if it wasn't, particularly since the regulation seems to be top notch and that's the hard part. It's incredible how much the rifle didn't like the Hornady loads, 12" at that distance is huge! Goes to show how important the right ammo is in a double.

the sites are fixed but I imagine the front sight can be replaced (I will look when I get home).

I was also kinda shocked that Hornady was so far off but I fired 6 DGS cartridges from the rifle and not once did the impacts come close to each other. However ive very pleased that the Barnes brass solids seem to have nearly the same POI as the Woodleigh Hydro's. the Woodleigh hydro's aren't exactly common or inexpensive while the Barnes are easily available.

-matt

 

[One Day...]

Weight/Balance: Stars (**). This is where the rifle fails pretty badly considering its price point. The rifle is more then a little heavy at 11 pounds 11 ounces and the point of balance is about 3/4 of an inch forward of the action. This means that any gains in recoil reduction you might get from the gun being extra heavy are canceled out by the slightly muzzle heavy design. This is sort of a double edged sword, on one hand being muzzle heavy causes the recoil to dump strait into your shoulder. But on the other hand being muzzle heavy means you have almost no muzzle flip and your second shot is much faster.

Luckily for you, it is muzzle heavy rather than muzzle light. This means that by adding a mercury recoil reducer of appropriate weight (or just plain old lead) in the stock, you can easily balance the gun to have the "weight" (i.e. balance point) between your two hands, where it should be. Yes, it will likely add a few ounces to the gun weight, but 11 pounds 11 ounces is not ridiculously heavy for a .500 - it was actually the standard weight of a .500 in the good old days, so that its perceived recoil would be about on par with the perceived recoil of a lighter .470 - and even if it gets to 12 pounds, you will never feel the weight difference but it will point much better. It is easy to find out exactly how much weight is needed to balance the gun by wrapping anything you can think off around the stock until you get it to balance, then weigh the material on a postal scale.

 

[One Day...]

Does anybody know if this model has intercepting safeties? It’s rare for a boxlock but Matt’s description of the trigger pulls suggests that it might.

I think that you mean intercepting SEARS, and the answer is yes. See https://www.heymusa.com/rifles/89b.html

 

[One Day...]

Is the front site height adjustable?

Based on pics on the Heym website, it appears that the front sight is of the classic interchangeable slide-in type. It would be extremely unlikely that non-custom specified sights would be different.

 

[One Day...]

Windage was perfect but sadly the elevation was 3" low which is why I only gave it 4 stars.

Truth be told, this may only mean that 1) the way you are nesting the front bead in the shallow V rear, or 2) the way you are controlling the recoil, are different from the way the person who regulated the gun did. In the old days, the maker would file the V progressively, as the customer shot, in order to get it perfectly regulated FOR THE OWNER. Nowadays, the same purpose is accomplished with slide-in interchangeable front sights. I would not be disappointed by this if I were you, Actually, quite the opposite , i.e. the gun shooting perfectly to YOUR point of aim / how YOU control the recoil would have been highly unlikely.

 

[One Day...]

By the way, the formula for determining the amount of front sight correction needed is as follows:

amount of point of impact shift required in inches (in this case, 3 inches)
x (multiplied by) sight radius in inches (distance between front and rear sight, I am not sure on your gun, you can measure it, but let us assume 20 inches for example)
/ (divided by) distance to the target in inches (let us say 25 yards - which is appropriate for a double .500 - x (multiplied by) 36 inches per yard = 900 inches)
= required increase or decrease of front sight eight in inches.

So, in your case, shooting 3" low at 25 yards/meters, you need a front sight 3 x 20 / 900 = 0.06" inch shorter, that I am sure Heym will be happy to provide.

 

[One Day...]

The Hornady loads did not work at all with one barrel hitting near point of aim while the other barrel hit about 12" away.

