Hi John,

> Where are all the Krieghoff owners?
Out on the range, practicing with their toys! :-)

I have mine (a 500NE 3") fitted with the express sights, (I simply couldn't resist the classic touch).

I agree with some others here that the folding blades on a caliber like the 500NE (and similar) are of questionable use.
(Although I have been told by a fellow african hunter that he took an expectional impala with his 470 krieghoff at ~ 150yrs when the opportunity arose, using the 2nd blade and holding a little high. I still have to try mine at longer distances)

The large flip-up moon sight is an entirely different story, I found it very usefull for fast target/sight aquisition at close distances.

So for that reason, I would reccommend the express sight option.

As for finish, I choose to have all outer parts other than barrels of my double matte nickel-plated as a measure of corrosion protection.
Annother option to consider is to have the inner metal parts hard-chromed for the same reason. This option is not on Krieghoff's standard list, but was reccommended to me by a KH rep and my gunsmith.

Also, no engraving and other fuss, it's intended to be a "working gun". And frankly, I rather have mine a little shiny but working, than the other way around (with some of the swamp areas in Tanzania and Mocambique in my (dreamy) mind...)

Cheers,
500NE