FedEx showed, bow arrived intact, well packaged. A picture is worth a thousand words.

No string yet, so I can't/won't say "it shoot's where I point, zero handshock, fastest recurve I've ever shot", lol! What I will say, is that for a 48 yr. old bow, it appears basically unused. It was in a Herter's soft case for 44 yrs. And that is believeable.

Of course the solid Rosewood risers with their beautifull, exotic grain are eye candy, but there's something about the "plywood" risers that hit's me on several levels. Maybe it's because you see fewer of them, or because Herter's only made these for a few years.

Beautiful and certainly not even close plywood, which is made up of very thin laminations glued together cross grained. I hate that term applied to bows. 8^)).

Vertical laminates always did have a classic attraction and Herter's (Bob Barrie) designed them as well as anyone. That bow has walnut, East Indian Rosewood, and maple in it...and maybe a few other woods. And yes, it will shoot very well indeed.

Awesome!...Congrats!...Great Score!

and one last exclamation here...

DIBBS! LOL!

George, I just said "plywood" so frisky couldn't say it first. Lol! I don't like that reference either. ^( )^

Jinkster, reading about you and your Herter's reminded me of how much I like my 52" Perfection, and how I always wanted a longer version of what I already had. So when this one showed up, It was a no-brainer.

Gotta love those old "Liberace" bows-- very shiny, and in the closet most of their lives!! But seriously, that one's a beauty. Kerry

Thanks crookedstix. I'm looking forward to getting a string on this puppy and finding out if it shoot's as good as it look's.

MStyles, I'd never seen that Herter's model!..A lot of work went into that one with the various woods used for riser.. Gotta love the mustard colored farbenglas they used..:)

When you make up a fitting bowstring..let us know how it shoots? I can't read the lettering on the bow..Does it have a model name?Whats the length and draw weight?..Jim

That's a beautiful bow! Thanks for sharing your pictures with us! I wish I would have kept my old Herter's Sitka.

Bernie

Jim, from looking at old Herter's catalogs, they only made the laminated riser a couple of years. My picture is not real clear, but it's 55# @ 28", serial number- 560466027 (56" tip-tip, -April 1966 -27 th bow made that month) it's the "Perfection" model. Making a string today.

Boy, does that pic bring back memories.Looks just like my first factory bow bought back in '66 when I was 14.

Dale in Pa.- it must have been cool to have a Herter's bow at 14. When I was 14, I had just gotten my first laminated, wood/fiberglass recurve. I bought mine at a sidewalk sale at the American Archery Co. on lay-away no less, for the princely sum of $20. Life was good.

Mike,

Nice looking Herters....looks like mine. Bought it from a friend back in 1970 for only $5.00 and still have it today. My serial number is 520866042 and is 55#@28". Yours is just a few months older than mine.

Very nice. First I've seen.

Nice looking bow!

Way cool Mike. It was time to put the sapling bows away and become a deer hunter,thanks to an older mentor,relative.

Growing up, I lived 50 miles from Herters and never knew they were there until the year they closed. I would have loved to have had one of those bows!

Joe

Mine is serial # 620364010 45# @ 28"... Oh how I wish it was still shootable. It was my fathers. He bought it new. I delaminated a limb trying to string it back in the early '80s while he was at work. :(

Now it hangs on my wall. It is still a looker though.

My pic wont post for some reason... maybe I can post it later.

CD

That is a pretty bow. Congratulations. I do have a question, did Herters have bowyers or did they have someone make them for them? I know they imported a lot of handguns & rifles. Thanks.

Thanks for the kind comments. I don't know who made their bows. But George Herter had an open challenge to all the other bow companies. George Herter claimed that he sold that fastest shooting bow, and said that if anyone could come up with a bow, that shot faster, (pound for pound) they could have their choice of any of his bows for free! He also said that his bows were the ONLY bows with an Epoxy finish, impervious to wet weather, and superior to the other bow companies that used Varnish, etc. He must have been a real character.

George Herter, Jacques Herter, Bob Barrie..ALL had a hand in designing and making some fine bows.. This is Bob Barrie..I think his son is still making bows..Jim

That's a fine looking bow.

Glad it got to you OK.

Enjoy.

String made. It does shoot smoother than my 52" Perfection. I have to put a few more quivers thru it before I know how it shoot's overall. First I have to get past my initial excitement, then see if it ends up on the rack and I start reaching for other favorites. Look's good so far. Herter's made some really nice bows. One thing; even tho it's the same model as my 52", made the same year, the grip and riser is much heavier.

Bob Barrie designed every Herter's bow. I'm not sure where there were built but Bob is still alive and kicking and could tell us if he wished to. I'll try to get hold of him. I know he posts on Ebay from time to time. If anyone knows him personally, maybe you can chime in.

His Nephew Mark, at primitivebowhunter.com/ may know those things since he is now making a couple of the old Herter's bows under his own company name. The takedown is also being made again.

This is George Herters..

And this is Bob Barrie..Bob is still doing fine..I corresponded with him last month.. Actually his nephew is reproducing the Herters takedown and some other things quite well.. I have one of the takedowns..with two sets of limbs..that is a fine bow in every respect..Jim

Thanks for the info guys. I have an article from "Instinctive Archer" magazine about Herter's bows. I had no idea that Bob Barrie was still around. Pretty neat that his nephew is carrying on his work. Herter's bows will always be special to me.

When I was 15 I shot a Herters bow. A classmate bought one, unfinished. It was pretty much completed, but he had to do light sanding and apply the finish. It had a big, rosewood riser. I was shooting a 76er and remember being unimpressed with the Herters.

Joe

Still, I've heard great things about the bows. I don't think my pal had his set up right.

That's a sweet one Mike:)

I miss the old Herters firm. They sold some good equipment. I think the Gun Control Act of '68 pretty well did them in as they were high into importing.

I believe Cabela's is selling ammo under the Herter name. Anyone know if the old Herters is back in business?

Now Herter's just sell's Waterfowling stuff, decoys, stuff for hunting dogs, etc.

Hunted with Bob Barrie several years ago in Colorado. Got a signed photo of him with his big muley he shot. Nice guy, and quiet the inventor. At the time I didn't realize he used to work for Herters, other wise I'd had a lot more questions for him.

I have collected Betters bow for years now and have a nice collection of mint or near mint condition Betters bows. All are really fine shooters and are on par with the best of today's modern bows. Congratulations on you fine purchase!

Sorry about "betters" - my tablit does not always spell correctly! IT SHOULD have spelled HERTERS.'

The more I shoot this multi-layered, mustard glassed gem, the more I like it. It almost doesn't seem real.

Yeah man now I see what you were waiting on! It's beautiful well worth the wait to come.

I shot some Herters bows and still have 1 left it's a fine bow.

I lived out of their catalogs to at one time and got plenty of equipment from them. At one time they were a Sportsmans household name I thought.LOL

Mike, been having the same problem as other Leatherwallers with posting pictures. Hope this works using PhotoBucket. Here's my Herters Perfection.

Yeager, what is the brace height of your 52" bow? Herter's measured their's from the back of the bow.

Mike, 9" from the back and 7 1/2" to the bottom of the grip. My string length is 45 5/8". Here's another pic unstrung:

I'll try again.

One last time:

Another Beauty Bow!

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