I have a 1 lb can of Herters 120 powder that I inherited. All of the other powders I got with this are a little newer and I have used with no problems. I have also used with no problem the Herters primers I have.

Does anybody know what this powder is? I have no load data for it. Does anyone know what it is called today? assuming it is made under a different name.

Thanks for any help you can give.

wow...that stuff has to be close to 40 years lod.....but no reason to not use it if you know what it is or have loading data for it.....

I think I know but the memory is so old that it'd be a disservice to say as I'm not totally sure....and that's the reason for my post. Make sure you get sound and almost verifiable info before using it.

It costs you $16 to use it as fertilizer and a whole lot more to make a mistake.

A

Rather than go to all the trouble, I would take it to a gun show. Lots of guys out there who now collect the old original Herter stuff and you could probably find one who would give you a can of new powder in trade. The same for the Herter primers. And Herter bullets. How would you like to find a box of the old Herter Wasp Waist Sonic bullets?

ray

quote:

Originally posted by Cheechako:
A

Rather than go to all the trouble, I would take it to a gun show. Lots of guys out there who now collect the old original Herter stuff and you could probably find one who would give you a can of new powder in trade. The same for the Herter primers. And Herter bullets. How would you like to find a box of the old Herter Wasp Waist Sonic bullets?

ray

Excellent idea!!!!!

BTW the Herter waspe waste sonics were the worst bullet I ever bought in my life.....Those folks were good at gimmicks for sure.

I have gone thru Herters 1966 reloading manual and 1976 catalog,findingrifle powders 100,101`,102 & 103.For shotgun powders they list only 160,162,164 &169

hey guys - you're showing your age - you realize of course that some of the spring chickens here don't even remember herters

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
hey guys - you're showing your age - you realize of course that some of the spring chickens here don't even remember herters

Hell...George Leonard Herter was your next door neighbor and Gopher Shooters Supply was his major competitor back in the '60s at least locally in the Waseca area.

You probably have stuff you bought from both in person at their place of business just like I do.....aging ourselves.....gimme a break!!!!!

Thanks guys, If no one knows the equvalint powder of today I won't waste my bullets and just reload my tomatos.

The powder priced $2.30 and the primers $5.80 are named the same. "Model Perfect Powder (or Primers) NO.120" on the side of the primer box it says "Honestly non-corrosive"
I have only 500 primers left and plan on using them but will keep the box and powder can as memorabilia. I also found a box of 100 "Herters 180gr. .308 s.p. Wasp-Waist Sonic Missile Tail". After you guys mentioned the bullets I thaught I had some. I remember looking at them when I first went through all the stuff and thinking to myself "how ugly they are and I will never use those". That Wasp-Waist is so big you would have to seat the bullet way down into the case they must have sucked.

If any of you guys would like one of the bullets for a collection or to remind yourselves how old you are, drop me a pm with your address and I'll mail you one.

Herter's powders were manufactured by ICI in Scotland. ICI had it's own line of powders at the time which were identical to the Herter's powders, just with different numbers. BTW, ICI also made some of Hodgdon's powders for a while, including H4895 and H4831.

I think it is good advice to market the powder to someone who is interested in Herter memorabilia rather than trying to figure out how to properly load and shoot it. But since it cannot economically be shipped, you're limited to someone in your local market. Unless the gunshow exhibitors in Wisconsin are of a significantly higher caliber than in Texas, you may have difficulty finding a buyer who has proper appreciation for your merchandise. Your best bet at a gun show is to simply walk around with it in your hand and hope that some interested party in attendance will make inquiry.

On the other hand, I have and am still using a supply of Herter's small rifle primers (made in Japan). They seem to go "bang" just like any other primer with boring regularity.

If you can't find a Herters collector, it makes great fertilizer spread finely over your lawn.

A TEAM

You're making a wise decision in saving the boxes and cans from the Herter's components. They will someday be a part of shooting history.

Today I read a lot of snide remarks about Herters, their products, and most of all their advertising. But I'm here to tell you that as a young shooter in the 1950s it was one of the few places I could turn to for shooting stuff. The young shooters today have all sorts of catalogs, stores, and even places like e-bay to shop. In my day there were no such things especially in the small towns in fly-over country. A few guns and ammo were sold at the local hardware store but they seldom carried reloading supplies. Mail order houses like Herters and Gophers kept us all shooting. And, as hokey as it was, those catalogs with the pictures and shooting stories were like a trip to Africa or India for many a po Illinois farm boy like me. Showing my age? Yep. And not ashamed of it.

