Not only have I read that the barrels were blued but also tapered not strait .
As to case hardening that’s a subject that gets thrown around a lot . Myself I tend to say most likely they were at least for the early rifles or concerning forged lock plates . Later when they began purchasing locks and barrels pre made , then most likely more along the line of Fire blued , Rust blued . ………….. Maybe browning if the customer requested it .
Casing doesn’t take as much work as a good rust blue and it improves the workings of the lock , IE quality . that’s what hawkens was said to be known for .
Again , as I said before , frankly neither the Pedersoli or the Lyman are anymore authentic then the other when you really get down to the nuts of it . Even though they are far more athentic then most other production rifles out there .
Quality wise , I also don’t think that a high priced pedersoli is more likely to be of higher quality
I would also say that going Custom does not guarantee a product that’s any better in quality or historically accurate . To get that your going to have to find a person who’s work is not only quality , but also who strives and often achieves “by measure of his piers “ a high level of authenticity and attention to detail ..
In doing so , you not going to say ; I want a representation of a hawkens gun .
If you do your more then likely going to be ask which Hawkens gun. The price would then be based on which gun your wanting . I can also pretty much guarantee your not going to get one that built by such a person for as cheep as the Pedersoil . Maybe a few hundred more but even that maybe stretching it ..
But then again , one never knows , there are a lot of very good up coming smiths and builders out there who just might take the challenge on .