DON'T KNOW WHY I HAVEN'T THOUGHT TO ASK THIS BEFORE:

WHAT'S THE STORY AS TO WHY HERTER'S WENT UNDER MANY YEARS BACK? THEY HAD SUCH A GREAT LINE OF STUFF!

I KNOW THEY'RE BACK SORT OF, BUT ONLY WITH DECOYS AND STUFF.

[ 04-22-2003, 18:31: Message edited by: sonofagun ]

Herters demise was crafted by the GCA of 1968. You can thank Lyndon B. Johnson for that. GCA '68 had several provisions, some of which are now history, that crafted Herter's demise: Ban on interstate sales of firearms, ban on interstate sale of ammo and reloading components. By the way, a lot of Herter's stuff was junk. Geo.

I always enjoyed looking at the Herter's catalog and thought they had decent products for a decent price. Heck they had a 'Model Perfect Hudson Bay' everything!

I imagine the GCA of 1968 hit them pretty hard as we could no longer order firearms through the mail. And I surmise some of the older hats at the company began to pass from the scene with no one to carry on.

I enjoy thumbing through the old catalogs. My 1968 edition shows the Sako Rhiimaki offered for $144!! Plateau Hunter

Hmmm, another Geo? I hope people can see the difference.

I have two cans of Herter's 164 powder.
It looks good and smells good, but I can't find a load for it in my 50 load books.

They may have had some enemies if no one published loads wiht their powder.

I liked Herters, and bought decoys, knives, and reloading equipment from them. My first chronograph came from them in 1960.

Herters went under when they tried to automate their procedures. It got where you ordered and it took forever to get the goods.
They also advertised stuff they did not have.

I had a good friend in Alaska who ordered a Sako rifle from them, and after many months and correspondence finally asked for a refund. They gave him a refund. They were an honest outfit, but their administration was horrible. I finally stopped ordering from them because of their poor customer service.

The chronograph I got from them did not work well. I returned it and they sent me another. It was faulty, and I asked for a refund. In a short while I received the full refund. However, in about another month I received a second refund of the full amount. I notified them and returned the second refund. But you see the problem. It was not that their merchandise was not worth the price, but their execution was what put them out of business.

I enjoyed buying stuff that was, "The best in the world regardless of price."
Most of it was a good buy. Wish they were in business as in the 50s. I think it was when the old man died and the sons took over that it fell apart.

I still have a couple sets of reloading dies. I gaave the decoys away a few years ago.

Jerry

I am still using a Herter's lubrisizer and a cookbook. You had to be careful with Herter's stuff. Some was excellent and some was junk.

I had a brief run-in with a Herter's .22 Hornet that would have been marginal in .22 WMR.

Geo Geo. I get the point. derF

Herter's use to have a store up here, just north of Olympia WA. It was nice to be able to walk into a store and grab a gun stock off the rack and be on your way. They had some good fishing gear to. Fuzz

I don't think the GCA of 1968 was of any particular impact on Herter's -- many other mail order shooting suppliers grew and prospered during and since that period. Besides, most of their sales, and particularly the high-margin items, were not regulated by the GCA.

Herter's was a family-run operation, and you didn't have to look far in the catalog to ascertain that ol' George Leonard Herter was both colorful and a plumb bob width off center. While some of their products were less than satisfactory, many of them were genuine values (and those decoys will bring top dollar in today's market.) I miss Herter's.

If I'm not mistaken, Cabela's management was once associated with Herter's. Maybe someone who is familiar with this can verify or debunk this notion.

I heard somewhere that Herters got into trouble importing bird skins from South America for the fly tiers....

Some of his books were a Hoot!

GOOD POSTS GUYS, KEEP IT UP!

WHAT WE NEED IS INPUT FROM SOMEBODY WHO WORKED THERE. ANYBODY HERE LIKE THAT OR CAN CONTACT SOMEONE WHO DID FOR A REPORT?

I STARTED WITH HERTER'S EQUIPMENT - MAYBE NOT THE BEST, BUT WAS AT LEAST AFFORDABLE FOR A 13 YR. OLD KID ON AN ALLOWANCE! STOCKED A 22/250 WITH THEIR TARGET-VARMINTER STOCK COSTING A WHOPPING $7.50! OH, FOR THE GOOD OL' DAYS.

STILL HOPING TO PICK UP A CATALOG FROM THE LATE 50'S.

You may check Ebay for old Herter's catalogues.....most often they're from the 60's and 70's, but occasionally I seem ones from the 50's. Also, I did an article on the Herter's Powermag revolver (posted to my website). It may be of interest to some of you.

Lee Martin
www.singleactions.com

I have several herters items and found most exceeded the boasts of GLH himself.

The 4 dollar french chef knife and 11 dollar gunstolk are still two of tmy favorite tools today...
Their stocks have a full hefty feel without feeling like a club . . .
Least ways I like them and that is all that is omportant to me!

