The Hawken rifle as we know it is not a true fur trade gun. It came along well after the 1820-1835 time frame, which was the peak time for the fur trade. I have always called it a ”pioneering rifle” and did serve well as the west was opened up. First, the percussion gun was not practical when the closest source of caps was 1,500 miles east. A flint gun was never without some source of sparking material. I maintain flint guns were preferred in the far west long after percussion dominated the market in the east. A careful reading of Ruxton’s “Life In The Far West” will confirm flint guns well into the late ‘40’s. Granted, the Hawken shop was in business during the later fur trade but their output was minuscule compared to the number of trappers heading to the plains and Rockies. And remember, most of the men were poor and carried just about anything they could get their hands on.
I have owned a very close copy of a late slant breech .54 Hawken for 40 years and shot a number of mule deer with it. I never really liked it—it is ungainly, balances like a lead pipe, and kicks like a mule with the narrow crescent buttplate. It doesn’t even compare with some of my big bore earlier flint rifles for comfort and all around efficiency.
All the above is just my humble,opinion.
I think I would have to disagree with you on some points
The MM were not poor guys with what ever they had.
They were employees and often issued a pretty fine rifle. Most of these came out of Pennsylvania.
Although not the primary gun, the ‘mountain mans choice, a few did get to rendezvous.
Jed smith had one, classic half stock cap gun, in 1831, Ashley had one in ‘25, a .66 caliber.
Rocky Mountain and American Fur were buying Hawken s all through the mountain man era.
We certainly overblew them in the ‘70s, then the pendulum swung opposite. In truth they weren’t THE Mountain man gun, but a Mm gun
Caps were flowing west to the first voo. Although flint would stay popular up till the adoption of breechloaders, caps were all over.
MM rarely tried to use a rock off the ground. And even Indians who had made flint tools since coming to America they still bought flint for their guns.
A thousand caps fit in a hand, but flint for a thousand shots was more bulky. Mm and the companies seemed to have been pretty jealous of packed volume and weight.