dates for a flintlock Hawken

[Sandhiler]

What would be the earliest date that one could expect to find a flintlock Hawken rifle? I'm wondering whether they would be allowed in pre 1800 events? Thanks

 

Hi Rennie,

Hawken rifles won't fit in a pre-1800 event. Unless....it is a brass mounted fullstock flintlock longrifle made by Sam or Jake in the "eastern" tradition. The style they were making in Maryland and Ohio before the St. Louis days.

 

[Tanselman]

I assume you are refering to Hawken rifles made by Samuel and Jacob Hawken in St. Louis, and not earlier Hawken family member guns made back east. Since Samuel arrived in St. Louis about 1818, and older brother Jacob about 1825, they obviously made flintlock rifles during their early years in St. Louis. But if you are considering their early "trademark" style double keyed plains rifles in early flint, I doubt that style showed up until the 1820s, well after the 1800 date you mentioned. Of course, other Hawken rifles were made before 1800 back in Hagerstown, Maryland, but they were Kentucky sytle rifles, not plains rifles. Hope this helps. Shelby Gallien

 

Christian Hawken of Hagerstown, Maryland? Wolfgang Hachen of Reading, PA? Yes. Jake, John, George, and Joseph Hawken all started working for Harpers Ferry between 1807 and 1809. That suggests they were all done with apprenticeships if they did them and working as journeymen or inmate gunsmiths at the time. Based on Hanson's book, there is some evidence to suggest that Jake was somewhere between 16 and 26 years of age in 1810. Hence there is a chance that a pre 1800 Jake Hawken gun may have existed. If it did, it likely looked nothing like you'd expect. The flintlock Hawken that you see commonly is really based off 1850's rifles. An 1800 era rifle if it existed likely looked a lot more like a Christian Hawken gun. There's at least one of these in Shumway's Longrifle Articles vol 2.

Sean

 

[Dphar]

What would be the earliest date that one could expect to find a flintlock Hawken rifle? I'm wondering whether they would be allowed in pre 1800 events? Thanks

The scroll guard J&S Hawken, either flintlock or percussion is at least 20 years too new for a pre-1800 event. Jake did not arrive in St Louis until at least 1819.
But the Hawken family of gunsmiths goes back much farther but they did not make what most people today would think of as a "Hawken".

Dan