S. Hawken rifle - revisited

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

As you know, I was able to handle a beautiful S. Hawken a few years back and posted photos in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade forum. Some of you have asked questions concerning things about the gun that I either can not recall or never thought to look for at the time. I have written for and obtained permission to revisit the S. Hawken and am looking for input as to what you folks would like me to photograph, measure or in some way document and will post the results when I return. Understandably I will not be allowed to shoot the rifle but might be allowed to take a peek under the lock and barrel. So let me know what you are curious about

 

[GPR guy]

Holy cow. A second chance at a once in a life time opportunity. I say photo anything and everything. Lock, trigger, tang... all of it.

The Hawken half stock have been my favorites since... oh forever.

 

[musketman]

I say, take it apart and fondle everything, photograph every nook and cranny...

Don't forget the secret compartment uoder the butt plate...
(that'll make him look)

 

[quote Don't forget the secret compartment under the butt plate...
(that'll make him look) [/quote]
Musketman: Is it true that old timers usd to hide gold coins in the secret compartment under the butt plate? :blah:

 

[bob1961]

now all we have to do now is just wait till your back with the photos.....i hope it's not too long of a wait.................bob

 

Will they let you push a patch down the barrel and measure the rifling twist? I assume you already know the caliber.

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

I'll make a point of doing that: caliber and rate of twist = ?

 

[Jay Gardner]

Weight
LOP to rear front trigger
# of grooves
length of barrel
take the barrel off and photograph EVERYTHING
think they will let you pull the lock?

 

After reading all the post sounds like to me a blue print would be about the best idea!

Enjoy fondling that ole Hawkin and stroke her once for me!!!

KNO3CS

 

[musketman]

Understandably I will not be allowed to shoot the rifle but might be allowed to take a peek under the lock and barrel. So let me know what you are curious about

 

[Donny]

S Hawken, after 1849 ?

barrel length, Cal. & weight, length of pull. Slant nipple?
What was the nose cap made of? Patchbox?
Dist from breech to rear sight? Drop, cast off?? Thickness and width of the wrist. glad you asked? Don :winking:

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

As promised, I had the oportunity to spend an hour with the S. Hawken ( call it the Clymer Hawken since it is now the property of the Clymer Museum ) previously mention here and in the Rocky Mt. Fur Trade forum so for those interested I will be posting the photos and dimensions a few at a time so as not to use up too much of our server's band width :winking: - starting with a general overview:

The rifle is 55.5" long overall and weighs 10lbs 4oz. The barrel length is 38 3/16" and unfortunatly has been bored out to a smooth bore of .60 caliber.

The front sight is 1" from the end of the current muzzle to the front of the dovetail and is a silver blade in a copper base.

It is 1.04" across the flats at the muzzle and varies from between 1.02" to 1.08" at the hooked breach.

 

[atr]

Did you get a close up pic of the patchbox ?

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

There are two barrel tennons which appear to be staked in - you be the judge...note the traces of a previous tennon next to it - perhaps soldered earlier?

The nosecap is made of sheet steel and seems to be solderd together at the end. It is fastened to the stock with a screw.

Note the two seperate inlettings for the front tennon - one of several odd things observed about the gun.

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

atr - here you go... As was speculated earlier and here confirmed, the patch box, beautiful as it is, was probably a recent addition and judging by the workmanship, not done at the Hawken shop.

 

[atr]

Thank you for posting that . I'm giving some consideration to installing a patchbox on my Great Plains Rifle . Although the patchbox on the Hawkins you photographed may have been installed at a later date , it's still there . Now if i go ahead an install one i won't feel so much like i faked it .

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

The plate for the lock screw ( which is a new modern screw ) is also a later addition.

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

The stock itself has been repaired, glued, pinned and patched in several places and is rather fragile. Note how thin the wood in the barrel chanel is next to the barrel ( sorry for the out of focus shots ) I was hesitant to even remove the barrel at first :boohoo:

 

[sse]

Hey LEJ - Great pics! Thanks for the effort!

Regards, sse

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

The stock dimentions are quite interesting - There is 3.18" of drop at the heel, the butt is 4.928" tall, with just a hint of cast off. As you can see from the photo, length of pull is about 15 1/4"

The cheek piece is very rounded and not as thick as some replicas I've seen.