Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles Herter's Mausers?

So i picked up a 30-06 "mauser" that says A()NT Hubert Co Waseca, MN on the side on the rear of action it says Made in Germany and under that F.W. Hehm so were these Herter's imports back in the day since the Waseca MN connection. I have a lot of Mausers but none of these, just curious what i may have here it was intended to be a donor for something.

That is interesting, any chance of a picture or two?

Plus 1 on photos! I know little more than hearing of the name! Just checked De Haas book "Bolt Action Rifles & no joy! Googling also little in results. Herter's with something of wild reputation. Variety of rifles of differing brands, sometimes mated to their own sourced stocks. Some seeming 'left overs'. That said, never heard anything bad. I know that they used BSA commercial actions of mid-fifties under such as U-9... Or am I thinking of a U-Boat?
Awaiting pix & to view such rifle!
Best & Stay Safe!
John

It was called the J9. It was a yugo action. Zastava I believe. The U9 was a BSA action

I will try to post pictures, I did some looking online, it is not a J9 I don't think the bolt release on a J9 is the typical bolt release on all my yugo mausers, this one has a external visible spring clip that is used as the bolt release, I see the same gun in pictures that was sold online. The marking is Saint Hubert Co. Waseca, MN , that smells Herter;s LOL

Here's some pics of mine. With model #. That might help..........

Nice stutzen Muffin!

so what's the trick to getting pics to post, ii must be missing something

Remember they were used by the Royalty of Europe for hunting. For those who never had the chance to read a Herters catalog that was probably the most common line used by George Herter in his catalog. The Herters catalog was my wish book when I was a kid, my dad and I would make a pilgrimage to Waseca once a year to stock up.

I used to see Herter rifles in my area about 3 or 4 times a year. Never saw a really nice looking one that I would consider buying. I havent seen one in probably 5 years

Shakespere's Juliet utterance, to the effect: "What's in a name. A rose by any other name to be as sweet!" Waxing poetic, but truth there! Thanks for the pix of a handsome rifle! Excellent genre actions and full stock. Far as I can see, all looking good!
The aside... For decades gun folk disdained the Sears Model 50 despite the great FN action and a quality rifle. Now, not. IF true Herter's having a role, also true bit of 'recycler' firm reputation. Some of their products, mediocre at best. But quality components with their own story! As here suggesting early Zastava action based. As functioning well, reasonable accuracy... Marketer, seeming a 'so what'!
Congrats or a handsome rifle I'd be proud to own!
Best & Stay Safe!
John

Heym made all kinds of rifles for various companies. Mine is a straight 98 with thumb cut, clip guide, and C-ring breech. Also has a recessed-button floorplate release, but not the swivel hole in the guard. Wing safety. Lightest factory 98 I’ve ever seen at just over 6lbs in .308. No store-brand markings. Very nicely made. Bought it on Gunbroker from a dealer in AK of all places.

Pictures would be nice. Looked around a lot for pics of another just like mine, but to no avail. “Made in Germany” means it ain’t a Zastava.

George was a real huckster.

Most everything Herter's sold was called "Model Perfect". GLH was a showman but his products were OK. I bought several stock blanks from them in the early '60s. I remember they also sold SAKO rifles by mail order prior to GCA 68. I wish they were back. I still have one of GLH's little books called "How To Live With A Bitch".

Here's a commercial Heym 98, made in Germany. I bought the action, not a rifle, so always wondered how it got here.

The one have is very similar to one above, same bolt release except I have a chrome bolt, i have the safety on the side not the wing though.

The sleeve w/ swing safety was added during the build. When I purchased the action it had a trigger with side safety, though I don't recall any markings. It was the first commercial Heym I'd seen, but I'm no expert.

Then it is the same action, this one I have is in the early stages of a new beginning, looking for the right stock now.

Good luck with it Capt. Can't think of a better action to start a new project with.

I have had 2 Herters rifles. The first was the j9 as mentioned. It was a 25=06 and was a tack driver. Someone stole it out of my car.

The other I still have. It is the BSA action. It is a 223 and again is a tact driver. I have killed many Prairie Dogs with it. I lost count of rounds thru it at 17000.

Prior to that I was only loading one 22 cal. The story back in the day was that Herters brought in the actions and they put the barrels on..

I also had a Herters BSA in 22=250 and it went down the road very quickly.