Ray

I have to agree with Cheechako. I started loading in the early 50s. As a po North Dakota farm boy, Herters was one of the few suppliers.

Lyle

Hey you old farts!!
The way I remember it, Herters was just about the only place that had anything we wanted. Very few places to get reloading tools, dies, press, bullets, powder, traps, guns, stocks. Just about everything ever heard of could be had from them at a very fair price. Plus a good solid weeks worth of entertainment about how wonderful every single item was and why, along with 15 or 20 stories from others testifying to it. Lee Precision and Dixie are about the only one's nowdays and they're no where as good/bad as Herters was. I wish I had a couple of those old inch thick catalogs now.

I do have the old C press that cost $25 in 1958 when I was 14 and just getting started. Several dies, some I use yet. And that dangerously lousy set of scales, and powdermeasure that wasn't as good, too. At least three sets of dies are still in the original tan/brown boxes.

I wouldn't dump that powder out, and I'd keep the primers rather than use them. You're young enough most likely to benefit from their increase in value in your lifetime yet. So, keep them safe, maybe even on display where this stuff can't be harmed.

Seems like the dies were $4.88, and the best one's were a buck more, scales about $8, measure was $6. How far off am I? Bullets were less than $3/100, primers in town here were 50 cents, Herters was a quarter, right?

I shot two elk with the wasp waist bullets. One blew up on the shoulder, another went clear thru another elk's ribs and just a small exit hole. A head shot to finish up a bull for another guy blew the head nearly to pulp from the eye's up. Man was he mad!!

Two deer I shot with them. One was a big muley on a dead run, I kneeled down and fired three shots at 75yds broadside w/06. Only the last time he slightly flinched. First two shots gave no sign of a hit. Later all three were fully covered with the bottom of a Coors can! But,, they were in the front edge of the flank. IF he'd gone down where shot, it would have been an easy 200yd drag downhill to the car. But, went over the ridge and down into the bottoms about 200yds further. The down hill was damned near too steep to walk up. Three of us spent hours getting him up it. This was the biggest buck I've ever shot. Skinned, head off short, legs off at knee's, blood shot meat cleaned out, brisket cut out and the body still weighed 185# on cert scales. I was about 16 then, entered it in a "Biggest buck contest by weight." Another much older asshole, insisted he'd take the butcher to court unless he won. His buck was a three point, head, skin, legs/feet, brisket were all still on it. But, the contest was: "biggest by weight". His was about 191#. That made a lot of people mad as hell to beat a kid out of a head mount with such a much smaller buck than I had. I do hope someone waylaid him somewhere! Wasn't much the butcher could do. Taxidermist did a lousy job on the head and took him over a year too. So he didn't gain by it. I know the hide hair slipped as a bobcat I had the same guy tan did.

These deer were on a mtn pasture Dad rented for our cattle. I watched them grow horns that summer and saw them many times. We'd stood watching each other many times that summer. Each time I told them: "I'm gonna hang a tag on one or both of you guys this fall". THis buck's rack was ugly, but a 4pt and real wide & shallow. 29" inside width.

The other buck was with him, and the twin too. Next evening while on stand, with my two partners from Louisianna were making a drive toward me when another hunter tresspassing walked up to me. I told him to go to the other side and sit, deer will be coming any minute. Just don't shoot my way. Said no, he'd stay there, and I could go, so I did. I wasn't half way thru the timber patch when he went thru downhill from me, and the big buck and a big three pointer almost ran over me in the timber. The twin went on thru, the 3pt stopped with front of his body behind a big pine. His rear end, and short ribs sticking out, angling away some. I was afraid to move and spook him. Wasn't 15 feet from me! Decided I could angle one thru the chest. So I did. Don't think it hit the tree. But, it blew the whole far shoulder off. Hole big enough you could bury a basketball in flush. Big buck too! That's the results I had with the wasp waist bullets. And yes, they had to be seated real deep. But, they sure shot accurate for me in an old Enfield 06.