Yes, I actually went to eBay and bought a bit of nostalgia in the form of Herter's Catalog

Now if I could only find a box of "Herter's World Famous Wasp Waist" bullets!

I passed up a pair of like new 357 Powermags a few years ago and still lament that move on my part!

LouisB

After a very cold weekend in my dads old kapok sleeping bag, I ordered a Herters Hudson Bay Guide Model. Spent many a warm night in that bag [I was a Boy Scout]. I also caught many a fish on fiberglass fishing rod blanks I bought from Herters and "wrapped" the guides myself. I really enjoyed reading his catalogs, even though they had a bit of Barnum and Bailey to them.
Somewhere I still have a couple of refund checks they sent me because I sent too much money for postage.

I just bought a set of Herter's "deluxe" dies, the ones with a window to insert the bullet in the seating die. Found them on eBay, but haven't yet received them yet, but they look like an excellent system.

How about it? Does anyone recall if there is a Herter's -- Cabelas connection?

Also, there was another contemporaneous Minnesota mail order company known as "Ruhr-American" which sold many items identical to Herter's. There was an obvious connection, but I never figured it out. Herter's also sold some items branded "Krupp-American". Anyone able to shed some light on this?

Looks like Cabelas has taken over Herters. Check it out @:

http://www.herters.com/

http://www.cabelas.com/information/Hunting--Optics/Decoys--Herters-Decoys.html

Regards,
hm

[ 04-22-2003, 19:24: Message edited by: hm1996 ]

Cabela's will never replace Herters!!! Herters was "always first with everything new" in guns, ammo, components, and fishing gear. As GEO said, a lot of their stuff was junk. Also, a lot of it wasn't! They had some great values, and you never knew whether what you wanted to buy was any good or not until it arrived and you could inspect it! I used to buy their catalog every year, just to read all their wild claims for their products!! I used to refer to their catalog as the "MAD MAGAZINE of the Mail Order World". It was really fun to read!! My sole memento of their existence today is, alas, all three volumes of Herters' Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices. Like most of their stuff, these contain more "BULL" than "COOK", but if one can sort through the bull, there are some really good and interesting recipes in them. For example, there is a recipe called "Spinach Mother of Christ", which they claim is the authentic recipe of the Virgin Mary for the preparation of spinach!! AND, Herters could PROVE this claim!!

It is a very sad day in deed. They will be missed by allot of us old guy's that have spent hours shopping through a Herter's catalog.

HM 1996: Thanks for those links. I KNEW there was some connection between Herter's and Cabelas. The "old" Herter's went away sometime in the 70's, as I recall. A "new" Herter's, presumably an enterprise of the same family, sprang up with a catalog a couple of years ago which marketed outdoors equipment (mostly lawn and garden and timber tools) along with a line of decoys. Now it looks like the decoys have gone over to Cabelas.

Herter's was one of several really neat places to order from. Remember Ye Olde Hunter, Tradewinds, Flaig's, etc.? Man if I could just go back and order some of that old Mauser stuff they used to sell!

I still have some of George Herters books, like how to get out of the rat race and live on 10 bucks a month. He was not very pc. I bought some jars, for sugar flower and coffee, or my mom did. They were old Hudson Bay trade goods. Paid $0.25 apiece for them. I still have them. Still being used for sugar ,flower coffee and tea. Have little beaver in the bottom corner. Must have been the origional price, 1 beaver pelt. From what I had heard, Herters got in big do do over selling flying matterials from endangered spieces, back in the early 70's, George Herter beening the kind of guy he was, Would not stop selling the stocks he had, and well the feds just put him out of business. His books are just a fun read, he self published so he would just write anything he was interested in. Back in my youth, he exposed me to history in a way. He did have a very unique out look on things. He is missed.

[ 04-22-2003, 21:57: Message edited by: George Semel ]

I too have heard over the years stories of a Cabela's/Herter's link. I heard indirectly several years ago that a lot of the Cabela's taxidermy collection was originally from Herters.

I will say that I found one of the better "mail order" gunsmiths I have run across through Herters. About 10 years ago, I was looking through an old Herters catalog and noticed a particular stock blank style I always liked which I have never seen anywhere else. On a whim, I called the number listed in the 1968 catalog for their custom shop. I was answered by Ahlman's gunsmith shop. After a little conversation, they sent me a price list and I ended up having them do quite a bit of work over the years for me. Their checkering work (on the relatively plain rifles I sent) was good and they have done some of the nicest charcoal and bone case coloring I have seen on double shotguns. Their quality, especially considering their modest pricing, seemed really good. I never thought to ask, but I suspect they were really the "Herter's custom shop" through the 50's and 60's. An arrangement like that would make sense for a mail order company. Perhaps they could answer the Herters/Cabelas question.

Stonecreek:

quote:

---

A "new" Herter's, presumably an enterprise of the same family, sprang up with a catalog a couple of years ago which marketed outdoors equipment (mostly lawn and garden and timber tools) along with a line of decoys.

