Herter's Presses

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  • Last Post 04 June 2012
Savage99 posted this 03 July 2011

Does anyone here use these beasts? I have a single and a double and they are monsters. and work great for rifle reloads. Resizing is a breeze with these things unless you don't lube properly and you just made a brass ball. I have a chucker that works well too but I set them up as size (single Herter), chucker for powder and bell, then seat, crimp(dual herter). Primers get installed on my Dillon progressive, easier to do on that. I move the dies around. I vary the procedure depending on how many and the accuracy I want and what dies I have. But the Herter presses are awesome beasts.

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LWesthoff posted this 05 July 2011

I have a Herter's Model 3 Single Station C Press that I bought in the middle 1950's. I use it for all my rifle reloading - have never used any other. You can't break 'em, you can't bend 'em, and you darn near can't lift 'em. Seriously, though, while some of Herter's dies and other products left something to be desired, that massive old press has loaded ammunition that has accounted for some very tasty game meat in the freezer, and lately, some “in-the-money” positions in more than one CBA postal and shoulder-to-shoulder match. It'll probably last me for the rest of my shooting life.

Wes

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rjmeyer314 posted this 06 July 2011

Back in 1975 I brought a Model 3 kit. It came with the press, dies, a powder measure and a scale. I think the total was about $50. I used the set up until 5 or six years ago, when I traded the press to a friend. I had brought a couple other presses from a dead friend's estate and thought I no longer needed the Herter's. I did everything on that Herter's while I had it, including some 357 and 44 bullet swaging. Last year I picked up a Herter's turret press on Ebay. That was the press I had wanted back in 1975, but had been too poor to afford. A guy was selling his deceased brother's loading tools. He threw in a bag of Herter's shell holders, and I've brought most of the others since then. I have almost a complete set. It seems like the bottom line is that these old Herter's presses are outlasting the people that brought them.

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PETE posted this 07 July 2011

Thanks for the memories!

Like Wes I bought mine back in the mid 50's. Sorry to say I gave it to a friend when I bought my (brown) Bonanza Co-Ax.

  Made a few trips over to Waseca (about 70 mi.). Quite the place!

Pete

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TRKakaCatWhisperer posted this 30 July 2011

I've got the dual press.  I got it about a year ago - but haven't had the time to convert it over to using standard shell holders yet.  Soon enough, there are a number of two processes that need to be done by hand (read non-progressive press) that produce accurate ammo.

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LWesthoff posted this 30 July 2011

Over the years, I have collected almost all the shell holders Herter made - for the Model 3. A couple of years ago at a gun show, another shooter heard me talking about my Herter Shell Holder quest, and said there was another make that was interchangeable with Herter. I am sorry to say I don't remember what brand it was - it may have been Saeco - but look around. The guy sounded like he was talking from personal experience; not just repeating what somebody else had said.

Wes

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rjmeyer314 posted this 14 January 2012

Huntington Die Specialties sells a shell holder converter that lets you use standard shell holders in a Herter's press. Herter's also sold a similar converter toward the end. I think the Huntington converter is about $20.

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TRKakaCatWhisperer posted this 14 January 2012

rjmeyer314 wrote: Huntington Die Specialties sells a shell holder converter that lets you use standard shell holders in a Herter's press. Herter's also sold a similar converter toward the end. I think the Huntington converter is about $20.

Thanks! I just bookmarked their site.

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Ervin posted this 14 January 2012

Very strong presses but stronger than the cast handles. If you plan to use these for swaging, find a way to make one out of cold rolled steel. Ervin

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10 Spot Terminator posted this 28 May 2012

My first press was a model 3. What a bullet proof piece of reloading hardware. I was possesed finding shell holders along with other era correct accessories made by Herters. My load needs finally outgrew my single stage Herters and I went to a Lyman turret. I sold my complete Herters reloading set for more than I paid for it to fella that wanted it to display in his old time sportings goods store, See where a guy on e-bay is building custom shell holders for the Herters presses both slip in and threaded designs.

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Fg1 posted this 28 May 2012

I have a Lachmiller single stage built similar to the Herters and used the same shellholders , the ones held in with a screw . After seeing the adapter that was in link I went out and made an adapter today for my Lachmiller .Now it will get more use ! I only had two shell holders for it , one for 30-06 family and 45 Colt .

Thanks for the link !!

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duck hollow pete posted this 29 May 2012

.Was raised with my dads double would'nt part with it.I like the idea that they have two different shell holders to fit 3006,45acp 308 and so on.

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loadinfool posted this 04 June 2012

Dad and I started reloading with Herters reloading setup that included the C3 press in the mid 50's. Used it to load everything but the kitchen sink. Even used it to load 12ga shotgun but had to use the bathroom scale to set the wad pressure on the fiber wads. Used it to swage 357 short and half jackets when that craze hit and did notice on the heavier bullets it would spring a little but it always got the job done. And it always came back to true. Still have it, still use it at times, still more than adequate for the job. Herters has many things that fell short (like the wasp waist bullets) but the old C3 press never has.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 04 June 2012

re:  herters wasp-waiste ( waste ?   )  bullets .... one of the few products that i never sprung for ...but a couple shooter buddies did ....and i don't remember that they were all that bad ....anybody out there give them a good test ?

herters did have some good fishing stuff... i assembled a nice bass casting rod...and they had special purpose hooks ...i used to fish for carp, and they had the best dough-ball hooks ....also, they actually had  “flatfish  “  ..gang hooks  ...i retro-fitted several bass plugs with them ..    and for you youngsters ...i bot a .357 derringer from them ...thru the mail !!! fortunately for my wrist it didn't fire, so i returned it.   ken

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LWesthoff posted this 04 June 2012

I bought 100 .30 cal Wasp Waist bullets from George Leonard a long time ago. Wish I still had one or two, just as curiousities. As I remember, they didn't shoot much worse than anything else in my old Krag, but with that skinny middle they had a tendency to want to seat a little cockeyed in that long Krag neck. Might have been even worse in an '06 - but back in those days the Krag was all I could afford.

Never tried them on game; shot 'em all up on paper.

Wes

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