Herters Zastava J9

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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 Zastava J9 Rifle Review

Herter's, located in Waseca, MN, was an importer and distributor of rifles from the early 1960s to 1979. During the mid-60s, their imports included bolt-action rifles from Germany, based on the Mauser 98 style actions. These rifles featured free-floating, blued barrels and Mauser-style components. Herter’s began importing the J9 from Yugoslavia in the late 1960s. While the J9 was based on the Yugo Mauser 98 design, the U9 model, also sold by the Herter’s at the time, was produced by the English company BSA. The J9 is a bolt-action rifle that Herter's imported from Zavodi Crvena Zastava which operated in former Yugoslavia.

The bolt design consists of two primary locking lugs at the front and an additional lug at the rear. Contrary to the Mauser-style flag safety, the safety mechanism of the J9 is a slide lever, positioned on the right rear end of the receiver behind the bolt handle.

The stock of the J9 was primarily a Monte Carlo comb with a rolled-over cheekpiece. Depending on the model, some had a rubber recoil pad and others had a plastic cover on the stock's end. The internal hinged magazine of the J9 could hold up to three rounds. Markings on the rifle include a "CZ" (Crvena Zastava) logo on the left side of the receiver with the inscription “Made in Yugoslavia”. The right side of the barrel is marked with caliber information followed by "Herter’s Inc. Model J9”. Most J9 models were manufactured without iron sights provisions on the barrel.

Herter's J9 model, chambered for .22-250 Rem.

Figure 1: Herter's J9 model, chambered for .22-250 Rem. (Source: https://www.marshallbid.com/auctions/9522/lot/17285-herters-model-j9-bolt-action-rifle-22-250-w-lyman-all-american-scope-harris-bi-pod-sling-sock-and-ammo-sn-n-a)

Herter’s J9 Calibers

The rifle can be chambered for the following calibers:

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

The receiver of Herter’s J9 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 Zastava J9 rifle, chambered for .264 Win. Mag.

Figure 2: The receiver of Herter's Zastava J9 rifle, chambered for .264 Win. Mag. (Source: https://www.proxibid.com/Guns-Military-Artifacts/Rifles/Herter-s-CZ-Model-J9-Bolt-Action-Rifle/lotInformation/36097333)

Herter's Zastava J9

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 Zastava J9

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Herter’s Zastava J9

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 Zastava J9 are the following:

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Herter’s Zastava J9

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 Zastava J9 are the following:

Best Scope Mounts for Herter’s Zastava J9

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Herter’s Zastava J9

Detachable mounts are not only practical but also ensure consistent placement and can withstand recoil well. If you're looking for this kind of mount, consider the Rusan pivot mount that will fit on your J9 rifle. Made from top-grade steel, it offers a 10-year warranty.

Picatinny Rails for Herter’s Zastava J9

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 Zastava J9 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