Herters XK3

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Bases and Rails

The History of Herter’s

Herter’s, founded by George Leonard Herter, was a renowned outdoor goods business. Starting in 1937, Herter transformed his father's general merchandise store into a specialized mail-order service, distributing a catalog featuring hunting and fishing equipment. Over the years, the company's operations expanded to include retail outlet stores. Herter's offered a diverse range of products, from stylish watercrafts, snowmobiles, and minibikes to specialized hunting gear.

Among their most popular products were their duck hunting accessories, which included a variety of boats tailored for duck hunting, and their distinctive Styrofoam decoy ducks. In the hunting field, they also provided a wide array of deer hunting equipment such as bows, deer calls, blinds, and broadheads. While not their primary focus, Herter's also imported rifles based on Mauser 98-style actions, branding models like the Herter’s XK3 or J9 under their own name. Herters began importing the U9 barreled actions and complete rifles in 1965-66. The U9s were made by BSA in England and differed cosmetically from the J9 actions. The early J9 actions from around 1965 were a copy of the FN Commercial Mauser and had "Made in Germany" inscribed on the receivers. According to one source, by 1967, Herters' catalog listed the J9 as produced by Zavodi Crvena Zastava in Yugoslavia.

The business journey of Herter's came to an end in 1981 when they declared bankruptcy. Cabela's acquired Herter's decoy factory and later took over the entire company. To this day, Cabela's continues to honor the legacy of Herter's by branding some of its products with the iconic name.

Herter's XK3 Rifle Review

Herter's, based in Waseca, MN, operated as an importer and distributor of several rifles from the early 1960s to 1979. During the mid-60s, they imported bolt action rifles from Germany that utilized Mauser 98-style actions. These rifles had free-floating, blued barrels and Mauser-style structural components.

The Mark XK3 variant of the Mauser, made in Germany, had a modified bolt stop. The safety comes in the form of a slide lever located on the right rear end of the receiver, behind the bolt handle. The rifle typically lacked iron sights and came with an internal magazine with a capacity of three rounds, covered by a steel floorplate. Later versions were produced in Yugoslavia and had the markings J9 or M-XK-3.

The bolt design included two large locking lugs at the front and an additional one at the rear. The stocks were primarily made of walnut in a Monte Carlo design. Some models had a rubber recoil pad, while others featured a plastic cover on the stock's end. Despite careful construction, the rifles did not achieve sustained sales success.

Herter's XK3, chambered for .270 Win.

Figure 1: Herter's XK3, chambered for .270 Win. (Source: https://www.gunsamerica.com/912570878/HERTER-S-RIFLE-MODEL-XK3.htm)

Herter’s XK3 Calibers

The rifle can be chambered for the following calibers:

.22-250 Rem.
.243 Win.
.257 Roberts
.270 Win.
.308 Win.
.30-06 Spr.
.264 Win. Mag.
7mm Rem. Mag.
.300 Win. Mag.

The receiver of Herter’s XK3 comes with four drilled and tapped holes for scope mounting purposes. There are two holes at the front and two at the rear end of the receiver.

The receiver of Herter's XK3 rifle, chambered for .300 Win. Mag.

Figure 2: The receiver of Herter's XK3 rifle, chambered for .300 Win. Mag. (Source: https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/101352697)

Herter's XK3

A: 22 mm

B: 97 mm

C: 12.7 mm

BHU: 4 mm

Ø: M3.5

R1: R14/30°

R2: R18

Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Herter’s XK3

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Herter’s XK3

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. Rifles that have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Herter’s XK3 are the following:

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Herter’s XK3

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed. Rifles that have two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Herter’s XK3 are the following:

Best Scope Mounts for Herter’s XK3

Picatinny Rails for Herter’s XK3

You might consider this Picatinny rail manufactured by the American company EGW. It is made of high-quality aluminum and should fit your Herter’s XK3 perfectly.

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the scope mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu