An Unusual Hawken

[Notchy Bob]

The current issue of True West magazine (May 2021) has a ten-page article on the "Top 12 Guns That Tamed The Wild West." Number one on the list, and the only muzzle-loading long gun represented, is the "Hawken Plains Rifle." Spanning the tops of the first two pages of the article is a photograph of an original Hawken rifle with a half stock. Something about it looked a little "different." The nosecap area of the rifle in the photo was unfortunately embedded in the center crease of the magazine, between pages, but I could make out what appeared to be a poured nosecap without an entry pipe... Unusual for a Hawken halfstock. Also, the triggerguard had the large bow and circular scroll I would associate with early production. The fine print under the caption for this image said "Firearm Photo Courtesy Rock Island Auction Company," so I did a search for "Rock Island Auction Hawken," and found the original rifle, illustrated herewith:

Here is a link to the RIA listing for this rifle: J&S Hawken Halfstock This rifle apparently sold in September, 2019 for $74, 750! Holy smoke!

It does indeed have a poured nosecap with an opening for the ramrod. As far as I know, most original Hawken halfstocks used a separate nosecap with a tailed entry pipe, as would be used on a fullstock. It also has only one barrel key, with no escutcheon. To me, the triggerguard looks like a casting, and the rifle appears to have a solid breech, not hooked. I don't think the rear tang screw can engage the scroll, either.:

The cheekpiece is the straight "Tennessee" style, and (to me) the buttplate looks as if it was formed from sheet metal and either welded or brazed:

This is thought to have originally been a fullstock, and it is believed to be the same rifle illustrated by John Baird on page 61 of his second book, Fifteen Years in the Hawken Lode.

It is my understanding that the Hawken fullstock was generally offered as a "package deal," at a lower cost than the half-stocked rifles, with the solid breech and no escutcheons for the barrel keys. I don't know if the straight cheekpiece reflects the style of the rifle (fullstock versus half-stock), or a time period. I understand that type of triggerguard is an earlier form, but I don't know the dates. The barrel is reportedly stamped J & S HAWKEN ST. LOUIS. The conversion from fullstock to half-stock was nicely done, with the addition of an underrib.

So, I would say Mr. Spangenberger selected an unusual example of an iconic rifle to illustrate his article, but it did lead me to the RIA website and some excellent photos of a very interesting old rifle. Well worth a look, if you're a Hawken buff.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[user 36911]

If I paid that much i'd want one built originally as a half stock. The butt plate curve looks wrong too.

 

[Notchy Bob]

If I paid that much i'd want one built originally as a half stock. The butt plate curve looks wrong too.

That is a heap of money. Curiously enough, I also found this Hawken on the Rock Island Auction website:

This one is an original half-stock, and it sold ten years earlier (in 2009) for exactly half the price of the one in the post above, for $37,375. Too bad we missed a deal like that, right? Here is a web link to the RIA listing: Exceptionally Rare S. Hawken St. Louis Plains Rifle

I can't explain the difference in prices. Maybe inflation played a part, or possibly there was a premium due to the connection with Mr. Baird's book. Maybe a couple of really determined people with cash just got in a bidding battle and drove the price up. I don't know.

As for the buttplate on the J&S Hawken rifle in the original post, it has been my understanding that over time the Hawken brothers used some forged iron parts and some cast iron. I would expect more variability in the forged parts, and that particular buttplate looks to me as if it was formed or forged from heavy sheet metal. The metal just looks thinner than I would expect to see in a casting, and that radius inside the upper corner would enable a a longer and stronger brazed joint, which would not be necessary on a cast part. In general, I would expect castings to be more uniform than forged parts. Maybe that could explain the issue @MtnMan sees with the curvature, although I'll have to admit, I don't see it. The triggerguard on that rifle sure does look like a casting, though.

The comments were appreciated!

Notchy Bob

 

[longcruise]

It's hard not to think that first rifle was a fake.

 

[DaveT]

I think they stole my T\C remake!!!

