Herter's nostalgia

[gnoahhh]

Last evening I stumbled onto my old Leslie Edelman catalog (East coast representative for Herter's in the late 60's) from 1968. Tucked inside it is the list I had made up of "essential stuff" that I had finally talked my dad into springing for. All Herter's equipment- #3 press, two die sets, scale, measure, gauges, shell holders, brass, bullets, etc.- everything needed to get started. The total came to $62, the shipment weighed 48 pounds, and cost $3 to ship it from Philadelphia to Maryland. I remember twisting the old man's arm like crazy to get him to go for it (I was 15 at the time). Oh what a happy day when that big wooden box showed up with all that stuff in it! Nowadays, the last set of dies I bought cost more than that.

Funny thing, I still have most of that gear- mostly gathering dust now- and it still stands ready to jump in if I ever need it.

I don't know why I saved that old catalog, and had certainly forgotten all about that shopping list I had created, but am glad now I did. It was written on the back of what was obviously a homework assignment- even back then I had my priorities straight!

[plainsman456]

My wife's cousin has some of their catalogs and it does make for some interesting reading.

Those wasp waist bullets sure make one wonder about how far we have come.

[plainsman456]

OH,i forgot"World's Finest"

[w5pv]

I had and used Herters equipment from 1964 until 2005 when hurricane Rita came through and blew the shack down.Scattered my equipment like a mad woman would have .The table I had the equipment bolted to disappeared from the yard while we were cleaning up.People that loot after a disaster should not be given a chance for trail.

[3006guns]

Speaking of old catalogs, I just found a Service Armament Company catalog from about 1963 or so. Spent the better part of a day just sitting and taking in all the ads for surplus rifles, dewat sten guns, Lewis guns and full size artillery pieces with your choice of explosive, armor piercing or anti personnel rounds. I believe they morphed into the SARCO that we know today.

As for Herter's, the last purchase I made from them was in 1969 and was a plain grain maple stock for a Krag sporter. The total cost was $11.00 (with forearm tip fitted) plus $2.00 shipping and that piece of wood had more figure and curly pattern than most fine maple furniture.

Ah, those were the good old days.............

[gnoahhh]

Yes, when the Herter's catalog arrived in the mail it was cause for more celebration than the arrival of the Sears Christmas catalog, at least among my dad and I.

[buckwheatpaul]

I had Herter's put a vent rib on my Win. 12 in 1968....excellent job and the best vent rib I've ever had....have used their duck decoys for years....they were and still are great.....I still miss Herters!

[1hole]

"1968. ...- #3 press, two die sets, scale, measure, gauges, shell holders, brass, bullets, etc.- everything needed to get started. The total came to $62,"

Sound wonderful doesn't it, everything was so "cheap" back then. ??

But, the typical skilled worker made about $130 a week in '68, before taxes, so your dad's purchase of a few basic tools was well over a half week's pay for most men.


I had Herter's install a vented rib on my father's old Remington Md. 11 barrel and blue it in '69, a great design and quality work, and got their inletted/semi-finished top grade walnut wood too, all for less than $100. It was a lot of work to shape and finish the wood and I hot blued the action myself too. Dad's gone but that beautiful long recoil John Browning design is in my safe, it's still deadly and has accounted for a lot of table meat.

I don't need Herter's much anymore but I miss them for today's young men trying to provide for a family and still wanting to shoot and hunt/fish a little bit. One of the ten thousand reasons I dispise lib gobbermint is what they did to destroy Herters.

Most of our gunning toys are actually less costly today in terms of the hours worked to purchase them and we have a vastly expanded list of goodies to play with. Enjoy your own "good old days" now, while they last, because your dominant gobbermint is determined to "fix" your ready access to things 'liberal' politicians don't like for you to have!

[zaphod042]

"1968. ...- #3 press, two die sets, scale, measure, gauges, shell holders, brass, bullets, etc.- everything needed to get started. The total came to $62,"

Sound wonderful doesn't it, everything was so "cheap" back then. ??

But, the typical skilled worker made about $130 a week in '68, before taxes, so your dad's purchase of a few basic tools was well over a half week's pay for most men.


I had Herter's install a vented rib on my father's old Remington Md. 11 barrel and blue it in '69, a great design and quality work, and got their inletted/semi-finished top grade walnut wood too, all for less than $100. It was a lot of work to shape and finish the wood and I hot blued the action myself too. Dad's gone but that beautiful long recoil John Browning design is in my safe, it's still deadly and has accounted for a lot of table meat.

