Hawken .54 Cal Plains Rifle

[Ringel05]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

 

[there4eyeM]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

Mind your shoulder when you fire that thing!

 

[Sunni Man]

 

[Gdjjr]

That's awesome- I used to tell my step dad I was going to get him one of those- I wish I had!

 

[White 6]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

That is a really nice reproduction piece! Looks great. I won't warn you of the kick, as I suspect you have fired and handled even more than I. Hope you are doing well.

 

[Ringel05]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

Mind your shoulder when you fire that thing!

I fired a Martini-Henry (Zulu War rifle) once and only once. I have yet to find any rifle or shotgun that would kick that hard............ There were reports that many of the soldiers who returned home from Rorke's Drift had bruises all the way down the right side of their torsos that took a year to heal.

 

[there4eyeM]

Fired a .54 trapdoor Springfield once and hit a beer bottle. Nothing but powdered glass left. Didn't hurt myself, but was thoroughly impressed.

 

[Sunni Man]

I've always been in awe of the legendary mountain men who carried the Hawken "plains rifle". ...

Hawken rifle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ringel05]

That's the flintlock version, I wish this one was but I'm happy with it being percussion, only need to buy 2FG Goex black powder and not the quad FG primer powder. I still have tin of percussion caps that should fit the nipple.

 

[badbob85037]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

So what are you waiting for? Your father put that sight on it for a reason. Bead the barrel to the stock, get some caps, powder, slugs, and wads, take it out and shoot it.

 

[Ringel05]

I've always been in awe of the legendary mountain men who carried the Hawken "plains rifle". ...

Hawken rifle - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

What's funny is that's mostly myth derived from the Hawken brothers advertising and sensationalized books written later about the Mountain Man era. The Hawken rifles were invented in 1833 in St Louis Missouri and were quickly being reproduced by other manufacturers which meant the vast majority were sold to locals and some of the very early westward settlers. The Mountain Man/Fur Trade era only lasted from 1818 to 1842 and by 1840 the fur trade started to collapse, the markets were glutted and demand dried up. The mountain men/fur trappers for the most part never went alone up in the mountains, they almost always had one or two partners that split off from the main "brigade" to trap different areas then would rejoin the "brigade" to head to trading posts or annual rendezvous.

 

[9thIDdoc]

I had one except in .50 Cal. that was one of my all time favorite rifles. Killed many deer. Favorite load was: 80 Gr. Pyrodex P under a patched .490 round ball.

 

[Ringel05]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

So what are you waiting for? Your father put that sight on it for a reason. Bead the barrel to the stock, get some caps, powder, slugs, and wads, take it out and shoot it.

It came with that sight, many of the early reproductions were either somewhat incorrect to completely incorrect. I'm a living historian and reenactor, this would never fly in a rendezvous. As for shooting it, I will eventually, I have other things to deal with right now.

 

[Ringel05]

I had one except in .50 Cal. that was one of my all time favorite rifles. Killed many deer. Favorite load was: 80 Gr. Pyrodex P under a patched .490 round ball.

.490? You must have used a super thin patch to get that ball down the barrel.

 

[westwall]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

Mind your shoulder when you fire that thing!

I fired a Martini-Henry (Zulu War rifle) once and only once. I have yet to find any rifle or shotgun that would kick that hard............ There were reports that many of the soldiers who returned home from Rorke's Drift had bruises all the way down the right side of their torsos that took a year to heal.

I have both the short lever, and the long lever Martini from the Zulu wars. They are both fun as hell to shoot. Of course I am a wimp and have a friend of mine load them for me, that's a LOT of work!

 

[Moonglow]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

It feels like your shooting a canon that will kick that shoulder hard enough to bruise, but I loved my Hawken. Just don't inhale after it fires because it'll choke yous what with the cloud of spent powder.I didn't do the kit I bought a finished one.
I also picked up a .30 buggy rifle with a hammer that was on the bottom of the stock in front of the trigger.

 

[Ringel05]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

Mind your shoulder when you fire that thing!

I fired a Martini-Henry (Zulu War rifle) once and only once. I have yet to find any rifle or shotgun that would kick that hard............ There were reports that many of the soldiers who returned home from Rorke's Drift had bruises all the way down the right side of their torsos that took a year to heal.

I have both the short lever, and the long lever Martini from the Zulu wars. They are both fun as hell to shoot. Of course I am a wimp and have a friend of mine load them for me, that's a LOT of work!

The one my friend had fired a metal cartridge round that was a little longer than my index finger and as thick as my thumb.

 

[westwall]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

Mind your shoulder when you fire that thing!

I fired a Martini-Henry (Zulu War rifle) once and only once. I have yet to find any rifle or shotgun that would kick that hard............ There were reports that many of the soldiers who returned home from Rorke's Drift had bruises all the way down the right side of their torsos that took a year to heal.

I have both the short lever, and the long lever Martini from the Zulu wars. They are both fun as hell to shoot. Of course I am a wimp and have a friend of mine load them for me, that's a LOT of work!

The one my friend had fired a metal cartridge round that was a little longer than my index finger and as thick as my thumb.

Yup, .577/450. It's a brute.

 

[Ringel05]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

It feels like your shooting a canon that will kick that shoulder hard enough to bruise, but I loved my Hawken. Just don't inhale after it fires because it'll choke yous what with the cloud of spent powder.I didn't do the kit I bought a finished one.
I also picked up a .30 buggy rifle with a hammer that was on the bottom of the stock in front of the trigger.

I've been shooting black powder most of my adult life, mostly .44 and .36 cal revolvers and .58 cal Springfields, Enfields plus my Cook and Brothers .58 cal short "artillery" rifled musket. I use real black powder not Pyrodex.

 

[westwall]

When my dad passed away in 2014 one of my brothers took home an old Investarms Hawken rifle kit still in the box and was supposed to get his 1859 Remington revolver but somehow it ended up in my stuff. Well he came down from eastern Kansas to spend some time with me for company and to help out around the house a little which was wonderful, helped pull me out of my downward depression spiral. He brought the Hawken kit with him and left with the Remington. He had never opened the Hawken box so yesterday I did, low and behold my dad had actually finished the kit, taken the barrel off and put the stock and barrel back in the box. The barrel didn't quite fit in the stock correctly so I ended up filing down part of the brass fore piece and sanded a small raised area of wood in the stock barrel inletting and now it fits perfectly.

While it is close to the originals it's not quite correct. The rear sight is incorrect (it's modern), the metal fittings were all steel and not brass and the fore-end of the stock was cut different.

It feels like your shooting a canon that will kick that shoulder hard enough to bruise, but I loved my Hawken. Just don't inhale after it fires because it'll choke yous what with the cloud of spent powder.I didn't do the kit I bought a finished one.
I also picked up a .30 buggy rifle with a hammer that was on the bottom of the stock in front of the trigger.

I've been shooting black powder most of my adult life, mostly .44 and .36 cal revolvers and .58 cal Springfields, Enfields plus my Cook and Brothers .58 cal short "artillery" rifled musket. I use real black powder not Pyrodex.

Yeah, I do too. Pyrodex is more corrosive I have found.