 

[rich pierce]

I think it’s real and J&S Hawken rifles are always pricey. They will likely have staying power in the collector’s market. Trying to categorize specific J&S Hawken rifles is not always easy. A great many fullstock rifles of all sorts were remodeled to halfstock. It’s part of a gun’s history. That work may or may not have been done in the Hawken shop.

 

[user 36911]

Maybe the first one brought so much money because it's unusual. Collectors like that.

The butt plate is a subtle difference and could be explained because it started as a full stock. The cheek piece show that.

Look at the butt plate on the original half stock. See the top of it has a sharper turn than the full stock. You could say the long stock one was straighter.

 

[LongWalker]

S. Hawken marked rifles were made for a much-longer period of time than J&S Hawken were in business together. Additionally, J&S Hawken rifles were earlier, with fewer made. This seems to be the rationale for the price differences (well, that and the 10 years difference in date of sale!).

 

[Notchy Bob]

S. Hawken marked rifles were made for a much-longer period of time than J&S Hawken were in business together. Additionally, J&S Hawken rifles were earlier, with fewer made. This seems to be the rationale for the price differences (well, that and the 10 years difference in date of sale!).

Thank you for the insightful and entirely logical comments. I have no doubt you are correct.

Notchy Bob

 

[plmeek]

It is my understanding that the Hawken fullstock was generally offered as a "package deal," at a lower cost than the half-stocked rifles, with the solid breech and no escutcheons for the barrel keys. I don't know if the straight cheekpiece reflects the style of the rifle (fullstock versus half-stock), or a time period. I understand that type of triggerguard is an earlier form, but I don't know the dates. The barrel is reportedly stamped J & S HAWKEN ST. LOUIS. The conversion from fullstock to half-stock was nicely done, with the addition of an underrib.

So, I would say Mr. Spangenberger selected an unusual example of an iconic rifle to illustrate his article, but it did lead me to the RIA website and some excellent photos of a very interesting old rifle. Well worth a look, if you're a Hawken buff.

Thanks for sharing the link with us, Notchy.

The rifle is unusual in some ways and other ways it isn't. As pointed out by Rich and some others, J&S Hawken rifles are relatively scarce, so whenever one comes up for auction or is published in a magazine or book, it is unusual. Also, Jacob and Samuel were in partnership from 1825 until Jacob's death in 1849, so their rifles did naturally vary over that almost quarter of a century, making each surviving rifle somewhat unique.

On the other hand, there are certain recognizable characteristics that most of them have in common.

Full stock Hawken rifles whether marked "J&S" or just "S", often have a fixed patent breech rather than a hooked breech (there are a couple of exceptions). They also mostly have the straight "Tennessee" style cheekpiece (again there are a few exceptions). The lack of barrel key escutcheons is common on their full stock rifles but also seen on some "J&S" half stock rifles.

All the "J&S" or just "S" Hawken rifles that were originally half stock that I have seen pictured or in person have the beaver tail cheekpiece or at least a rounded bottom line.

The trigger guard is another "recognizable" Hawken characteristic. During the Jake and Sam period, the rear scroll on the guard is round like the subject rifle. The bow of the guard was often large like this one, but some were more oval. After Jake's death, Sam changed the rear scroll to one that is much more oval. There are exceptions, but these may have been bent from use or intentionally modified by their owner. Some of the exceptions may have been made in a transition period right after Jake's death.

The trigger guard on the subject rifle may be a cast guard if the Hawken brothers had purchased it from an Eastern supplier. I can't tell from the pictures myself. If they had made it themselves, it would have surely been forged from wrought iron. It does look like it is fastened to the stock differently than the classic Hawken rifle. It more closely resembles the Peterson J&S Hawken rifle and the MHS J&S Hawken rifle where the guard extensions, front and back, have wood screws holding them to the stock rather than being screwed into a long trigger plate.

The auction company had this rifle on display at the Colorado Gun Collectors Show in May of 2019. I had a chance to look at it closely, though I did not ask to pick it up and look at the underside. The butt plate is two-piece, brazed together as nearly all surviving J&S rifles are and many S. Hawken rifles, too. Baird noted two types of cast butt plates during his study of them. One appeared to have used a forged, two-piece brazed plate as the pattern for the foundry while the other was probably cast using a wooden pattern. These cast butt plates are only seen on "S. Hawken" marked rifles. It seems that there wasn't an iron foundry in the St. Louis area until after Jake's death.

After studying this rifle, I don't believe there is any question that it was originally a full stock rifle that was cut back to half stock during its working life. The work was professionally done, but as Rich said, it may not have been done in the Hawken shop.

As far as Mr. Spangenberger's choice to use this rifle as example of an iconic rifle to illustrate his article, I think it was a pretty good one. This rifle, during its life as a full stock rifle, may not be too unlike those few that were actually carried by mountain men during the rendezvous period. After is was converted to a half stock, it also represents the period of western migration and the plainsmen. In other words, this rifle could have been made in the late 1830s and still been in use into the 1850s and 60s when the half stock became the norm.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Thanks, Phil! I had not seen this rifle specifically mentioned on this forum previously. Your insight and comments are much appreciated.

I really need to go back and read Baird's books, cover to cover. I read all of his Hawken articles when they were published in Muzzle Blasts back in the sixties, multiple times, and I could not wait for the next month's installment to arrive, but that was more than half a century ago.

Notchy Bob

 

[William Lincoln]

Believe me the first one was fully authenticated. In every
detail including the age of the wood and microscopically
the metal work.

 

[user 36911]

I believe you'll find this book more accurate than Baird's.

https://www.nmlra.org/store/hawkenwoodfil

 

[plmeek]

MtnMan, I was aware of Bob Woodfill's new book and will likely order a copy.

I haven't been very impressed with Woodfill's articles that he's had published in Muzzle Blasts over the last several years. The articles were mostly a regurgitation of Baird's work with a little of Hanson's research thrown in. He didn't present much the new material that has come to light since those two published their books.

I hope his new book isn't just a reprint of those articles.

 

[user 36911]

I was made aware of it on another forum and they thought highly of Bob. We'll see how his book goes over after everybody reads it.

 

[M. De Land]

Maybe the first one brought so much money because it's unusual. Collectors like that.

The butt plate is a subtle difference and could be explained because it started as a full stock. The cheek piece show that.

Look at the butt plate on the original half stock. See the top of it has a sharper turn than the full stock. You could say the long stock one was straighter.

I've not seen a Hawken picture with the trigger guard so much larger than the trigger profile. I wonder about it's authentic-y as well.

 

[rich pierce]

I've not seen a Hawken picture with the trigger guard so much larger than the trigger profile. I wonder about it's authentic-y as well.

I have handled an early, purported 1830’s J&S Hawken rifle where the guard is clearly adapted; it’s design is identical to guards for double barrel shotguns of that time. At least 2 (apparently early) J&S Hawken rifles did not have the arrangement we are most used to - a scroll guard with a stud designed to screw into the trigger bar.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I've not seen a Hawken picture with the trigger guard so much larger than the trigger profile. I wonder about it's authentic-y as well.

That trigger guard with the big bow and circular scroll is an early J&S style, often seen on their fullstocked rifles. Please refer to Post #10 by @plmeek . There is little doubt that the subject rifle was originally a fullstock, but it was cut back to a halfstock at some point in its working life.

Below are a couple more examples of rifles with this type of guard. The first one is the rifle that was owned by John Brown, the Mormon pioneer (not the abolitionist). It is in a museum in Utah:

The next one is another J&S Hawken fullstock. It is still shown on the iCollector Auction Site, although it sold a few years ago:

There are other examples out there. We have convinced ourselves that the "flat to wrist" grip rail with a flattened oval scroll is "early," and that's what you see on most of the fullstocked Hawken reproductions being made now. I have one. However, that big bow and circular scroll would be a more authentic choice. Don Stith, a leading Hawken authority and gunmaker, incorporates this type of guard in his J&S Fullstock parts set:

Your comments are appreciated, and they bring us back to the reason I started this thread in the first place. The Hawken rifle that was the subject of the original post is genuine, but it is unusual, and it does not really match the preconceptions a lot of us have about these rifles today.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob