Ever since I was a kid, I loved to order stuff from catalogs, waiting on the mailman to bring whatever treasure or trinket I found that I simply had to have.

One of my favorite catalogs was Herters. All manner of guns and gear, fishing equipment, traps, even snowmachines. We're talking circa 1965, here.

They sold rifles, the two models I recall being the U9 and the J9. IIRC some were made by BSA, and some by Parker Hale, so when I stumbled across this little beauty, I was surprized to find it was made in Yugoslavia! A Zestava, to be precise. A Pawn Shop find.

Chambered in .308, this gun has a very smooth action, sweet trigger, and considering the age, has fared better over the years than have I! Most folks probably never heard of Herters, or even Zastava, so like an old dog at the pound it would probably have languished on the rack for a long time. That seemed kind of sad, so I decided to buy it. $250 out the door.









Destined for my gun safe! The KMart 4x scope has got to go, I'll replace it with a Leupold 2-7 compact I think.

Whatcha think.

Nice looking rifle.

I used to order stuff from Herters all the time when I was a Boy Scout.

I'd say that you got a real bargain.

I enjoyed getting the Herter's catalog a lot more than the MonkeyWard's and Sears&Rareback Christmas book.

I remember the descriptions of the J9 and U9 anf if I remember right they were the only factory rifle available in 35 Whelen at that time. always regret never buying one.

Always enjoyed George Leonard Herter's personal assessments of all the gear they sold.

Good Days a long time gone.

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George Leonard Herter's personal assessments of all the gear they sold.

I remember the "Wasp Sonic" bullet, looked like a flying coke-bottle! Ol George would have you believe it was he greatest thing since BEFORE sliced bread!

For 250 bucks I don't you would find a better one.

You might want to try using that scope before you decide to junk it. IIRC, that's a Weaver K-4, branded especially for whoever was selling it. I know a bunch of them were also sold under the Ted Williams brand by either Sears or Wards. Matter of fact, I still have a Ted Williams (K-4 rebranded) on one of my rifles and it is still working fine.

BTW, the Herter's rifle actions made by BSA had the standard BSA action hich was used on the BSA brand series, with the sloped flat back to the cocking piece, BSA safety, etc., etc.

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You might want to try using that scope before you decide to junk it. IIRC, that's a Weaver K-4

Thats a good tip, I'll check it out!

Herter's was my one stop shopping centre at one time, still have their catalogue, wasp waist bullets and several stocks. Had a U9 from them, sold it to a friend. Went out of my way one time to their store, what a place with the huge "stuffed" polar bear "guarding" the place. Never really found out what happened and where all that stuff went - especially the gunstocks. Anyone know?? --- John303. **Nice find by the way**

Anyone care to guess what type wood is used for that stock?

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IIRC, that's a Weaver K-4, branded especially for whoever was selling it.

I don't think that is the case with this one, as it is marked "Japan", but labeled as K Mart.

Sure I'll take a shot, a Herter's stock in plain California English. I have one similiar in my "inventory" and one in a better grade on a 6mm Mauser. You can see the 6mm here > Nitroexpress > Mauser pics and Archive > Page #2 > Mauser Pics. on the 2cd page, the one with the carved leaves + checkering. You'll no doubt see the similarity in the stock & perhaps the colour. --- John303.

Years ago I brought some cherry and walnut stocks from Herters they had all kinds of wood for sale

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Originally posted by Uncle Alvah:
Anyone care to guess what type wood is used for that stock?

The wood is typical standard grade eastern europ/balkan walnut.
The coke bottle shaped bullets is new to me but seems to be way ahead of avarage.
I guess that you would obtain higher velocity, lower presure and less fouling, due to less friction and contact area. Mutch like narrow banded bullets

Zastava is still in business and going strong. We've got a group buy going on right now for some left handed Mausers on the "Lefties" forum in the "Shooting" section.

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Originally posted by jørgen:

quote:

Originally posted by Uncle Alvah:
Anyone care to guess what type wood is used for that stock?

The wood is typical standard grade eastern europ/balkan walnut.
The coke bottle shaped bullets is new to me but seems to be way ahead of avarage.
I guess that you would obtain higher velocity, lower presure and less fouling, due to less friction and contact area. Mutch like narrow banded bullets

"wasp-waisted" like the fuselages of super-sonic aircraft, that was the selling blurb, even had a photo of an airplane.

the pancake mix didn't look like those bullets.

I read in a reliable source several years ago that the herter's collection was bought by one of the other big outdoor suppliers (I am remembering Cabelas) and formed the start of their display. This is supported by thiswebsite:

http://thedossiers.net/george-leonard-herter/

which says that GL Herter made arrangements with Cabelas tokeep the herters name alive. I went to www.herters.com which is a website within the Cabelas site, and still sells herters ammo, clothing and a few gunstocks.

Herters obviously didn't really make anything. In the early 1990's, I called their gunsmithing number from the 1974 catalog on a lark, and lo and behold I got an answer. It was the numbers for Ahlmann's, and I have been having work done by them since then. I suppose they did the stocking and rifle work for Herters. I often wondered who did the stock duplicating for them. It was likely Fajen or Bishop.

Some of those Herters J9 actions were made by F Heym of then West Germany, and marked "St. Hubertis".

The rifle is, well, "Model Perfect".