Any Problems with "Heym"?

[JvW]

Buzz's rifle broke a small latch connecting the cross-bolt and the toplever. After I put him in touch with the right people, Heym offered to send a replacement part with his next client from Germany. It's a minor thing to put right and happened at an unfortunate time.

Just another thought: caring for your double is very important as well. They are not Land Cruisers but rather pretty intricate mechanical devices that needs a bit of pampering every now and then. They don't function well in the long run when used as shovels, hammers or clubs. Use any double like that and something will eventually go wrong. Guaranteed.

 

[SStomcat]

Well said, any double rifle will break no matter the brand and value if not dealt with the way they are supposed to.

 

[Bejane]

ok maybe a dumb question because I have limited knowledge on doubles, but how do you prevent the latch connecting the cross-bolt and the toplever from breaking?

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

ok maybe a dumb question because I have limited knowledge on doubles, but how do you prevent the latch connecting the cross-bolt and the toplever from breaking?

I think that the answer is pretty much the same for any mechanical componentry - don't force it. Occasionally something will break due to metal fatigue in normal use, or just due to age. But when something becomes hard to operate, especially when it wasn't before, there is a reason. Stop using it and seek expert advice. Something as simple as the lack of adequate lubrication may lead to a rapid lockup of movement.

 

[Russ16]

I think that the answer is pretty much the same for any mechanical componentry - don't force it. Occasionally something will break due to metal fatigue in normal use, or just due to age. But when something becomes hard to operate, especially when it wasn't before, there is a reason. Stop using it and seek expert advice. Something as simple as the lack of adequate lubrication may lead to a rapid lockup of movement.

That’s true. Although I’m guessing things get pushed pretty hard when a tuskless is headed your way with malicious intent.

 

[Daniel Cary]

Nothing is perfect .. life is full of mysteries

 

[Moosemind]

 

[Altitude sickness]

Hey at least he aired the “dry fire practice/flinch”
And strumming the rear trigger on recoil.

He is standing like he’s shooting an air rifle or NRA .22 competition at Camp Perry.

It’s obvious his friend didn’t hand him a broken Heym.

He hit the rear trigger when the rifle recoiled out of his hands because of his stance and grip.

Look at his right hand. It’s off the stock. His finger should still be in the trigger guard pulling on the front trigger.

But at least he had the Sac to air it.

 

[Moosemind]

That's what I initially thought but he said he only pulled the rear trigger.

 

[rookhawk]

That's what I initially thought but he said he only pulled the rear trigger.

That would be foolish. The front trigger is 4.5lbs, the back trigger is 5.5-6.5lbs

 

[Moosemind]

 

[rookhawk]

Don’t get me started on the dumb African way of shooting the back trigger first to prevent doubling. They started that habit because they largely have unserviced 100 year old double rifles. The front trigger is lower poundage for a more accurate shot, the back trigger is higher poundage to prevent a double fire under recoil. It’s how they are made and how they are supposed to work.

I had one PH argue that his left barrel was far more accurate too! I looked down what remained of the bores and of course the right barrel was shot out. (Because it was shot first for 100 years before they invented this back trigger/ left barrel nonsense)

 

[Moosemind]

Wasn't referring to any trigger first. The video is about a doubling new rifle. Even pulling rear trigger first.

 

[rookhawk]

Wasn't referring to any trigger first. The video is about a doubling new rifle. Even pulling rear trigger first.

Pulling the rear Trigger first is more likely to cause a double fire. The rear trigger is stouter to endure the recoil of the first shot, not the other way around.

Strumming the rear trigger is a completely different problem

 

[Hunter-Habib]

The above lacks all the elements to make a conclusion, so all I can offer is speculation.

What I have seen in my 14-ish visits to Zimbabwe is that they have extremely low standards for handloading. PHs have bragged to me that they get their ammo made by the "best" handloader in the country. The stuff was largely unfit for use in a variety of ways: Filthy cases, no crimp or excessive crimp, not trimmed for uniform size, often the wrong shape bullet for a given cartridge, bulged cases for excessive resizing.

The point being, If I had to bet between a latent defect in a Heym versus the notion that it was a bad hand load in Zimbabwe, I would strongly lean towards the latter without more evidence.

You were 100% right. I just learnt today that he was using hand loads gifted by a client.

 

[rookhawk]

You were 100% right. I just learnt today that he was using hand loads gifted by a client.

Thank you for having the courage and integrity to follow up with this “A-ha!” Data.

Most PHs do not understand double rifle ballistics and they never bother to care about regulation, they all hit true at 5 paces, the only time they shoot them. As such, I’ve seen PHs stuffing what I consider very dangerous and unknown origin loads into their doubles. One PH I know had a culling belt that contained no less than 9 different factory loads for his 470NE, many were made before my birth. The amount of heat damage those rounds suffered on the dash board of a bakkie is significant.

In most African countries, hand loading is all but totally illegal and if allowed at all, special permits are many thousands of USD per year.

As to a Heym, would my anecdote above have resulted in a catastrophic failure in a Heym? Probably not, they were factory. Could they have caused a catastrophic failure in his century old London gun that was expecting a lead core solid and the pressure curve of cordite? Absolutely.