Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Heym Express Rifle in .416 Rigby?

Gentlemen,
I have been looking at Heym's Express Rifle, built on Ralph Martini's stock design, for the last four or five years. I called Chris Sells on Thursday and he sent me pictures of two .375 H&H's with lackluster wood. He said he might have something that would trip my trigger. He was right, however, I have a few concerns...

The rifle is too long. The LOP is 14.5". I don't have anyone locally that I would trust to cut and put a new pad on that stock. Hence the rifle would go to James Tucker in Oregon. Dunno what he will charge, however, it will not be a trifle. I am further looking at shipping and insurance on the rifle and the Hardigg Storm Case. We are looking at $500, at a minimum, to correct the length of pull.

The stock is beautiful, however, the metalwork is rather average. If you compare it to one of Ralph Martini's Custom Express 98s it looks rather plain. His integral quarter rib and rear sight, integral sling swivel, and integral front sight base has to be seen to be appreciated. More expensive than the Heym. Very much so...

Long question shorter, what are your thoughts? I intend the rifle to go to Africa, however, I have been running .375 H&H's for a quarter century. I know where they hit, I am comfortable with their recoil, and I know the cartridge. I suspect I will have more control than I will with the .416 Rigby.

The Rigby seems to lack the versatility of the .375

The rifle is offered at $14,500 without scope or rings. That seems steep for a factory custom, however, this is anything but a typical factory custom rifle...

Thoughts most welcome...





Regards, Matt.

Matt, hope you are well. The 416 Remington is the best all round cartridge IMHO for Africa. I have one with a 24" barrel and I have developed loads that propel a 350 TSX 2715 FPS with Power Pro 2000MR. Also a 300 grain Hammer bullet at 3001 FPS with Power Pro Varmint. This is a flat shooting hard hitting weapon with these newer powders. Shoot under MOA at 100 yards. The 416 Remington can be built on a smaller lighter action and a more handy package

The rifle above is a beauty for sure

That rifle is a beauty all right...but stick with the .375s....I've shot all versions of .416s and didn't care for any of them, the .375 is just plain easier and more fun to shoot, and you KNOW it works....JMHO

I have long lusted over the "new" Heym and Rigby rifles... When the Heym was $10k a few years ago I was very near ordering a rifle in 404 Jeffery. I found both makers to be a bit on the heavier side than perhaps they need to be; especially for the 375 H&H (that i also wanted). I also think very highly of Wayne at AHR and his CZ 550 big bore customs but they too are on the heavier end for my taste and don't have that European "provenance" that many covet.

I was in Dallas on business and went to see Chris Sells. He is a super awesome guy. We tried to make a plan but in the end, I felt it was too many concessions on my part to get the "rifle of my dreams." Simple things like the rifle would need to be at or under 9lbs bare.

I felt that I could get a similar quality or a better build from any number of custom gunmakers. I have always been a huge fan of double square bridge M98 actions. I also grew up near Duane Wiebe's shop and have always dreamed of owning one of his rifles. With my size I like a 15" LOP and it would be quite rare to find a rifle that would fit on the second hand market. So I contacted Duane and commissioned a custom. I hunted down a BRNO ZG47 action and we spec'd out a lightweight 375 H&H build. For equal money to the Heym or Rigby, I took delivery of the exact "dream rifle" that I wanted. It does not have that European "provenance" but in my mind a rifle from Duane is held in the same high regard. I elected for more of a continental European design and function over the traditional English style as it is more to my taste.

Since taking delivery of the custom by Duane, I have held and fired both the Heym and the Rigby. It was reaffirmed that I had made the better choice in getting the custom I wanted and not settling for a high-end production rifle.

There are a number of great custom builders out there that could build you something incredible. Roger Green, JP Smithson, James Anderson, Stuart Satterlee, Lon Paul, Matt Roberts and so on...

My photos are junk. The rifle, engraving and wood are amazing! I am now looking for a square bridge BRNO 21/22 donor action to have Duane build into a lightweight 30-06 to pair with this 375 H&H!

How much does it need to be shortened for you?

We all have different tastes the stock looks nice, but not that $$$$ nice.

I’d pass. Wait for something that was built right for you from the get go. Or stick with the 375 and spend the 15k in Africa

Gentlemen,
I greatly appreciate the input. I really am looking for advice and not an accomplice...lol

Mr. Parker,
Good to hear from you. No doubt you are on the cutting edge. I could see a .300 Winchester Magnum Light Rifle complimenting a .416 Remington Magnum. THAT BEING SAID the last time I talked to D'Arcy he REFUSED(laughing here) to build me a .416 Remington Magnum. He said the .375 H&H Mag would kill anything that walked with the 350 grain load. I won't forget that conversation.

