I mail-ordered a lot of stuff from Herter's during the 1970s--and still have a 1974 catalog just to read.

One of my hunting/fishing mentors, Norm Strung, turned me on to Herter'., His take was that about half of Herter's stuff was priced about right for the quality, a quarter was a really good deal, and a quarter sucked. But it was worth the gamble.

My first press and loading dies were Herter's. The press was simple C, and I wore it out after a few years, and couldn't get parts by then so bought an RCBS. The dies totally sucked, and I demanded a refund. They refunded me the $6.87 (or whatever weird Herter;s price they cost).

Was far more pleased with their fishing stuff. Most of my early fly rods were Herter's kits, and still have a Herter's fly-tying vise and some feathers from back then.

In 19'70 I ended up in southeastern South Dakota for a couple years, when Herter's moved their retail store to Mitchell. It was about 80 miles from where I lived, and I bought quite a bit of stuff I still use, including a backpacking tent.

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck