Building a Hawkin

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Greetings Herb,

Thanks for the details on your Hawken. It is a beauty. Neill sounds like my kind of guy. After retiring last year after 37 years as technology teacher, I am ready for a long spell of solitude. My Sound and FURY will not agree to it though.

Most of the original Hawkens I have traced and measured over the years have butt plates that measure 4-1/2" from heel to toe. The stocks that were sent back required shortening the butt plate to 4 tO 4-1/8" to fit the stock. There were other things also, but perhaps I am the one expectin too much. Just cannot help but feel that out there, somewhere somebody has exactly what I am looking for.

Anyway, thanks again for your help. John L. Hinnant

 

[Herb]

John- I built two Hawkens from Track's halfstock pattern, not inlet for lock. (Don't think their current catalog shows them). My drawings show the buttplates 4.7 inches tall with a 14" LOP and 4.8" tall with a 13 3/4 LOP on the finished rifles. Another I built from a walnut blank, it is 4.8" tall with 14"LOP. The fourth was the one for Ron Smith shown here, but it was a large shaped blank. It has a 4.6" tall plate at 14"LOP. A fifth one I have measurements on is a Sante Fe Hawken, by Lee Robertson, an exact copy (I believe) of Kit Carson's rifle. It has a 4.3" tall plate at 14 1/8" LOP. The Plans I showed in this thread were really Track's, and they show butt plate L-I at 4.5" tall and 13.5" LOP. The Hawken Shop plans (good plans) show 4.7" tall and 13 3/4 LOP. Neill's full stock Hawken that I show with Randy somewhere on this forum had a 4.6" tall plate at 14" LOP. (I made a drawing when I restained the stock). Track shows 6 Hawken buttplates in their current catalog, ranging in height from 4.6 to 5.3 inches. Pecatonica River's catalog lists their halfstock at 15 1/2" LOP (!). Butt plate is 1 3/16x 5 3/16. They also cut for 1 1/8" barrel if you want that. Call them, talk to Dick Greensides. Phone 815-968-1995. Or call Jack Garner at Tennessee Valley Mfg. at Corinth, MS, 662-286-5014. He cuts Hawken stocks, and he can cut it to fit your buttplate at your length of pull. He has done two custom stocks for me, and I recommend him highly. He has 40 years of experience cutting stocks, and he can do exactly what you want.

 

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Greetings Herb,

I took no prisoners and printed out your information immediately. Thanks for all your effort and advice. Pecatonaca did not seem to have the stock you describe when I started my search about a year and a half ago, or maybe, I just over-looked it. Think now I will talk to Jack Garner first. Again thanks for all of the help.

On a more personal note, let me recommend the new movie on the ALAMO. There are a number of very, very fine custom rifle and pistols used in the movie. Crockett/Thornton carries a custom copy of the Dickert rifle in the ALAMO museum that survived the 1836 battle. The Travis character uses a double barrel shotgun which is historicall correct, and Bowie has a pair of beautiful flint-lock pistols.

Mike Branson headed up the overall project for building the guns and tells about his involvement on his web site. Has a number of color photos. These are not prop guns, but the real shooting them.

Do not believe the adverse critics reviews either. This movie is the most historically correct one to date. The overall story line is quiet accurate, with a minimial of hollywood thrown in.

Got to run; it is very late for me. Thanks again.

John L. Hinnant

 

[Herb]

John- I talked some more with Neill. He said Track's Bridger Hawken was patterned after Green River Rifle Work's rifles. They have a 1 1/8" barrel. Stock shown on page 144 of current catalog. He said this is a good shape, only that the radius at the comb nose should be straight down, more like the picture on page 141. I mentioned that he just repaired an original Hawken. He used some of that shape in his last Hawken, which he made from Jack Garner's (Tennessee Valley Mfg) $200 blank. Got to the finishing in 30 HOURS! Notice the longer forestock on Neill's rifle, patterned after the original. This shows that rifle, plus GRRW's shop Hawken. It is a .58 cal, 32" bbl, weighs 11 pounds. Neil's is a .54, 34" original GRRW barrel, 9.5 pounds.

The lock panels are critical to a Hawken. They flare out to the rear, being wider than the front. Also, the lock panel in front of the drum curves down.

Here is Neill's rifle.

When you think you know what a Hawken looks like, you need to see more originals. There are some good pictures in Baird's book, Hawken Rifle, the Mountain Man's Choice. Track has.

 

[Herb]

So much for memory. The lock panels are wider across the front than the rear, especially with a 1 1/8" barrel, such as the GRRW shop rifle here. Neill's copy is wider at the front. I saw a copy of the Sante Fe Hawken and those panels are parallel. Measured another Bridger copy by a famous builder and those panels were wider at the rear.

 

[JOHN L. HINNANT]

Greetings Herb,

Thanks for the update on the Hawken stock. The photos are fantastic. Great detail too. You are so correct about those lock panels. Those subtle details are frequently missed uless one has done a lot of research. John Baird's books are the only place I have ever read about such details.

A small details that many first time builders mess up on is cutting the front sight dovetail too close to the muzzle. I have measured 200 plus original muzzle loaders and find the the dovetail center to the end of the muzzle averages 1.5 inches.

Again Herb, thanks for the information.

John L. Hinnant