Herter's Complete Hand Loading Kits

[Landy]

Another whack-a-mole loader kit once competed with Lee's.

Were / are there any others?

Smith made wildcat dies and BR dies in arbor presses are still press, not whack'em tools.

I've never used any of the whack'em loaders, only presses mounted and hand.

Gotta remedy this one day.

[shaune509]

Herters items were mostly made be others to Herters specs like Sears does with house goods and yard tools, I think that the tool in your post was made by Lee or Mequir[sp].
Shaune509

[mdi]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Lee tool rebranded as "Herters"...

[maxreloader]

at least the box is labeled and not a slip of paper that is lost 9 out of 10 times.

[Landy]

I knew some here would know more about these kits specifically or at least some background.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Does the instruction booklet have a date of Manufacture, or a Copyright date in it anywhere?

Be interested in when that kit was made which would decide if it was Lee or an earlier version of those tools.

I have a 12 ga shotshell loader that was made by the Ma-Rep-Co Company of Fresno CA. Lots of the parts in the kit were identical to Lee's tools made later.

Not very much new in the World of Reloading, as everything has been done before. What you see now is basically just updated versions of things made before with less sophisticated methods.

Randy

[Landy]

Does the instruction booklet have a date of Manufacture, or a Copyright date in it anywhere?

Pic was from an auction where someone wanted it more than I, so I haven't it to reference.

It's great of you to share pics of your pre-Lee kit.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Landy,,, one other point is that even though Lee promoted the use of a Plastic Mallet with his tools all of the tools of this type which go back before Townsend Whelen into the early 1900's were designed to be used with an Arbor Press as the motivator.

There is an article on this site by Michael Petrov talking about the .400 Whelen cartridge. Which is based on the .30-06 case and designed to be housed in a 1903 Springfield Sporter with a bored and re rifled barrel. This guy researched this cartridge down until he finally got to Whelen himself and found the guy who actually had Whelen's ".400 Whelen Dies" that he borrowed to take measurements off. Those dies were nothing more than a less sophisticated version of The Lee Tool or more properly Wilson Hand Dies. He made the point in that article to mention the fact that those dies were not in any way intended to be used with a hammer of any kind. Arbor Press only. They were after all very significant artifacts being owned by Whelen himself.

I have used my drill press as an arbor press to load .30-06 cases with my Lee Tool. It works really well like that and is virtually effortless. The Wilson Dies are also newer and nicer versions of these tools and once again designed for arbor press use only, however you could in a pinch, use a plastic mallet on them as well. Mr. Wilson would probably roll over in his grave, and come to haunt you, (Or is he still alive ?)

Randy

[Landy]

Whelen's own dies would be to a loading loony as an original old master to an art collector -- a true treasure.

Lee's breakthrough was, then, less a new tool than it was adapting one to reach a much broader market.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Lee's breakthrough was, then, less a new tool than it was adapting one to reach a much broader market.

And he accomplished that big time. Lee introduced more people to Reloading than all others combined. What he proved was that there are more Plastic Hammers out there than Arbor Presses and by doing that and producing and packaging the tool in an economical way he opened the door for the average guy to get interested in reloading for only a few $. Then he provided more economical tools to feed the need to expand on that hobby.

Great Marketing Strategy.

No other outfit has that range of tools in their catalog. In fact no other outfit has any introductory tool like Lee's Classic Loader.

Makes you wonder why they are all asleep at the wheel, even after 50+ years of seeing the other product. All the patents on the product are long gone so coming up with something similar wouldn't be that hard. I'm sure lots of people would buy an RCBS version in a green box, just because of the name and the color of the box!

My first one was $9.95 in 1971 and I still have it. I also have one in .30-06. I pick them up at gun shows when I see one that is a caliber I am interested in. I got the 12 ga. one shown above for $10!

Randy

[3006guns]

And he accomplished that big time. Lee introduced more people to Reloading than all others combined. What he proved was that there are more Plastic Hammers out there than Arbor Presses and by doing that and producing and packaging the tool in an economical way he opened the door for the average guy to get interested in reloading for only a few $. Then he provided more economical tools to feed the need to expand on that hobby.