Have to call him with a stock order this week.

I have heard that the .416 Remington Magnum is developed an excellent reputation in Africa. I have Phil Shoemaker's article on his first "M70 Stainless Classic in .416 Rem Mag. I take it he is still a fan as is his daughter. Speaks volumes. I still have that original copy of Rifle Magazine.

I would have to wonder about brass and bullets though. I looked for .416 Remington Magnum components a couple of years back and they were hard to find.

Ingwe,
You make a solid point and "my little voice" is screaming "375!". I appreciate the input and feel you are spot on. I know the .375 H&H well. I've just never hit on the perfect package.

haverluk,
I too came close to buying one when they were under $10K. All in all I agree with your take. There are far too many concessions involved for what will be factory rifle that fails to tick enough boxes to trip my trigger. Your rifle is a looker. Which Leupold is that? I have a pair of VX-III 1.75-6x32E's for my first Winchesters. They've been good to me over the years...

Best Regards, Matt.

Matt,

That is a VX3HD 2.5-8x36 on it. I have a VX3 1.5-5x20 in a spare set of rings for it as well.

The perfect 375 is a worthy goal.
I agree with Haverluk the perfect 375 should weigh less than 9lbs and more than 8 lbs. with scope. The LOP is very important also.
My estimation is the Heym is priced to high for what it is.
I just finished building to me the perfect 375. I did the work myself and have less than 2k in it. It's a FN Mauser action with a #3 contour barrel cut to 22"
The stock is English walnut from Roger Vardy. I will send it out for checkering in the spring.

haverluk,
Thank you. Has it given you good service? I have shot some Leupolds right through the 17 years I sold Schmidt Bender. Then I got a bad batch in 2006. Hoping they have changed. Granted the absolute worst were from their "Custom Shop". Enough of that...

irfubar,
That is a handsome workmanlike rifle. I agree that rifle is high.

Thank you for your input.

Regards, Matt.

Matt,

I do love some high end Euro glass but appreciate to low weight and cost of Leupold scopes. I haven't had to send one back yet and I have owned 40-50 of them over the last 25 years or so.

Matt,
In my humble opinion Haverluk is spot on. If you want a 375, get one done the way you want it. You can have someone build you one he!! of rifle for the money you are talking about. Downside is the time to finished product, but will be worth it.

If you decide to go 416, Remington is the way to go. I really like my 416 Remington pushing a 350gr TSX @2600fps. It would take a 375 of the pedigree you are speaking of to get me to part with it. This after having played with multiple 375's, 416 Rigby's, and 404 J.

In the end, I think you would much happier with a 375 like you are proposing.

Gene Simillion or Darcy Echols can both build you the rifle of your dreams. Get what you want incorporated into it and never have to change anything to make it fit or handle better. I prefer the 416 after having hunted with both, but that’s personal preference.

Matt, Ryan Breeding makes extremely high rifles. Ryan apprenticed under Gill Van Horn

https://www.rbbigbores.com/

I'd have Jim Kobe build it...fast, talented and quite reasonable.

Price some of the custom rifle builders mentioned and you might get a dose of reality when it comes to pricing. I am not a fan of Heym, but acknowledge this is just a matter of taste on my part. They are solid, well built rifles but for that kind of coin, you could maybe have one built.

I like the 416 Rigby, but in my view the Remington is the way to go. It's s smaller more compact action with similar performance. I do own a 416 Rigby, but it's a looong action so if I'm going to tote n action that big, I'd go up in caliber. That said, a 416 (either one) with a 350gr TSX shoots remarkably flat, so it is a bit more versatile than a lot of folks give it credit for and I don't find the recoil to be that bad either.

I agree with Jorge. The 416 Rem is the better of the two 416s unless you really want to hot rod a 416, then you can get higher velocities out of the Rigby. But a 400 grain bullet at 2400 fps or slightly better out of the Rem is more than enough and is not objectionable in the recoil dept. With the 350gr. bullets, the trajectory is very similar to that of the 375 H&H. By the account of PHs and noted experienced hunters like Boddington, the 416 hits harder than the 375 as well. JMHO.

I'm in the camp of stick with the 375. Your comfortable with it and know what it can and can't do which at the end of the day is very little. I LOVE custom rifles and you can have the rifle of your dreams built in whatever caliber you choose for less than the Hyem.
I can't see where shipping the stock and shortening the LOP would cost any where's near the $500 you mentioned.

Agree with Jorge.

The .416 Rem seems to be the most popular and for a reason.

DF

Not sure why people dont like the Heym..

Looks quite nice..