Hawken vs Long Rifle

[dh9]

Which style do you think performs better at target and hunting? Which do you find more pleasant to shoot. Just looking for opinions. Might get a new gun for Christmas!

 

[Grenadier1758]

There are way too many unknowns in your question.

What do you want to hunt?

What targets are you planning to shoot? Paper or metal hangars?

What caliber are planning to get?

Do you want one gun for both hunting and target?

There are many different types of Long Rifles that mount to your shoulder or arm. How would you be mounting your rifle. Hawkens with the curved butt plate mount to the bicep. Flat butt plate long rifles mount to the shoulder pocket. Here arm length and upper body build have to be considered.

We need some more information.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Just do yer own thang. Both styles will perform well in the hands of a shooter who knows what he is doing.

 

[BrownBear]

Any more saying "Hawken" is like saying "car." There are so many models and variables, you should probably tell us which one you're talking about, recognizing that most are Hawkens in name only with only the palest resemblance to the real thing.

My favorite Hawken is in fact a careful reproduction of an original Hawken, right down to its 36" barrel and weight of over 12#. The most accurate gun I own, it would be dandy on horseback. But I doubt you would want to carry it 10 or 20 miles on foot any more than I do.

 

[dh9]

I was thinking .50 or .54. Paper target match at local club shooting 25,50, and 100 yards. Hunting would be for deer. When I said hawken, I meant something like the lyman gpr, long rifle something like a pedersoli kentucky or cabelas blue ridge.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Originally, you'd have been looking at long and smaller bored vs. shorter and ruggedly built. In these days the gun's abilities has somewhat over-lapped so that it'd be more a matter of personal choice. Many prefer the "Hawken" type for little more than convenience and portability. Some of us like the longer 'classic' feel of a long rifle. As an aside, for the shoot I attend introducing kids to the shooting sports, the Blue Ridge gets more use than the T/C..."can I shoot that big Davy Crockett one?". We let them shoot from a rest so it doesn't matter since they both take the same load.

What I guess I'm trying to say is get what you prefer or what fits you best. I know from personal experience that some body types just struggle certain stock styles. Back in the day, the CVA Mountain Rifle was all the rage...I could never get it to fit me comfortably. Attend a shoot or two. Most will let you fire off a couple with their guns. If you find a comfortable style, go with that. Sorry, that's not a very satisfactory answer but is basically true now that so many types are available and made. :thumbsup:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Given your choices, I prefer the longer Kentucky styled rifles...My reasons are;
Better (Finer) sights
Longer sight radius
Lighter overall weight(usually)
Better hold.

But a lot of people chose the "Hawken" style..It is more like a modern gun and is easier to disassemble to clean.

The deciding factor is really personal preference and which gun fits you best.

I am a bit biased... A long rifle always captures my attention...But, a Hawken has to be really exceptional to divert me away from watching paint dry.

 

[dh9]

I think I prefer the looks of the long rifle too. Thanks for the replies.

 

[tenngun]

Many longer rifles are in smaller caliber. Since you said a .54 that’s rare in long gun. .50 is plenty for deer althoughis being pushed for elk or moose. A fifty in a long gun is easy to find. A newbie to ml who has shot modern guns will find the feel of s short gun more familiar.
Just one thing to notice, I would venture most of the people on this forum who shoot long guns now started with a short half stock plains rifle. Hmmm.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I would venture most of the people on this forum who shoot long guns now started with a short half stock plains rifle. Hmmm.

Not me....I didn't start shooting muzzleloaders because I wanted something that was similar to what I was already shooting......I wanted something new and exciting.....Something different. Black powder,round balls , using a powder horn and a ramrod.....I get the same feeling now as I did back then when I think about it... I wanted something like Davey Crocket.

 

[hanshi]

All I can say is that I like longrifles more than anything else.

 

[azmntman]

My first was a CVA KY rifle kit. Full stock. Some of those older cheapo kit guns could shout a TIGHT group.

I like long guns best too myself but have way more Hawkins "type". More plentiful and cheaper.

 

[rdstrain49]

I would defiantly not choose the Pedersoli. The rifling is very shallow requiring a much tighter ball patch fit than I prefer. That plus the 1 / 48 twist is a no go for me.

If you really want one, I have one that I wish I'd never purchased.

I also have the Lyman Great Plains Rifle. Good solid rifle and once you find the load it likes, very accurate.

 

[Spikebuck]

I would defiantly not choose the Pedersoli. The rifling is very shallow requiring a much tighter ball patch fit than I prefer. That plus the 1 / 48 twist is a no go for me.

The Blue Ridge in .54 is 1-65 twist and I very successfully shot .530 ball with .015 patch. It also shot the Hornady Great Plains conical well even with that slow twist. The Cabela's Blue Ridge/Pedersoli Frontier are very good shooting guns.

While the Blue Ridge is a "long rifle," the buttplate is not a wide, flat buttplate. It is a narrow crescent, so does not feel materially different than a Hawken, at least to me.

My Rocky Mountain Hawken is also a great shooting rifle, though almost 3 pounds heavier.

Whatever you get first, you'll probably be buying another soon anyway! :wink: :grin:

 

[coloradoclyde]

If you really want one, I have one that I wish I'd never purchased.

I also have the Lyman Great Plains Rifle. Good solid rifle and once you find the load it likes, very accurate.

The irony is that the Pedersoli factory and the Lyman (Investarms) factory are only about a mile apart from each other....

 

[Wes/Tex]

My first was a CVA KY rifle kit. Full stock. Some of those older cheapo kit guns could shout a TIGHT group.

I like long guns best too myself but have way more Hawkins "type". More plentiful and cheaper.

Those old CVA Kentuckies weren't long on looks but 75 grains of FFg used to put a lot of Bambis in the freezer! :thumbsup:

 

[tenngun]

I remember in the old Black powder report CVA was another name for deer droppings. I have owned several and they were shooters. Put together a few kits for other people and can’t complain about them. I just restocked a CVA my pistol that I bought in the late 70s, ant it still groups better than I can hold.

 

[crockett]

No one has discussed the lock. Now either can be had with either flint or percussion BUT as a general thing the Hawken "Plains" rifle is usually percussion while the Long rifle is flint.
If you like percussion locks- I'd get a Hawken type. If you like Flint- then a long rifle.

 

[coloradoclyde]

No one has discussed the lock. Now either can be had with either flint or percussion BUT as a general thing the Hawken "Plains" rifle is usually percussion while the Long rifle is flint.
If you like percussion locks- I'd get a Hawken type. If you like Flint- then a long rifle.

This day and age you can get your choice of ignition method...But the thing to consider is that The "Hawken" type rifles and the development of percussion ignition coincided with each other. The reliability of percussion and ease of construction led many flintlocks to be converted....This development marked the end for muzzleloaders....within 30 years there production would be gone, and cartridge rifles would take over...
Simple put, flintlocks were around a lot longer than percussion, but percussion became the preferred ignition system once developed, and only lasted a few decades before it was replaced with something even more reliable.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Which style do you think performs better at target and hunting? Which do you find more pleasant to shoot. Just looking for opinions. Might get a new gun for Christmas!

Well the "long rifle" can have a really long barrel. One isn't limited to 42", and I've seen some with very very fine sights and a very long sight plane.., so I'd say a long rifle is better for some target shooting. The plains rifle seems to me to be more for the guy hunting from horseback, or even busting through very thick brush, also on horseback. I know a lot of fellows who like the Hawken over a long rifle, for brush areas, and like even better something like the very short TC White Mountain Carbine...again for very thick brush.

LD