Guys, of late I have run into references to a company called Herter - often referred to as "Herter's". I see them referenced in terms of finished (semi-custom?) rifles, wood and God knows what else (blueing?). In my comparatively short career as a rifle nut, I don't recall ever having run into this company before. Can anybody shed light on this, who were they, what did they do, quality (if that is possible to describe), location, area of work, and when did they exist - or any other information, relevant or not??
- mike

They were a very large mailorder outfit back in the 60s out of Waseca, Minnesota.

Their motto was, 'we will not be undersold' if that tells you anything.

They sound almost like a "Cabela's" of old... Your description does not make them sound too comitted to quality... I have seen a custom stock referred to as made by Herter's. Probably was a rifle Herter's decided to customize and sell under their own brand, then??
- mike

When they were in business, Herters sold a large volume of semi-inletted stocks in almost any type and grade of wood that the customer desired - similar to the later Bishop and Fajen catelogs. Although their semi-inletting was crude by current standards, they left a large amount of extra wood on almost all surfaces to be removed by the customer. Unfortunately, many customers took the simple approach of just finishing the necessary inletting and then sanding the stock as it was received. Thus, many of the "custom" Herters stocks that I have seen are clubby and have all the elegance of a 2"x6". On the other hand, maybe beauty IS in the eye of the beholder.

Russ

They did make/sell good archery equipt.

I ordered a Sambar recurve and was very happy with it.

George Lenard Herter. I seem to remember a brother that was in with him. Their claims about their products always had "model perfect" in them somewhere. They sold just about anything to do with the outdoors. Decoys, fly tying supplies, rifles, reloaders, components. The herters U-9 was a mauser copy bolt rifle. My nephew has one in 30-06 with a full length manlicher style stock also sold by herters.

Thier reloading components were the cheapest you could find anywhere. I remember a bag of lead shot that could be stacked! It was darn near square, wouldn't roll off a smooth table! I still have a partial box of 6mm wasp waist bullets. They actually look like a hourglass!
They got caught selling endangered species feathers. That among other things caused them to close up shop for the most part. They still sell duck hunting decoys and equipment.

Here is a Herters stock that I picked up at a town just North of Waseca, MN where Herters used to be. I imagine that before they went tits up that quite a few places grabbed a few of their stocks to put up for sale. I picked up this Maple stock for my Rem 722 for $20.

As you can see wayyyyyy too much wood. As for this stock it will have a ebony foreend tip, Neidner buttplate, and a Len Brownell grip cap. Plenty of wood but because of the Monte Carlo cheekpiece I'm severly limited as to what I can do here. Meaning it will definatly have some drop at the heal.

Here are some pictures.

-Mike

Herters sold EVERYTHING Even pancake mix. I think they did a fair amount of business in Canada- people with no way to get any goods except to have them shipped. The Herters actions were made by BSA, I believe(check me on that).



Arrow-making equipment, bows, reloading supplies(anyone remember "wasp-waist" bullets?**), clothing, canned&dry food, camping equipment, fishing gear, pots&pans, you name it.



They had a motto: "Herter's Takes The Hokum Out Of (fill in the blank)".



Frank DeHaas has a chapter on the U9's.



I had a 4X Herters scope on my squirrel rifle a-wayyy back then. They once sent my brother a check for 27 cents on an over-charge.



***grizz, I just saw your reference to "wasp-waists" in your post above- they were supposed to mimic the shape of jet fighter fuselages of the day to promote supersonic speed



-tincan

Yeah, the stock I have seen pictures of looks like a finished version of the one you have Alvinmack. The same type of high comb, which in the finished version has been set up with a slight roll-over. The fairly steep pistol grip is also there. Fun to see your stock! Hard to imagine that the stocks were delivered in this state, but I suppose they were intended as DIY products.
- mike

And some of the Herter's rifles had FN "Made in Belgium" Mauser actions with two-position side safeties. I turned one of those actions into a .375/.338 Chatfield-Taylor. The aluminum bottom metal needed replacing in a bad way!

the big tits ran off the side of the bed on this thread.

Herter's WAS the good ol days.

I have 'The Professional Guides Manual."

excellent reading on a mix of last ditch efforts and sure fire methods for the amature as well as the 'professional'.

only experience and common sense seperate the two.

their popping bugs caught fish like nobody's business, but seldom held up to more than 3 good fish.

Herter's...I grew up a few short miles from Waseca Minnesota.....and I knew the company well.....I designed their reloading dies in 1973 when they moved the production to Fridley from Norwood.

I designed many parts for their reloaders and snowmobiles and many other products....

Herters was the biggest liar of my lifetime....their importation of Jungle Cock birds from India (an endangered species) for fly tying was a start of their downfall.

It was a company deep in corruption and out of control.....George Leanard Herter died a few years ago and one of his employees runs a machining company from the former building now.

Fond memories....and so much bull$hit....Herter's lives on!!!!

This thread filled in some cloudy memories of Herters. Yup the U-9 was a bsa action. Not sure about the J-9, but that sounds right. I also still have some cans of powder from them. The H162 is virtully the same as imr4756. And some 8mm Mauser brass that's still going strong.

I would make a 55 mile trip down to Beaver Dam to shop at the store. It was so easy to find, just look for the huge moose on the top of the store. Just inside the door was a set-up of most of their scopes, that you could look through at the road/parking lot. Several of these were variables that when you increased the power the crosshairs also got fatter! All scopes made in the USA at that time had the reticle behind the magnification system instead of in front like the europeans still do,(in some cases).

I ordered a shot/powder measure from them. It was the crudest POS I've ever seen! It had two chambers and a divided hopper. The chambers were adjusted with washers of varrying thicness to control volume. It ended up on the scap-metal pile after a month of frustration trying to get it to work. Of course it was "model perfect"!

I always found their catalogue more interesting than Cabela's, because Herter's used lots of superlatives and clever terminology to make prospective buyers think every thing being sold was incredibly good.

I recall a description of their '5 Alarm Chili', in which they indignantly refuted a competitor's allegation that the chili was "hot enough to burn the lint out of your navel".

I think they associated themselves with the Hudson Bay Company. Their recurve bows were pretty good stuff, and very reasonably priced compared to some other brands of that era. Ditto their down clothing.

I miss 'em too.

I, against my will, gave away a Herter's U-9 in .300 Weatherby, due to a bad financial decision on my part. I can still see the nice wood and feel the recoil against my shoulder. That was MY gun. Shit.