That guy left, thinking I shot at him I'd bet. Those were the only deer the three of us killed. And I got two of them. Ranchers told me a few yrs later that was the last year there was any deer to amount to much in there.

Yet those three shots in the first bucks flank didn't blow too big a hole on exit.

Sent you a pm, I'd like one of those bullets.

Thank you all for bringing the memories back. Wanted to share them. Hope it wasn't too boring.

George

the absolute worst part is that I actually paid a guy $4 at a gunshow last fall for an old herters catalog

Okay, if we're gonna reminisce about Herter's, let's see who was really paying attention back then: Herter's had it's own promo sub-brand. While most Herter's products were called "Model Perfect No. xxx ...", every now and then you could buy special sale items that were branded "Krupp-American". They seemed identical to Herter's in every way, it's just that they had this other, rather strange name.

Now, to make matters even more intriguing, who remembers a catalog from an outfit that called itself "Ruhr-American"? Ruhr American had an address in a small town of Glenwood, Minnesota not far from Waseca. Ruhr-American had a smaller line of reloading equipment, but it was IDENTICAL to that which Herter's sold, and as I recall, at similar if not identical prices. Ruhr-American and Herter's were so similar that I would order from whichever had a sale special. I always assumed that they were closely connected, but never knew for certain. If anyone DOES know, I'd appreciate the edification.

Just a few years ago (maybe four or so), I receive a mail order catalog from .... Herter's! I have no idea what connection the (apparently) short-lived latter day Herter's had to the original, but they had a variety of north-woodsy tools and outdoor equipment (no gun/reloading/fishing). I received a couple of the catalogs, then they disappeared.

So, who knows the real reason for the demise of Herter's? My understanding is that their reduced volume due to the 1968 GCA was a contributing factor, but the straw that broke the camel's back was the (possibly unintentional) importation of bird feathers for fly tying that had come from prohibited species abroad. The ensuing legal problems are said to have been their undoing.

And finally, there is a continuing belief, founded on what I do not know, that the Cabela's operation sprang from some folks who had previously been with Herter's. Can anyone validate or repudiate this one?

In the meantime, I shall return to my reloading room where I employee my Herter's Model Perfect Deluxe reloading dies to stuff my Herter's Finest Swedish Virgin Brass with Herter's Model Perfect World's Best primers.

Hey, don't believe me about Ruhr-American? Well, look at this link:

www.tomfolio.com/bookdetailssu.asp?b=009819&m=266 - 14k

Excerpted from above:

Item Detailed Information
Information for Seller's item number: 009819
Ruhr-American Corporation, Catalog 69. Manufacturers of Weapons, Ammunition Machines for War & Sporting Purposes Published by Glenwood 1970. Paperback. 4to. 656 pp. Index, order blanks, few color plates, numerous b/w illustrations. Cover soil, margins sunned, plates some foxing, front end paper removed, good..

Price: US$20.00. Quantity available: 1.

AAACK! There's more than just the rumor of a connection between Herter's and Cabela's:

http://www.herters.com/

So ya wanna know about Herters?????

well make some popcorn and get a beer and sit down.....

Lets have a bit of fun...next time you drive thru Mitchell South Dakota you'll see directly across the interstate from Cabela's the old Herter's building.....if you look close the name Herters is still visible on the building.

That's totally coincidental!!!!! But it's interesting.

Herters moved to South Dakota (from Waseca MN) in a last ditch effort to reduce taxes.....but it was too late.....they had f***** up royally getting caught importing jungle cock birds from India for fly tying. This bird was on the endangered species list and it cost them their FFL. In them days one needed the FFL to sell guns, ammo, bullets, primers, powder, and more...

They had also lost an insurace policy on guns they sold as they sold a .44 mag revolver with a 357 Mag barrel on it. A person was injured and it was clear that the gun had not been test fired.....their insurance company dropped them.

Also at this time MEC was taking them to court for copying their 600 JR shotshell press and marketing it....the guy that did it you know well.....while they was going to court this same guy was sitting at his drafting board making detailed prints of all the parts in the Texan loader for the same purpose.....manufacturing and selling thru the Herters company. It's the same guy that is typing this post!!!!!

Now for the Glenwood connection....get some more popcorn.!!!!!

