what we call hawken rifles today

Z

zworld

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In the 80's I did a lot of research trying to find out what a true hawken looked like, what I found is that most that were half stocked were at least 32 to 34" in barrel length and had two barrel tenons. I bought this traditions in the mid 80's it has a 32
' barrel and the two barrel tenons, it also has a couple inlays. Think I paid less than 300 for it new. Most called hawken today are short rifles of usually 28". With one barrel tenon. I don't think modern copies are very good copies.
 
Barrel lengths on original Hawken rifles were 30-40 inches with the majority being 34-36 inches. The so called modern Hawken rifles are pretty fair representations of Tryon trade rifles from the mid 1870's (ie) brass furniture, single barrel key.
 
Robert Redford made everyone in America want a Hawken rifle after making the movie Jeremiah Johnson back in the early 1970's. No, they weren't a true reproduction but no one really cared. TC sold a million or two of them and everyone was happy. Tom Selleck made the movie Quigley Down Under and that followed with everyone wanting a "Quigley" Sharps....never was such a thing. Now they even have a shoot called the Quigley. Unless you're a total purist it doesn't really matter as long as you're having a good time. Civil War enactors are true purists for the most part...in all respects. Right down to the thread count in their cloths, etc. I guess if there is a mountain man reenactment it could make a difference. However for the millions who really aren't that diligent it doesn't make much difference. Pedersoli might have sold more Quigley's than any other model.
 
In name only

I don't think modern copies are very good copies.
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Not meant to be, just made to sell. They are Hawken Models, in name only. Back in the 80's there were a bunch that were called Hawkens. …. :confused:

Have you ever held or seen a genuine half-stockHawken or plaines rifle. ?????

Be Safe !!!
 
You should get a nice representation of an original Hawken with that kit. By all means do your research. There's a few good books about Hawken rifles. I had a guy build me one from scratch going by blueprints and he did a pretty good job on it.
 
The Hawken Rifle

Mountain Man's Choice

Author James Baird

Judging by Amazon's listing its out of print. Used ones are a bit pricey.https://www.amazon.com/Hawken-Rifle...ywords=The+Hawken+Rifle&qid=1589256701&sr=8-2



If you want to build an honest replica,its a good investment.

You might browse the "Track of the Wolf" website. I think you will find proper hardware such as buttplates,patchboxes,trigger guards,Double set trigger bars,Ramrod pipes sight catings,escutcheons and stock keys,and patent hook breeches,along with barrels and stock blanks. Browning solutions.stock stains and finishes,oh,and proper unplated screws.

Did I leave out locks? Siler,L+R,...

I'm pretty sure the Hawken rifles were fitted with iron rather than brass fittings.

At the time I was into building muzzle loaders,I did nt need the catalogue.

A Gentleman and Friend was the late Michael McCormick,Proprietor of Cache La Poudre Rifleworks.
Rather than kits,we could select each part and component from his inventory.

It was a full service Buckskinner shop From Hudson Bay blankets to antique beads to bear claws,tomahawks

Mike....Brokenbutt...To know him then is to miss him now.
 
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There were a couple of Hawken replicas that were not too bad, Western arms made one. None of those marketed as Hawkens from TC, CVA, Traditions etc. from the 1970's on were even close.
 
The CVA Mountain Rifles and the Lyman Great Plains came closer than most and Pedersoli makes a fairly decent one.
 
The Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle is a pretty good one as well. From time to time they can be found in very good shape.
 
For a number of years I've shot a Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle. It seems like a pretty fair representation of a Hawken. Mine is in 50 cal with brass furniture. Nice gun with a rich history of use as the Mormons treked west to set up shop in Utah. Jonathan Browning was John Browning's dad.

.02 David :)
 
So far so good cleaning the bore and breech on the JBMR. I tend to use a mixture of water and Windex after use at the bench. Once home I double down on the water and Windex mixture but now aggressively clean the bore with Ballistol. A couple days later I come back to clean the bore a second time with the Ballistol. After approximately 5 years of shooting the rifle the bore remains bright.

Thanks for the breech info -- just me, but if you've seen one breech you've seen them all. I'm not an engineer.

.02 David ;)
 
For a number of years I've shot a Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle. It seems like a pretty fair representation of a Hawken. Mine is in 50 cal with brass furniture.
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Hawken rifles had iron furniture.

Thanks for the breech info -- just me, but if you've seen one breech you've seen them all. I'm not an engineer.
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Nope. A lot of rifles have a breech the same size as the bore.
 
Another inconvenient truth is that the Hawken (percussion) Plains Rifle was not the choice of the mountain men. It came along too late, after the beaver trapping days were about done. The scouts, explorers, and early buffalo hunters were more likely users of the Hawken than any mountain men.

Dave
 
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Breach Plug

This requires a scraper to clean. We tried flushing but it's best to make or buy a chamber cleaner. That's easy (if you have a lathe).
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You really don't need a scraper to clean the Bowl/Cup surface of a breach plug. I have not used "machined" scrapers for a number of years mostly because one size does not fit all. ….. ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
Hawg-- Re iron furniture on the original Hawkens, that certainly makes sense to me. Hawkens were tools, utilitarian items back in the day. Actually, many of the JBMR reproductions come with the iron furniture. In my case I was drawn to a new in the box specimen with brass and perfect walnut that was too pretty to pass up. I'm a sucker for gorgeous wood and some of these JBMRs are drop dead beautiful.

.02 David :)
 
easy-peasy

I'd find a round stock that fits into the Nock Chamber, face it off on a lathe, drill and tap it to fit your cleaningrod. Then I'd mill one portion flat for the scraper and cut of off again on a lathe. File the rest of the milled part to fit the plug.
 
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