He Paid His Dues--It's Time For Fame

[Bent Ramrod]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/books/review/Collins-t.html?_r=2


I love it.

[44man]

I sure do miss reading the catalogs and still have the Bull cook book. I am still using one of his knives too. George was a card for sure and I had a lot of laughs over the years but he also sold some good stuff at a small price.

[9.3X62AL]

Ditto to 44 Man's text. I still have and use fly tying tools and materials I bought from Herter's as a teenager. GREAT catalog.

[Bad Water Bill]

I still have one of the catalogs plus many other items from there. Sometimes you DID get some of the worlds best. How about the World Famous Cold bluing, Duck and Goose decoys, (I understand that is why Cabelas bought many of the Herters product line) rifles, pistols and the list could go on and on. I covered more than one canoe or kayak with his fiberglas kits. I also have a screaming birdseye maple stock that is just to beautiful to take out of the house.

Do you think I miss them?

[Bent Ramrod]

It's always a red-letter day when I find a Herter's book I haven't seen before. George L.'s vaguely aggrieved, patronizing writing style, with his weird mix of factual information, logical-sounding advice and utterly off-the-wall opinion just gets funnier the more you read.

I used a Herter's 30x spotting scope for years, and still have it. It has a rather small eyepiece, but it wasn't a bad scope for the money. I also have a Herter's World Famous Mourning and Whitewing Dove Call. It makes a dove coo, but about 1 octave too high. Sometimes when the doves are disporting themselves in my back yard, I'll gently slide the window open and give them a few notes on the Herter's call. The doves look at each other with a sort of scandalized expression and take off en masse.

[Hickory]

Up until the early 80's, I still had one of his 401 power mag's
Should have kept it, and turned it into a 44 special. Oh, Well.

[gnoahhh]

I too keep a copy of his cook book on a shelf with all of my other cookbooks in the kitchen. I have used some of his recipes on occasion but it is there more for something to read while waiting for bread to rise than anything else. His advertising claims were so absurd as to be valued for their entertainment value more so than disbelieving the lies they obviously were. As a kid, the arrival of the new Herter's Catalog was heralded (at least to Pop and me) more than the arrival of the Sear's Christmas catalog. God, I miss those days!

[TDB9901]

When I was a kid, I had a copy of his book on How To Live In Alaska ON $5.00 a day. Nearly read the print off of the pages.

The part that always sticks in my mind was using Crabgrass seeds for cereal........ I think of that every summer when the stuff takes over the lawn.... That would take a lot of Crabgrass.....

Found a copy of the cookbook in a used book store about a year ago, and it came home with me...... Do miss those days...

[3006guns]

Ah, yes.....Herter's! I became familiar with George and his company in the very early 1960's when I ordered a maple Krag stock for $11.65 plus shipping. This "bottom of the line" piece of wood had more figure in it than a Bishop costing five times as much!

I had a copy of the Bull Cookbook, long since gone now, but well remember some of the outlandish recipies and statements.

The catalogs themselves were a true work of "Barnum and Baily" sales pitches, but his offerings were good quality at low prices....most of it taking advantage of the post WWII economic conditions of Europe. Anyone remember the furniture? Man, talk about "baroque", covered in carved grapes, gargoyles, etc.

George Herter and his family were "model perfect" to my mind!

[KCSO]

My buddy has a herter's canoe that we use to use. it is a 15 foot 150 pound fibreglass canoe 1" thick! It is bulletproof but so heavy it's a pain to paddle. My Herters #83 double barrel press weighs 43 pounds. Herters stuff was built to last, thats for sure.

TDB9901 Where in the Sand Hills?

[1Shirt]

Still have a few slip top 357 ctg boxes with Herters stamped on them, a turkey calling record, a spotting scope, and a few blts, and a Herters Loading Manual. Regret that I don't have more of his books. The guy was an original, we need more like him. Ya, where in the Sandhills?
1Shirt!:coffee:

[TDB9901]

Tryon,.... McPherson County

[Blacksmith]

If you go to Addall used book search engine and do a search for author George Herter it will bring up hundreds of his books for sale. Click the top of the price colum to sort by price either low to high or the otherway around. Here is the link:
http://used.addall.com/

Blacksmith

[Changeling]

I have an enormous box that was given to me of Herters fly tying things. Mostly exotic bird feathers and complete skins of birds. I don't believe some are even legal for sale anymore. What do I do with it?

