Several years ago I found at the local gun shop a like new Herter's 401 Power Mag! The price was right and it came with a set of RCBS dies so decided to pick it up! Let me tell you, this thing will shoot. Me and the boys in the area have a freindly informal shoot once a month and we shoot alittle mid range ( 125 yrds) pistol competition! They all shoot mostly 44 mags, also a few 45 long colts and a 454 casull! The 401 isn't the biggest or the fastest but I usually do very well. So well in fact the guys started giving me a hard time when I'd bring it! So I had a Ruger 3 screw blackhawk in 357 rechambered to 401 in the hopes of being able to sneak it into a match! Same #### thing, this gun also shot extremely well. I have limited 401 brass so I make mine from 41 mag brass. The 41 brass is swaged down in the 401 resizing die then a small amount of brass needs to be turned off with a lath near the rim!  Case length for the 401 is 1.29 where the 41 mag is 1.28. My favorite load is 16.5 grs of 2400 under a 260 gr cast bullet for a 40-82 winchester! Basically It's a super 38-40 or a 40 mag take your pick. Where everyone else is going to these 454 and larger hand cannons, Iv'e decided to go on a road less traveled, and when my buddies all pull on there little shooting gloves that help the recoil or put there howitzer down because the pain isn't fun after a few rounds I'll still be shooting with a big grin on my face. Now all's I need is to chamber a Marlin 94 up and try it out in a rifle!

John, I can remember when you could buy one of those PowerMags for ุ. Was the price that good?<!--emo&;)--><img src="http://beartoothbullets.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->

Ruger NO 3, I'm not sure what they originally sold for but I wish I had about half a dozen as I've got a few buddies who would like them!

Ah, the days of the U9 rifle and 401 Power mag revolver.

I miss old George and Bertha and their catalog that I used to read and dream about when I was a little punk kid.

I still have my Bertha Herter Bull Cook Knife and their &quot;Improved Bowie&quot;. The book that came with it was worth more than the knife for info. LOL

I even have a couple of pairs of there wool socks that are still going strong unbelievably.

Weren't those U9's made by BSA if I'm not mistaken? I've seen a few at gun shows in the past.


Regards,


:cool:

Talk about stirring up old memories.

I was raised about 30 miles from the Herters store in Waseka, Minnesota.

It was a grand spring day indeed when Kenny and I would skip school and start the day drooling over all the stuff there and then wind up frittering time away along some crik, fishing and plinking with various &quot;tools of the trade&quot; for our planned escape from society.

I spent the first year with my wife caretaking a lodge deep in the Wrangle Mountains in Alaska. One of the few books we had for the loooonnng winter was &quot;The Professional Guides Manual&quot; by George Herter. Some of the stuff was a real hoot!

Oh, for the misspent days of youth!

Thanks for a trip down memory lane.

Scotty

Yep, the U9 action and bbl., was a BSA. The 401 Powermag was made by Sauer. Good firearms!

I still have and use a number of Herter items, bought in the '60s and early '70s. My first reloading press was the Herters &quot;O&quot; press. What a strong beast! Reloaded thousands of rounds on it. My nephew still uses it.

Too bad they folded, but most of the problem was the 1968 Nazi/Communist &nbsp;Gun Control Act, that put them out of business.

J.B.

Yes that's right! GCA '68 really screwed things up.

Imagine ordering a U9 rifle through the mail back then. But, you know, guns are just too available nowadays............NOT!

These antis crack me up.

I better stop here.


Regards

:cool:

John Anderson, &nbsp;IIRC a post on another forum, it is possible to put a chamfer on the chamber so you don't need to remove the excess swaged brass. Do you get my drift? Might be worth checking it out.

Ruger NO 3 That would most likely be the way to go, but as I own a little hobby lath it is no big deal to do this. I turned about 200 peices awhile back and that will last a long time!

As long as you enjoy it, it's pure relaxation. Reloading is a great hobby with much to be learned. Enjoyable thread.