Herters Inc. dies and presses,query)

[7arrows]

I have recently came across several dies and misc reloading tools with the herter label, including brass, primers and others. Also a new box of Alcan-metal shot shell hulls,,12 ga.) new in the box. Brass - 44 mag, new in the box,50) with Herter stamped on the casing. One set of dies are in a "Hollywood" box and are stamped .277 mag ,near as I can tell, remington 300 mag necked down to .277) Any info on these would be greatly appreciated! questions or comments to me7arrows@yahoo.com

 

[bglenn]

Herters was a company that sold all kind of gun stuff. They went out of business in the early 70's. I bought a barreled action from them when they went out of business. I think it was $48.00. They had their name on a lot of stuff that someone made for them.

Glenn

 

[gambleone]

Some people are still using the herters presses. Some companies like Midway sell shell-holder adapters for these presses. I've seen one of the presses & it was very heavy.

 

[Winchester69]

Perhaps these people will be helpful:

www.vegatool.com/
.

 

[Travelor]

Thanks for bringing back some fond memories by asking about Herter's products.

Herter's was located in Waseca, MN and was primarily a mail order business. They made rifle stocks and varmint calls and bought and resold everything else. They were best know for their marketing hype and the term, "Guide's Model Perfect" they put on items. Their catalog was a great item to read and was a cherished item - great stories as well as totally over the top claims for their products. They died after the Gun Control Act of 1968 stopped the sale of guns by mail. At the end, they moved briefly to North Dakota I believe.

They bought barreled rifle actions from Europe and stocked them at their Minnesota facility. As I remember it, there were commercial Mauser actions from Yugoslavia and BSA actions from England. I still have a BSA action 458 Magnum I bought from them. Their rifle prices were amazingly low and the guns were pretty good. Their stock work was on par with the best.

To me, their most memorable product,and probably biggest junk) was their line of Power Mag pistols that were from Germany in .357 Mag, 401 Power Mag, and 44 Magnum. I had the 44 Mag Power Mag pistol. I had to drive the cylinder pin out with a punch and hammer to clean it. Also, they sold "target" ammunition for their pistols that were loaded to magnum velocities with soft lead bullets and I remember that the barrels leaded so badly, a extruded ring of lead would form at the muzzle. The proprietary cartridge for this pistol called the 401 Power Mag was way ahead of its time as the S&W 40 calibers came out afterward and have been a dales success.

Their reloading equipment started many of us on our reloading "career" and the prices were very reasonable and they even published a reloading manual and sold bullet swagging dies. Their reloading press used a proprietary design that was not compatible with any other company.

FWIW, I went there a few times with my kids when I lived in Minneapolis and we always enjoyed my visits. Especially the 6 foot tall Jack-a-lope - kids were scared to death of it and I was never able to get a picture of them on the saddle on its back.

I truly missed them when they went out of business,

George

 

[tenring]

Boy, this sure brings back a lot of memories. When I was a young feller just starting to reload, I bought lot of stuff from George Herter. And my father bought loads of fly tying materials from him. You never knew whether you would get great stuff at a good price or absolute junk. Ol' George sure didhype his pitch on everything. Hated his competitors, and hadno reservations about criticizing them by name. After the company went under around 1980 I understand George went crazy in a mental institution and died a few years later.Every box of bullets I bought from Herters went back cause diameters were inconsistent. However, his dies and barrels were great. I still have a 1966 Herter's catalog, and some stock finishing materials.

 

[expiper]

I too used to enjoy reading their catalog....great stories...good products....I still use a cupla my old Herters reloading blocks and use every day their primer pocket cleaning tools...I wish someone wuld manufacture them today...the best I have ever had...and I got em all whitetail included....Roger

 

[LongRanger]

Back in 50's, one of my hunting buddies bought a Herter's reloading press with dies. It wasn't pretty, but it was so beefy he could have loaded tank ammo with it. Te-total overkill since he was reloading a .22 Hornet.

For me, greatest product they made was a special proprietary 12 gauge wad which had sealed petals which would not open upon firing. I shot untold thousands of them in my SKB O/U at the trap range. The wads landed about 25 yards further down the field than all other brands. Shot string was like a lead slug out to 25-30 yards. Supply of these wads seemed to leave the face of the earth when Herters folded. Sob!

My son practically slept with their catalog for a pillow and bought mucho fish lure parts and fly-tying goodies from them.

Yeah, they were full of hype, but everybody recognized it for what it was and got a kick out of "the absolute best, anywhere"
claims.

Sure do miss them!

Frank B.

 

[Gnarly]

I have 2 of the excellent Herters Super #3 presses-bought used,from a man who claimed to have bought them new in '64.

I use Shell holder adapters from CH4D.

Massive presses; flawless.

And they're the only two items on that handloading bench that I'll never sell.

----Gnarly

 

[tuck2]

Gnarly : Who is CH4D ?? I have two old Herters reloading press, but no shell holders..

 

[Gnarly]

Go to ch4d.com.
It's a custom machine shop in Mt.Vernon,OH. owned by David Davison.
They make Herters shellholder adapters,$18.90 each) that your regular,modern shellholders snap into-easily!
Be sure you order a couple extra springclips,$1 each) in case <like me> you lose one.
They also make over 1200 different calibers of wildcat-caliber and obsolete dies.Since 1947!
No online sales- just call 'em.Great folks.
They also make the finest powder measures I've ever owned-I have 2- only thing sweeter I've ever used was a buddy's Harrell's,$250+). While you're at the website,check it out: #502 Micrometer Measure,$94) with both pistol & rifle micrometers included.
Hope this helps,
----Gnarly

 

[CJ6]

RCBS also makes the adapter about $14.00. I live about 60 miles from Waseca, Herters's home store,well used to be anyhow). Alot of gunshows in the area have a bunch of Herter related stuff for sale every year. The Presses run between $35-$75, shell holders are in the $3-$5 range. Herters Brass was made by Norma and Frontier,Hornaday) the same with "Most Bullets". I still have several boxes of the 180gr WASP waisted 30cal bullets,110 gr 270 cal varmint hollow points,several different cal.Collete style bullet pullers,and case gauges.

 

[Gnarly]

Didn't know RCBS made an adapter!

Wish Herters was still around....

----Gnarly

 

[duanepa]

They even sold snowmobiles, trail bikes & Herters Hudson Bay trapping supplies. Catalog was standard "library material" in the reading room....

 

[EAtts]

I had a 15 foot Herter's canoe that weighed 95 pounds. When I was young I loaded it on the top of my car by myself. 45 years later I still canoe but with 40 pound Kevlar canoes. I have a large fleet of canoes today, but the heavy Herters canoe is the only canoe I have ever sold. I am sure glad I did.