[pmeisel]

Changeling, put it on E-bay... there are Herter's collectors hiding everywhere.

I loved the catalog. Wish I had kept a few. He was classic.....

[DanWalker]

I had a Herters Perfection Sitka recurve for a while. It was one STRANGE looking rig, but shot pretty well.

[WallyM3]

There is very little that is prohibited by CITES that is used in fly tying. Heron and Polar bear leap to mind, but seal's fur dubbing, the Cotingas, Indian Crow, Jungle Cock are all OK now.

I really loved to paw though Herter's catalogs. Much later on, I learned that he claimed to have invented or originated much in fly fishing and tying that was clearly the work of others. Kinda' soured things for me.

Nonetheless, he was an American original.

[Freischütz]

Herters quality varied a lot. For example, it was hard to see any difference between a 3/8" and 1/2" shotgun wad. You didn't have that problem with Alcan.

On the other hand the powders were good, the fishing lures worked well, and the fishing pole kits were fun to make.

[wistlepig1]

As a kid I got my fly tying stuff and "How to" book. To this day I still have the book.
Herter's catalogs was always a welcome thing when they showed up.

[TDC]

I still have a hundred rounds of Herter's stamped .338 brass. Never did figure out who manufactured them for Herter's.

His duck and goose decoys always brought in the birds!!

I wonder what Herter's would offer today if the company was still in business?

[Uncle R.]

I miss those days as well - I miss the Herter's catalogs and George's creative writing. I even miss some of Herter's merchandise. In my limited experience it ranged from high quality and excellent values all the way to "wish I had saved my money." I still have of couple of early 60s catalogs and they're great reading. I have a few Herter's products around here too and I expect a lot of old curmudgeons like me could say the same.
<
The Herters name will be seen on hunting and outdoors gear in practical real-world use for years to come and collectors are grabbing up Herter's products as well. I guess you could say that ol' George Leonard Herter had the last laugh.
<
Although the linked article implies that poor management led to the demise of Herter's I always assumed it was GCA '68 and the ban on mail-ordering guns, ammo and components that drove the company out of business. Or maybe it was just changing times - and people becoming better informed, more knowledgeable and less affected by George's sales pitches.

[Mk42gunner]

I don't recall ever seeing one of his books or catalogs, but I do have aset of Herter's dies in 7.65 Argentine. They look an awful lot like Pacific durachrome dies. The only problem is the decapping stem is way too long; it looks like it is for a .30-06.

Robert

[RBak]

A friend of mine once had a Herters U-2 or J-2 rifle, I can't remember for sure what the correct name or model was now, but it was chambered in Herters Super Duper .270 and was, I believe, the most beautiful, and most accurate .270 I have ever seen...sleek, and pretty as a picture! (Someone later told me these were actually Mark-X Mausers)

Anyway, Herters had just built a new store in "Hawks Prairie" in Lacey, WA and it was a looker, for sure...all of Herters super "stuff" under one roof.
This would have been about 1972 / 73 and although the gun only cost about $100 IIRC they had a lay-away plan for those on Active Duty, a little bit down, and a little bit each month sounded like the way to go for a poor GI.

Within 30 days I came down on orders again and had to leave on real short notice, so I lost my down payment, and I never got another chance at one of those beautiful rifles.....something I have regretted for the past 35 or so years.

Russ

[TCLouis]

Let's see . . .

I still kick myself for passing on 2 like new 357 PowerMags asking price of 150 each so 125 would have got them easily,
I have
Bull Cook Chef Knife
Powder trickler
U3 Press
Shell boxes
Powder Scale (NEW unused)
My 1903 has Herter's Cherry Stock
My Jap Type 38 6.5X257 has a Herters stock and it is my favorite for comfort in the hand

Several fishing lures including the wold famous French Pepps spinners (I think that was his misspelling to copy the Mepps).

Heck years ago I sprung and bought an Old catalog.

[1Shirt]

Part of the good old days, never to return: Unfortunately!
1Shirt!:coffee: