First let me say all the Heym, and Merkel double rifles are as hand made as any brand is today! All makers utilize the cost saving CNC machine to do the grunt work on making the rough parts. From there on, the rifles are hand fitted, and finished, regardless of brand name! The so-called OFF THE SHELF doubles of today may be fitted to you, if you want to wait for them to be made, but they are no more HAND MADE than the off the shelf rifles.

That being said, I was also on the DRSS member hunt/shoot with the Heym folks, and NE450No2, this month. I also shot the little Heym O/U 9.3X74R double, and I simply did not like it at all! IMO, it was way too light, for the 9.3X74R cartridge, to start with, and the fact that it had to be made to use the light bullets to avoid it de-cocking it’s self, got an immediate thumbs down from me. Secondly I do not like the Blaser type cocking system on any double rifle, and that, and the fact that the rifle is too light, and will not handle the heavy bullets rated ZERO with me.

If one must use an O/U double rifle, then the larger O/U double for NE rounds by Heym, is the one I’d be prone to use. It has a conventional cocking system, and is available with two triggers, negating another thing I do not like in a double rifle, and that is a single trigger, along with it’s attendant auto-safety.

I Love the 88B double rifles made by Heym, and we also shot the new PH model chambered for the 450/400NE 3” cartridge now available loaded in Factory ammo from Hornady. The rifle was 100% in my book, and was very accurate! It’s got me thinking that I must have one. For a hunting rifle that one can buy right out of the store, like the PH model chambered for big game, or the dangerous persuasion, the Heym is as good as it gets.

I have owned many different makes of double rifles, over the years, and I think for, USING, the Heym 88B S/S double rifle is tops. Having said that, in the 9.3X74R chambering, there are several that qualify as worth their asking price. Some are better than others, however, and my pick from Merkel is the 140E, and second is the new 141 from the same maker. The 140E or 140 any prefix, weighs 8.3 pounds compared to the very light 141 which is in the 7 pound range. The 140 is also more on the Britt style of double rifle, and the 20 ga size action places more weight between the hands, making for better balance than the tiny 28 ga, IMO. I have no use for adjustable regulation in a double rifle, and I find the 141 to be too light, for the 9.3X74R cartridge, and this is also one of the reasons I didn’t buy a Chapuis double rifle, that along with the beavertail forend wood. The Chapuis doubles are superbly accurate, and there are many pluses they bring to the table, but I simply prefer a heavier double rifle, so the Merkel 140E is what I shoot. I also have a 140-2 Safari Merkel 470NE that gets the job done quite nicely, and the only thing, NEW, that I would trade my Merkel 140-2 for is the Heym 88B, chambered for the 450/400NE 3”.

This is a personal thing with me, and is not a rule others must live by, but there are a few things I will not have on a double rifle that may have to be used on animals that bite, gore, and stomp. These things are first and foremost, a single trigger, and after that, an auto-safety, an Over Under action, or a double rifle chambered for a cartridge that is rimless, or belted rimless. I have one double rifle that has all these things,except the rimless/belted cartridge, and I rarely shoot it at anything other than a paper target, or a whitetail deer, and if I’m in deer woods where Grizz lives, then it stays home, and the 140E, or other larger S/S double rifles get the nod!