How much does the Heym PH cost?

A Merkel .470 can be had for about $7,600 or thereabouts, new.

What about the Searcy, how much does it cost?

I think the Merkel is by far the least expensive, and good value for the money. If I'm not mistaken, the Heym is about $5,000 more. That's better than a 65% increase over the Merkel.

My point is, you can't lump all these rifles into the same category. The Merkel is by far the least expensive. You have to start there and then justify additional features to decide if the Searcy or Heym is your choice.

A couple years ago I bought a Merkel .500NE just for giggles and grins. It's a hell of a lot of gun for the money. Is it the best, most refined double rifle I own? Heck no! Do I think it is perfectly adequate for hunting? Heck yes! I killed a white tail with it last fall, in fact.

Mine has one aggravating feature that has developed. The safety sometimes pops on under recoil (and there's a lot of that). I'll have to get that fixed. Obviously one would not hunt dangerous game with that condition. Maybe if I had paid $5,000 more for the Heym this wouldn't have been a problem, but nothing is fool-proof. I know for a fact it can be fixed for little or nothing. (And I still have my $5,000).

Pay your money and take your choice. Just don't judge them all on the same scale. From what I know, if I could have bought the Heym for the same money as my Merkel, I would have bought the Heym. I think it is a slightly better build. Is it $5,000 better? You decide. I already made my decision.

Curl