There was a company in Glenwood (Glenwood manufacturing) that made much of Herter's things including dies, case trimmers, (copied from Forester) powder measures, deburring tools, and poly chokes. However there was a "discrepancy" as to whose product it was.....and the folks at Glenwood was selling the tools to Herters and marketing them themselves!!!.....and to make matters worse the buyer at Herters was "on the take" from Glenwood......whenever the folks at glenwood needed work they got P Os from Herters whether Herter's needed stuff or not. All this pissed off George Herter and he fired the buyer and discontinued business with Glenwood.

Make more popcorn now.....

Enter the scene: Automatic Engineering and Manufacturing in Fridley Minnesota.....(now defunct) as they got the orders for the products formerly made by Glenwood.....and catch this.....Herter's owned no prints at all!!!!!

FACT!!!!! NO Drawings....they had 0.0 dollars spent in engineering any of the products!!!

I got the job of making drawings in 1971 and redesigned all their dies, powder measures, poly chokes, deburring tools, case trimmers and a few other little things......and then the "reconstructionof the MEC reloader and even the Texan reloader....the Texan never got to manufacturing however as MEC cleaned their clock pretty good.

For the next several years I watch Herters fumble badly making snowmobiles, mini bikes, and boats.....all serious disasters!!!!!

I remember wondering if I should say anything as "in effect" I was "on the payroll" of the forger.

The Heter case trimmer (copy of Forester) was advertized as having a "tool steel" cutter....it was case hardened screw stock!!! It was advertized as turning in a hardened ground and honed bearing...it was a reamed 12L14 screw machine part and dead soft...no grind and no hone!!!!

The stories I can tell are endless....how they survived as long as they did is a mystery to me!!!!!

Now the Cabela's connection......there is none!!! The Herter family has sold the name for marketing purposes.....first it was sold to a company (Northern Hydraulics of Minneapolis) who sold decoys under the Herter's name. They gave it up and now apparantly Cabela's has bought the name for whatever purposes.....I really don't know as the name Herter's was akin to Yugo in the automotive trade.
Hey...I could go on for a long time about these guys......but the popcorn is probably gone by now.

Someone gave me a few pounds of Herters 164.
It is still good.
Pistol powder is good for forming cases and shooting pistol bullets in rifles.

Hey guys, I'm the wife of A-Team and he has shared with me the commentary regarding Herters. This is the 4th anniversary of my dad's death and I'm so touched by the impetus of great memories that the mention of Herters has brought to those have responded. I think my husband is great! for carrying on a favorite hobby of my dad's and I know that my dad would have been thrilled to participate in such a discussion. Thanks for bringing back some great memories!!

Vapo: I've got another bag of popcorn in the microwave, so please continue, and address these issues if you wish:

Why were some Herter's tools branded "Krupp-American"?

How long did "Ruhr-American", which I take it was the trade name of Glenwood Manufacturing, stay in business?

The Forster case trimmer copy: Yes, it is an exact copy of the Forster. I even recently ordered a replacement Forster shell holder collet to replace the original collet (which seemed to grip the .530" case heads inconsistently), and the Forster replacement fit my Herter trimmer perfectly. I'm certainly not a metallurgist, but the cutter head on my trimmer is nearly 40 years old, and despite the fact that I have a new cutter head in the parts cabinet, I have never needed to replace it. So, the one I have, at least, is apparently hard as diamond and sharp as a razor.

The Herter Deluxe seating die (the one with the window in the side): This may be one of the best dies ever designed. I watch for them on ebay and scarf them up when one shows up in a caliber I load. This one was way ahead of its time and I can't understand why no one today copies it.

Who built the Herter Powermag line of revolvers? I've never seen one, but they were apparently (except for the misbarreled example) a reasonalby high quality piece.

I had a .257 bbl action marked "XK-3" and "made in Germany". It had it's problems (useless floorplate latch) but it shot VERY well. Who made it? I know that the U-9 was BSA, and the J-9 was Yugoslavian (presumably Zastava, correct?)

Bell just dinged, popcorn's ready. Okay, I'm listening.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
... I've got another bag of popcorn in the microwave, so please continue, and address these issues if you wish:

...

I think that the individual pops that go off in the microwave are analogous to the quantum firing of synapses in my brain.

When I shake my head, I can hear the old maids [kernels that did not pop] rolling around.

quote:

Why were some Herter's tools branded "Krupp-American"? Their catalog is huge...I didn't know about all of them or even most of them. Sorry...can't help here.

