Hawken rifle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Hawken rifle | |
|---|---|
| Type | Rifle, Long rifle |
| Place of origin | U.S. |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1823-1870 |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Samuel Hawken |
| Designed | 1823 |
| Number built | Approximately 200 |
| Variants | double set trigger |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | approximately 10-15 pounds |
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| Caliber | round shot averaged .54 |
| Action | percussion cap |
| Rate of fire | user dependent |
| Muzzle velocity | Variable |
| Effective range | 200 yards |
| Feed system | Muzzle loaded |
| Sights | open blade sight |
The Hawken rifle is a specific black powder long rifle, generally shorter and of a larger caliber than earlier "Kentucky rifles." Popular with in the mid-nineteenth century, the term "Hawken rifle" technically referred to rifles made by Samuel and Jacob Hawken of St Louis, Missouri but was often used generically to refer to a variety of "plains rifles" of the period.
The earliest known record of a Hawken rifle dates to 1823[1] when one was made for William Henry Ashley. The Hawkens did not mass-produce them as they were hand made one at a time, but other famous men said to have owned a Hawken rifle [2] include (in alphabetical order): Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Joseph Meek and Theodore Roosevelt
Although popular during the mid part of the century, muzzleloaders were generally replaced by mass-produced, breech-loading weapons such as the Sharps Rifle.
Characteristics of a "classic" Hawken rifle include:[3]
- Octagonal barrel
- Bore size of .50 caliber or more for larger game such as American bison, grizzly bear and elk
- Hooked breech
- Iron furniture (including nosecap)
- Double set trigger
- Front blade sight
The 1972 film Jeremiah Johnson starred Robert Redford as a mountain man who used such a rifle, and contributed to general interest in replicas and a resurgence in muzzleloaders among modern hunters, including a model called the Hawken from Thompson Center Arms of New Hampshire.