---

They printed a catalog with the same old Herter's logo and red/yellow cover when they made the comeback. I seem to remember a connection between Northern Hydraulics (now known as Northern Tool & Eqpt. Co.) and Herters, but could find no link on the net or in Norhtern's current catalog. Northern sells lawn, garden, timber tools, etc.

Anyone else recall such a tie, or am I dreaming?

Regards,
hm

[ 04-22-2003, 22:10: Message edited by: hm1996 ]

hey i found a box of herter's 25 caliber jacketed bullets in a box of things not to long ago.my dad bought my first reloading outfit froman old guy in 1965 and it must have came from there.it had a press called bison i believe? i still have the box of herter's bullets though,they are in a blue and yellow paper wrapper with a red box.
muskrat

In my college days, my roommate lived just a few miles from the Mitchell, SD Herters store and we spent part of most weekends purusing the wonders of the Herters store. What a mecca for two teens that were so broke we couldn't even afford to pay attention. I still have a couple of the Herters Hudson Bay scopes that I bought new there in the early 70's, and they are as clear and reliable as when they were new. I wish I had been able to buy several more. It is a great part of my memories, and it's like is hard to find any more. Cabela's comes close, but not near as fun because they don't make all the preposterous claims that GLH did!! Russ

Howdy,

TCLewis, I have some Herters Genuine Wasp Waste Bullets in .264 caliber. I found them in a garage sale of all places. I also found and bought a window seating die with inserts for .22-250, 270 Win., 7mmRemMag., and .30-06. What a super design. I must confess that I miss all of the "houm smokum" as a friend used to say of their advertising. Some of their stuff was questionable, but back then, it was all you could get.

Coach

I lived near the original store in Minn (when it was the only store)and the near one in Wisc (Beaver Dam) when they started expanding. Bought a lot of stuff from them and most of it was good.

Why did it go under? I think they expanded too fast and lost control. When they tried to go computer order and control, it really got out of hand. They got in over their heads in the management end and lost it. I noticed the prices staying the same but quality going down after the expansions, which also contributed.
Dozer

After reading this yesterday, I found a box of 275-grain Herters RN .338bullets in my loading room, and also remembered the waste basket in there is a "genuine Herters" two-beavers brass pale! (Made in India!!)

My dad bought me a Herters Catalog when I was a little kid. That book taught me how to read!

As to GLH's demise, a little birdy told me that he fell (or was he pushed?) into a vat full of Hokum and was drowned.

Elmo

a small percemtage of Herter's products lived up to his claims for them........most of their stuff was trash....that's why they went under.........

TO THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT TO "BAD MOUTH" HERTER'S AND SAY THEIR STUFF WAS "TRASH":

(1) A LOT OF THEIR STUFF WASN'T TRASH AND

(2) THEY MADE ENJOYING THE SHOOTING SPORTS AFFORDABLE FOR MANY WHO OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE GONE WITHOUT AND

(3) SAY WHAT YOU WANT ABOUT MR. HERTER - THERE WAS A LOT OF HARD WORK, DEDICATION, INGENUITY, DEVOTION, DETERMINATION, AND I BET BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS THAT WENT INTO MAKING HERTER'S WHAT IT WAS AND IS - AN AMERICAN MAIL ORDER INSTITUTION FONDLY RECALLED AND MISSED BY MANY!

Son of a Gun is right. There were many Herter's items that were not only excellent, they were pretty exotic, like carved Rosewood coffee tables, many interesting and strange books they published, and some rifle stock blanks. I also used to buy fishing lure parts from them, to make my own spinner baits, etc. Yes, I wish they'd return... but I suppose that's just another fantasy!

NOT TO MENTION SOME OF THE LOWEST COST, BUT GOOD QUALITY RELOADING/SHOOTING SUPPLIES ON THE PLANET.

Lee and Herter's, YEAH!

Paul

They were put out of business because they imported various critter parts that were forbidden by the federal govt. The fines that were levied against them were sufficient to zap them. Primarily they were caught smuggling endangered bird skins. Somebody said they were importing them, I guess smuggling is a form of importing. At any rate they were gone pretty quickly after the feds tipped them over.
I bought my first reloader from them, very stout piece of equipment. Their store in Waseca Minnesota was a short drive for me and always a great experience for teenage boy goofy about hunting and fishing. Cabela's would probably have put them out of business anyway.

I have a box of their 100 grain 25 cal bullets that I bought out of canada just to have a reminder to go along with my old trusty (HEAVY) U press powder trickler and a few other items.
I also have my first Ultralight rod built from one of their blanks back in the 60s (that rod has provided many a meal) as well as a few spinner blades and SS wire.

Hey, people all have opinions, and I will keep my FOND meories of George Herter, and Herters products and others can maintain theirs.
I can ignore opinions contrary to mine with the greatest of ease!

LouisB