Great Marketing Strategy.

No other outfit has that range of tools in their catalog. In fact no other outfit has any introductory tool like Lee's Classic Loader.

Makes you wonder why they are all asleep at the wheel, even after 50+ years of seeing the other product. All the patents on the product are long gone so coming up with something similar wouldn't be that hard. I'm sure lots of people would buy an RCBS version in a green box, just because of the name and the color of the box!



My first one was $9.95 in 1971 and I still have it. I also have one in .30-06. I pick them up at gun shows when I see one that is a caliber I am interested in. I got the 12 ga. one shown above for $10!

Randy

I too, got started in reloading back in '71 with a Lee $9.95 whacker in .38 special. It only took three re-priming operations before I went back to the same store and bought a "real" press.........something about smacking a live primer with a hammer bothered me.

Herter usually had his stuff made overseas, which is why it was so competitive here in the U.S. I really doubt that Lee made the Herter's reloader, as they were a small, start up company at the time and had their hands full supplying Lee Loaders to the market.

[Texas by God]

I agree that an arbor press or drill press would be preferable but they are seldom found in deer camps or prairie dog towns. Just saying. I have loaded ammo sitting in my truck with a plastic hammer and Lee Loader more than once! Best, Thomas.

[MT Chambers]

The big difference of course is that the Herters was " the finest reloader ever made".

[Don Fischer]

The big difference of course is that the Herters was " the finest reloader ever made".

I suspect it said, Herters model perfect! I started reloading on a reg press but didn't own it, Rod and Gun Club at Ramstien AFb. when I got back to the states, 1970, I got those Lee loaders to load with. They did make ammo!

[W.R.Buchanan]

I agree that an arbor press or drill press would be preferable but they are seldom found in deer camps or prairie dog towns. Just saying.

Another option for the Remote Reloader would be the Buchanan Precision Machine Hand Reloading Press available at

www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

It will work in Trucks or at Prairie Dog towns or in your Deer Camp in front of the fire.

Pics below show a full kit ready to go to the range for a load work up session. Everything needed is in the bag, and you could do the same thing with a Lee Loader and Plastic Hammer as well.

I'm very into "Kits."

Randy

[Landy]

And your neat little press works with the dies and shell holders that we already have.

Being limited to a single cartridge or at best using oddball proprietary dies has been the biggest fault of most portable loading tools.

These Herter's and Lee's mitigate but don't erase the fault with their low cost.

BTW: Your kit is too classy. It makes my Lee Hand Press and old video camera bag kit look pretty shabby.

Another option for the Remote Reloader would be the Buchanan Precision Machine Hand Reloading Press available at

www.buchananprecisionmachine.com

It will work in Trucks or at Prairie Dog towns or in your Deer Camp in front of the fire.

Pics below show a full kit ready to go to the range for a load work up session. Everything needed is in the bag, and you could do the same thing with a Lee Loader and Plastic Hammer as well.

I'm very into "Kits."

Randy

[W.R.Buchanan]

BTW: Your kit is too classy. It makes my Lee Hand Press and old video camera bag kit look pretty shabby.

Landy: It might look shabby but I bet it still gets the job done.

I started using tool bags for hand tools when in the Air Force and I have probably 20 of them relegated to various tasks. I even use them for range bags for many of my guns. They are cheap and come in multiple colors and are available from any big box HI Center or Harbor Freight.

I refuse to pay $100 for a range bag. It is pointless when a tool bag will do the same thing for $10-20, and in many cases it does the job better.

I set up a bag for a particular gun by including all of the stuff that relates to that gun. Typically that will be the Gun, a Holster, all the Mags or Speed Loaders, tools and spare parts peculiar to that gun, and usually some ammo as well.

That way when I grab that bag I know I have a complete Weapons System in hand ready to go.

I might add that it is totally possible to upgrade your Lee tool to a Quality BPM Hand Press by just going to the website.

Randy