How long did "Ruhr-American", which I take it was the trade name of Glenwood Manufacturing, stay in business? Sorry. I don't know much about them except they made product for Herters and why Herter dropped them

The Forster case trimmer copy: Yes, it is an exact copy of the Forster. I even recently ordered a replacement Forster shell holder collet to replace the original collet (which seemed to grip the .530" case heads inconsistently), and the Forster replacement fit my Herter trimmer perfectly. I'm certainly not a metallurgist, but the cutter head on my trimmer is nearly 40 years old, and despite the fact that I have a new cutter head in the parts cabinet, I have never needed to replace it. So, the one I have, at least, is apparently hard as diamond and sharp as a razor. Case hardened cutters can work well. However they are not tool steel. Tool steel can be sharpened as it's thru hardened. Case hardened cutters are hard only about .015 deep. This works for brass. The Herter cutter is not the only case trimmer cutter on the market today that is case hardened. I mentioned this as they lied about the quality of the product. A better note is that they had a scientifically hardened cutter as another company claims.

The Herter Deluxe seating die (the one with the window in the side): This may be one of the best dies ever designed. I watch for them on ebay and scarf them up when one shows up in a caliber I load. This one was way ahead of its time and I can't understand why no one today copies it.

Who built the Herter Powermag line of revolvers? I've never seen one, but they were apparently (except for the misbarreled example) a reasonalby high quality piece. IIRC these came from West Germany. Sorry I don't know the manufacturer. Herters also sold revolvers imported by Hi-Hunter of Hollywood and these were west German guns.

I had a .257 bbl action marked "XK-3" sorry, no clue here and "made in Germany". It had it's problems (useless floorplate latch) but it shot VERY well. Who made it? I know that the U-9 was BSA, and the J-9 was Yugoslavian (presumably Zastava, correct?) I believe so

Bell just dinged, popcorn's ready. Okay, I'm listening.

I wasn't an employee of Herters. I worked for a supplier and designed the things asked. My experience was limited to personal purchases and the specific items I (and the company I worked for) had with them.

From what I saw, if their troubles was the same with products that I had nothing to do with they was in serious trouble all the time.

FWIW they actually had some excellent products. I still have nearly a full set of dies.....and they work well. My case trimmer works well....but I made a new cutter from A-2 steel. I have a couple of their powder measures and love them and this includes a prototype I made that never made the market. They had a very good cast iron scale that worked beautifully and their presses were built like brick shit houses. I still have the HSS form tool cutters used to make the shell holders. I have posted photos of them before.

There's never been anything like them and likely will never be again. Cabela's don't hold a candle to Herter's. They're a far more professionally run company.

I'm sure you guys remember the Herters books. I donated the few I had left to our local library about 5 years ago. The "Bull Cook Recipes" told you how to take the sole off your boot and make it into a delicious meal, complemented by a glass of wine made from dandelions gathered around your campsite. I don't remember the name of the "advice" book but it had everything from a cure for dandruff to advice on how to keep the wife happy and content while barefoot and pregnant.

Why were those such good times? I suppose being 45 years younger had a lot to do with it.

Ray

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
So ya wanna know about Herters?????

well make some popcorn and get a beer and sit down.....

Lets have a bit of fun...next time you drive thru Mitchell South Dakota you'll see directly across the interstate from Cabela's the old Herter's building.....if you look close the name Herters is still visible on the building.

But is the abominable snowman still standing there?? Had my picture taken sitting in his fist. How about the jackalope?? Any sign of him??

quote:

Originally posted by Strut10:

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
So ya wanna know about Herters?????

well make some popcorn and get a beer and sit down.....

Lets have a bit of fun...next time you drive thru Mitchell South Dakota you'll see directly across the interstate from Cabela's the old Herter's building.....if you look close the name Herters is still visible on the building.

But is the abominable snowman still standing there?? Had my picture taken sitting in his fist. How about the jackalope?? Any sign of him??

I think you was at Wall.....right?

Are we having fun here or what???

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

Originally posted by Strut10:

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
So ya wanna know about Herters?????

well make some popcorn and get a beer and sit down.....

Lets have a bit of fun...next time you drive thru Mitchell South Dakota you'll see directly across the interstate from Cabela's the old Herter's building.....if you look close the name Herters is still visible on the building.