I have one, and that bolt release didn’t work. The spring was worn and the bolt came out every time you worked it. It’s sort of like the old Browning but not quite. I couldn’t find a replacement and I couldn’t do anything to make it work. I finally hit upon the perfect solution, even if it is a bit inelegant.

I took a bolt release from a regular Mauser. Since there is no way to attach it to the action without welding, I attached it to the stock with a longer screw. It worked and looks like a regular Mauser. The only thing is that the spring pressure on the release would cause it to stick out on the front end of the release and that would sometimes make the bolt come out. The solution was that I took a very short screw with a large flat head and put it in the stock with enough overhang to hold the front of the release down and is fairly unobtrusive. I’m sure someone with some real smithing and welding skills could have made it look better, but it would not have worked better.

This action adorns a '06 barrel at the moment but I have none in my collection and headed in a different direction, i always like 2 guns at least of the same caliber if i can, so no orphans when it come to brass and components, the only two orphans i have are a 300 win mag and 350 legend and both shoot factory ammo good enough to hunt, I luckily loaded up before the "run" so I am good for life on them two. I just flipped the switch a minute ago on 6.5 CM barrel for this and another project, so in a few months I will see what all the hype is about LOL if I don't like it i will part them out on eBay, seems to be popular now!

Thats a nice looking rifle TeeBone

Many thanks. It's a 338-06AI w/Shilen #3 24 in bbl. Now wears a Leupold 1.75-6x. Here's a better look....

That is a beauty and nice looking action. Makes me wish I had bought a bunch of the Herters when they were something like $75.00 apiece. The lightning bolt spacers turned me off even as a kid.

I have a Herter's J9 in 6mm Remington. It is an absolute tack-driver With every bullet I developed loads for - from the 65 gr V-Max to the 87 gr BTHP to the old Barnes 115 gr Original RN. That last one has brought home many a deer.

George Leonard Herter lived on the southwest corner of Clear Lake here in Waseca. Very few photographs have ever been published of him, in fact the only two
I have ever seen are in his Find A Grave entry in the link below.

George L. Herter Find a grave entry.

The author of the New York Times article linked below is an obvious fan of George's writing style and perhaps a collection of well read and worn Herter's Catalogs reside in his library or on a night stand near his bed to provide comforting thoughts before dozing off or perhaps hoping for it to fertilize the subconscious mind in hopes of having an adventure during those moments when sleepy dreams take over for an alert state of mind. George may be gone, but, is there any doubt that his wordsmithing skills are unsurpassed?

The Oddball Know-It-All

Having run a barber shop in Waseca for many years and having observed the goings on within the area there is one thing that George accomplished that few people can lay claim to in their own lives. Like Ted Hustead of Wall Drug Store fame in Wall, South Dakota, George Leonard Herter made Waseca a destination for tourists from all over the world. It never fails to amaze me the number of out of town people that would stop at my barber shop and ask for directions to Herter's even though it had been bought out by a Chicago liquidator in the latter part of the 1980s. Most were middle aged men and older, some with children or grandchildren in tow wanting to be living those simpler times in life that has escaped almost all of us now, but, the longing still exists. Before they left to search out their boyish Valhalla I would dig out the Herter's catalog I kept at the shop and let them relive those days of their youth when everything was new and we were all inquisitive and wanting to learn about everything in the out-of-doors world we wanted to trek in our spare time. Many a young lads' dreams of their future were enriched by George's prose. Virtually everyone that I let peruse the shop's copy of the Herter's catalog wanted to buy it. Some of them even offering fifty dollars for it! It may have been lost on some, but, George's catalog is undoubtedly the standard that New York City advertising agencies strive for, although Times Square is woefully underpowered and undoubtedly much more expensive to maintain over time. George's catalogs are over fifty years old now as well as out-of-print and are still selling product. If you don't believe me just go to eBAY and type HERTER'S into the search bar.

As for the Herter's rifle in question, I have lived in or within 10miles of Waseca for all of my near 70 years and have never heard of a A()NT Hubert Co in Waseca, MN. I still have the J-9 barreled action that I purchased in 1969 that I put into a Herter's Walnut semi-inletted stock that I worked on in shop class at the public school that I attended. Try that today and see if you get arrested! It is in .270 Winchester and as others have mentioned the bolt stop is not the best design.

Now, before I sign off, I find myself compelled to mention one other thing: It has been said by others that there is a fine line between advertising and B.S., I prefer to think of the Herter's Catalog as a tool for educating oneself.

If it ain’t made with the Belgium-American Three Reamer System, it’s junk !