Now, THAT is quite uncommon! Opening the group a few inches due to the different yaw of the gun based on different loads (bullet weight, bullet driving bands, powder charge, etc.) is to be expected, as you very well know, but 12" between most loads and one specific load, in a quality gun - which the Heym is - is just bizarre. Does it shoot high, low, or wide? Were the barrels hot? (these are not designed to fire 25 shots strings ;-) Most importantly is this repeatable? etc. My little pinky tells me that there is something to be understood here...

 

[One Day...]

It's still a little early for an overall final conclusion but at this point I have very mixed feelings about the rifle.

Yes, I think that you are right. You two need to spend a little time together. The balance is really simple to fix - and truth be told it is a matter of personal preference; the front sight should not rightfully be expected to be at point of aim; you will learn the trigger and probably come to like the fact that you have a first stage - which is likely by design to spare you the grand classic of touching the gun off accidentally as you swing during an exciting time; etc. There is a reason why these guns used to be made on an individual order basis, and were fitted (like a suit) to their individual owner. You are just experiencing dealing with what the 1/2 day fitting session in London would have ironed out. The gun is fine, actually beyond fine, and you are a lucky man to have such a nice gun.
And I bet that you will come back and tell us the story re. the Hornady load...

 

[norfolk shooter]

Very nice double you have there Matt. Love the wood and the chequering too

 

[matt85]

holy cow @One Day... you think you posted enough times?!

• 12 pounds would be an acceptable weight if the gun had a steel butt plate as the old rifles did. with a modern pad the gun should be 10.5-11.5 pounds, anything heavier is just more weight to carry.
• i shouldn't have to modify a $30,000 custom order rifle to make it fit me better.
• the Hornady ammunition just didn't work in this gun, it didnt matter if the barrels were cold or warm. could be a bad box or perhaps the bullet style is just too different from the brass solids its regulated for. if memory serves me right, the right barrel was near POI while the left barrel was very far low and left.
• the gun shoots low. i was just sifting threw the paperwork and even the regulation target shows a POI about 1.75" low at 50 meters.

 

[Shootist43]

One Day, you may not have been able to get to Africa yet, but it is obvious from your posts that you are no "tenderfoot" when it comes to your knowledge of firearms.

Matt 85, is it possible to purchase a "set" of front sights from Heym that would enable to adjust your front sight height to accommodate various loads and distances?

 

[Red Leg]

holy cow @One Day... you think you posted enough times?!

• 12 pounds would be an acceptable weight if the gun had a steel butt plate as the old rifles did. with a modern pad the gun should be 10.5-11.5 pounds, anything heavier is just more weight to carry.
• i shouldn't have to modify a $30,000 custom order rifle to make it fit me better.
• the Hornady ammunition just didn't work in this gun, it didnt matter if the barrels were cold or warm. could be a bad box or perhaps the bullet style is just too different from the brass solids its regulated for. if memory serves me right, the right barrel was near POI while the left barrel was very far low and left.
• the gun shoots low. i was just sifting threw the paperwork and even the regulation target shows a POI about 1.75" low at 50 meters.

View attachment 221612

With factory ammunition, the regulation between different production lots alone can cause significant changes in regulation. Did they provide you the specific lot number?

A rifle which regulates low is far less forgiving than one which regulates a bit high. The former complicates range estimation issues while the latter buys you a bit of fudge factor.

Looking at your group vice the 1.75 inch low regulation target you described, I am inclined to believe that you and the shooter regulating the target "see" the sights differently. Fairly common with open sights. That could be fixed with a new front sight IF you are happy with that group at that range.

Aren't doubles fun!?!

Did I mention that I have an 8k Blaser S2 that will do that at 100 meters?

 

[ActionBob]

Did I mention that I have an 8k Blaser S2 that will do that at 100 meters?

Joe;
Like any avid gun guy, you must surely want to sell that Blazer for about 6k ? ... Just letting you you know I'm here for you when you're ready

 

[CTDolan]

I think that you mean intercepting SEARS, and the answer is yes. See https://www.heymusa.com/rifles/89b.html

Thanks for the reply...didn't think to look on Heym's site for the answer.

P.S. - They go by either...one gunmaker's intercepting sear is another's intercepting safety (and, technically, they are a form of safety).