But is the abominable snowman still standing there?? Had my picture taken sitting in his fist. How about the jackalope?? Any sign of him??

I think you was at Wall.....right?

Are we having fun here or what???

Mitchell. 1976

hey vapodog - there is quite a connection between herters and cabellas. 2 ways - a bunch of the guy working for herters when they went out- went to work to cabellas. then when buzz kaplan bought the land that the cabellas store is on in owatonna, they bought it from one of my servicemens father in law. Buzz still had friends from the old herters operation that had moved to nebraska and he really wanted to put owatonna on the map. He contacted his old friends and they eventually moved "back home" when cabellas opened the owatonna store. they're not doing to bad there. according to local stats. there are 4 million thru the doors a year and the average purchase is 125.00. damn just think of what advertising old george lenord could have done with that kind of money. incidently bzz was killed in a plane crash a couple years ago - was restoring an old jenny and crashed it near the airport

quote:

incidently bzz was killed in a plane crash a couple years ago - was restoring an old jenny and crashed it near the airport

I'd heard that. I worked for Buzz and Kennard back in the 60's....very fine people indeed and was saddened to hear of his mishap. Kennerd was the first guy I ever knew that had taken an elephant.....I saw the evidence in his office on mahogany row.....

Maybe you can explain the Bud Grant connection now.....it's there somewhere!!!!!

Vapo/Butch:

WoW!! you guys, man this is great info I never knew. OF course being out here in CO without any other contact than getting the Herter's catalogs.

Vapo: Remember those stuck case pullers made from round, to drill out the primer holes and tap the case?

In either 58, or 59 when I was just getting started. didn't know enough to read, not sure Herters books told about lubricating the cases or not. Anyway, I stuck one. Hammered, pried, heated, vise grips, just about every other way and nothing helped.

I was out of business several weeks until one day I came up with that idea. It worked so well and I thought Herter's was such a great company I made an especially nice one, and included the drill, tap, screw and allen wrench and mailed it to their "new products".

Up until the next catalog they hadn't had this particular set up listed. The very next one that came out did. I never heard a word about it from them, good ,bad, thanks, dumb assed kid, nothing.

Whether they'd never seen it before or not, I can't say. But, the coincidence of not listing it, til when they did sure burned my butt.

Butch: Some yrs ago I corresponded with an old gentleman with the last name of Dwight. I can't think of his first name now, he had 4 or 5 brothers and he lived in Owatonna. Seems like he was in mid 80's and this was about 1985-90. No doubt he's passed on long ago. But, he sure seemed like a swell guy. Somewhere in my files I'd bet his picture and letters are still here. Did you guys happen to know him??

In Aug 1970 I got divorced and joined the Army. By the time I got out and worked some years Herter's was gone. Never knew what became of them. I thank you for posting this info to further my education. I also got several of those Northern Hydraulics/Herter's decoy catalogs.

Have a safe, Happy 4th,

George

quote:

Originally posted by A-TEAM:
Thanks guys, If no one knows the equvalint powder of today I won't waste my bullets and just reload my tomatos.

The powder priced $2.30 and the primers $5.80 are named the same. "Model Perfect Powder (or Primers) NO.120" on the side of the primer box it says "Honestly non-corrosive"
I have only 500 primers left and plan on using them but will keep the box and powder can as memorabilia. I also found a box of 100 "Herters 180gr. .308 s.p. Wasp-Waist Sonic Missile Tail". After you guys mentioned the bullets I thaught I had some. I remember looking at them when I first went through all the stuff and thinking to myself "how ugly they are and I will never use those". That Wasp-Waist is so big you would have to seat the bullet way down into the case they must have sucked.

If any of you guys would like one of the bullets for a collection or to remind yourselves how old you are, drop me a pm with your address and I'll mail you one.

Ah, Herter's! "Always First With Everything New"!! "Model Perfect" - all their stuff was better than everything else in the world.

Their catalog - the Mad Magazine of Mail Order!

I sure miss my annual copy of it!

But they did sell some good stuff. For instance, after many failures due to heavy loads, I finally replaced the rear sight crosspin on my Colt Gold Cup .45 with a piece from the shank of a stainless steel Herter's fish-hook that was the correct diameter. It never sheared again!