I don't need Herter's much anymore but I miss them for today's young men trying to provide for a family and still wanting to shoot and hunt/fish a little bit. One of the ten thousand reasons I dispise lib gobbermint is what they did to destroy Herters.

Most of our gunning toys are actually less costly today in terms of the hours worked to purchase them and we have a vastly expanded list of goodies to play with. Enjoy your own "good old days" now, while they last, because your dominant gobbermint is determined to "fix" your ready access to things 'liberal' politicians don't like for you to have!

What did the Government do to destroy Herters? I haven't heard that before.

[rmcc]

Gun Control Act of 1968 = No more mail order unless shipped FFL to FFL. Took away most of Herter's gun related business. Kleins's, Flaig's, Hunters Lodge all shared the same fate pretty much. When I was a kid and the Herter's catalog arrived in the mail, I had about 2 hours to look at it first before Dad came home. I keep several old Herters catalogs around just for nostalgia.

rmcc

[mdi]

Yep, I had a Herter's "dream catalog" about that same time, but I was really interested in Herter's single action, .401 Power Mag. I believe it was called...

[nightal]

I am still using a Herter's lube press, only have the .451 die, can't find any others. need dies for 9mm. 10mm. any Ideas, are welcome....

[beagle]

Still have some Herter's slip top plastic cartridge boxes and they're still giving good service after about 50 years. Occasionally, I'll find one of the Herter's .22 slip top plastic boxes. Nothing better than having one of those when you're caught in the rain./beagle

[GOPHER SLAYER]

None of you guys mentioned "old world craftsman". I first ordered from Herters in 1959. I am still using there powder scale and measure I bought that year, in fact I was just loading some 40-65 a few minutes ago using their scale and I have an RCBS 5-10, 10-10 as well as a Redding scale.

[BruceB]

This story has been told here before, but...

I received a flyer from Herter's one day back in the '70s. In it, they advertised "new, Swedish-made brass" for the 6.5x55........ for FIFTEEN CENTS per box of twenty cases.

I sent them a note, saying that I thought their flyer price was in error, but "Here's a Money Order for $25, and please send me however much 6.5x55 brass that amount will buy."

A couple weeks later, there arrived a LARGE box from Herter's. In the box were ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY twenty-round Herter's boxes of.... sure enough.... "made in Sweden" 6.5x55 brass.I used that brass for many years thereafter.

One of my favorite "Herter's memories", but I have plenty of others.

I neglected to add that this was when we lived in the Northwest Territories of Canada, and they paid the shipping out of my measly $25!

[Carryacolt]

Herters type "O" press was $27 there abouts. I bought it in 59 or 60 and I still use it today. Needle bearings in the toggle arm and is smooooth as glass. Big ram is largest that I know of in the bench loaders. Professional dies were the "best in the world" and "no other die could measure up". The wasp waist bullets were ahead of their time. Yup, I remember the Herters line real well and was the only reason I was able too start loading at the age of 12 because the price was so low. I mowed lawns for spending money and just about every dollar I earned went for something from Herters. Found a year 64 catalog on ebay about a year ago and bought it just to have to look through now and then.

[g5m]

A year or two ago I gave away the last box of Herter's bullets I had-- 7mm wasp waist. Wonderful catalog they had.

[LUBEDUDE]

Never even heard of Herters until I started eBay'n a few years ago.

eBay is responsible for my old school press addiction!

In the late 60's I was at the mercy of whatever my local gun store sold. I was just a kid.

[Silverboolit]

Wouldn't it be nice to buy the "World's Finest" whatever, again?? Being from Minnesota, I remember visiting the Herter's store in Waseca.

[gwpercle]

I really miss Herter's...that was a good company with good products that a youg person could afford, when he had a wife, a baby and making $75.00 a week. Circa 1972...I still have and use the reloading dies, ammo boxes, bullet moulds, shellholders etc. just about all my reloading gear and gunsmithing tools, that I got back then. Still have 4 military rifles restocked with thier sporter stocks in real walnut ( one in French walnut). Still got a few old catalogs and refer back to them for info every once in awhile. Saw thier name on some ammo in Cabela's...mabey they will come back.
Just try to find a walnut sporter stock for a 1911 Swiss Schmidt-Ruben or a walnut mannlicher stock for a model 95 mauser...Herter's had them and they were affordable.