Hawken Rifle Build

[Elkhuntinfool78]

Finally finished up my first attempt at building a Hawken rifle. Been working on it off and on for the past two years.

If anyone on here is into Hawken rifles I'm open to any critique you might have. Also if anyone has builds of their own post up some pics

 

[RockAndSage]

Damn man, that turned out great. Great colors, fit and finish look awesome. Definitely a rifle to be proud of.
The only functional improvements that come to mind regard the wedge pins and the ramrod. With the ramrod, given that it's wood, it's a good idea to keep it from drying out - something like keeping it fresh with furniture oil can help keep it from warping, or cracking/splitting when loading.

With the wedge pins holding the barrel in, for a field rifle it can be pretty helpful to trim them down so that they're flush, or just a touch proud but with the edges rounded and smoothed. Otherwise, they can grab onto things, including the skin of your hand when mounting or shooting. As a right-handed shooter, for similar reasons I also always put mine in from left to right, leaving the head of the wedge touching left palm when carrying or shooting.

Enjoyed seeing this, thanks for sharing.

 

[2Stamp]

Good looking rifle. Parts kit? Very nice color, what did you use? Finish type?

It's been a while since I've built a gun, but a just a couple things that stand out to me, for the future.
1- left hand side where the forend fits the metal cap. Unless it's just the picture angle, the cap is proud of wood (looks like a little step from cap down to the wood). If you take the wood down too much don't be afraid to file the metal to fit. A smooth transition is more pleasing to the eye. Make the metal and wood flow.
2- The wood on top of the forend at front of the lock. The wood should be a straight line with the top of the lock. Again, flowing lines please the eye. Bringing it down would have also brought the top of the forend down, and eliminating the angle drop down to the forend cap.
3- It appears the lock molding doesn't match the molding on the other side (the molding on the opposite appears thicker and bulbous compared to the lock side). When I complete the lock molding, I make a paper copy and transfer the lines directly to the opposite side. That way they match.
4- I like the front blade the other way and a lot of original rifles have it that way also. By flipping it you get a steeper angle to look at. Less glare off the blade, easier to define the top in the rear sight.
5- I try

These are minor nit picks, but help make for a fine looking piece.

Hawkins are notoriously hard as far as lines. I've avoided making one. But stock lines, proportions, flow of wood into metal, etc, are universal along all the old guns.

 

[Elkhuntinfool78]

Damn man, that turned out great. Great colors, fit and finish look awesome. Definitely a rifle to be proud of.
The only functional improvements that come to mind regard the wedge pins and the ramrod. With the ramrod, given that it's wood, it's a good idea to keep it from drying out - something like keeping it fresh with furniture oil can help keep it from warping, or cracking/splitting when loading.

With the wedge pins holding the barrel in, for a field rifle it can be pretty helpful to trim them down so that they're flush, or just a touch proud but with the edges rounded and smoothed. Otherwise, they can grab onto things, including the skin of your hand when mounting or shooting. As a right-handed shooter, for similar reasons I also always put mine in from left to right, leaving the head of the wedge touching left palm when carrying or shooting.

Enjoyed seeing this, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the comments. Yes I was having a hard time how short to make the wedge pins so that they come out easy but not be uncomfortable. Will probably shorten them a tad

 

[Elkhuntinfool78]

Good looking rifle. Parts kit? Nice color, what did you use?

It's been a while since I've built a gun, but a just a couple things that stand out to me, for the future.
1- left hand side where the forend fits the metal cap. Unless it's just the picture angle, the cap is proud of wood (looks like a little step from cap down to the wood). If you take the wood down too much don't be afraid to file the metal to fit. A smooth transition is more pleasing to the eye. Make the metal and wood flow.
2- The wood on top of the forend at front of the lock. The wood should be a straight line with the top of the lock. Again, flowing lines please the eye. Bringing it down would have also brought the top of the forend down, and eliminating the angle drop down to the forend cap.
3- It appears the lock molding doesn't match the molding on the other side (the molding on the opposite appears thicker and bulbous compared to the lock side). When I complete the lock molding, I make a paper copy and transfer the lines directly to the opposite side. That way they match.
4- I like the front blade the other way and a lot of original rifles have it that way also. By flipping it you get a steeper angle to look at. Less glare off the blade, easier to define the top in the rear sight.
5- I try

These are minor nit picks, but help make for a fine looking piece.

Hawkins are notoriously hard as far as lines. I've avoided making one. But stock lines, proportions, flow of wood into metal, etc, are universal along all the old guns.

Thanks, it's been a learning curve for sure. Not really a kit. Bought most of the metal parts through track of the wolf and made some myself. There seams to be some nuances when it comes to hawken rifles and I have a lot to learn. I appreciate your feedback

 

[2Stamp]

This book "The gunsmith of Grenville County" great. If you can find the videos of Hershel House building a Hawkins, also gold.

The Gunsmith of Grenville County, Building the American Longrifle illustrated instruction manual, revised edition, spiral bound, by Peter A. Alexander - Track of the Wolf

Muzzle Loading & Black Powder Guns Kits, Parts, Accoutrements, Rendezvous Gear & Primitive Americana.

www.trackofthewolf.com

Thanks, it's been a learning curve for sure. Not really a kit. Bought most of the metal parts through track of the wolf and made some myself. There seams to be some nuances when it comes to hawken rifles and I have a lot to learn. I appreciate your feedback

 

[2Stamp]

Thanks for the comments. Yes I was having a hard time how short to make the wedge pins so that they come out easy but not be uncomfortable. Will probably shorten them a tad

Have you looking into "captured wedge pins"? I admit I don't know how historically correct they are ( not that that is a requirement) but it's a little insurance if you hunt with this rifle. I added this feature to a percussion gun I have. Super easy to make.

 

[Elkhuntinfool78]

I

Have you looking into "captured wedge pins"? I admit I don't know how historically correct they are ( not that that is a requirement) but it's a little insurance if you hunt with this rifle. I added this feature to a percussion gun I have. Super easy to make.

I hadn't seen them until I looked it up just now but they seem useful. I'm honestly just getting into black powder so I have a lot to learn on all fronts

 

[2Stamp]

I

I hadn't seen them until I looked it up just now but they seem useful. I'm honestly just getting into black powder so I have a lot to learn on all fronts

They are not a necessity. As rockandsage suggested above, shorting the wedge is a good idea. This is just another option.

It's a fun hobby and fun way to hunt. Have fun with it!

 

[HighUintas]

Very nice work. Overall, pretty dang good for your first one. What kind of barrel? Straight or tapered? Built from precarve or plank? Lock inletted or barrel and RR only if it's a precarve?

Here's some items for improvement and some matter more than others depending on the level of authenticity you're going for.

Finish - either go with a finish or experiment to figure out a way to make the finish look less built up/on the wood and instead in the wood. Really really thin coats, or cutting back the finish in between coats with a 3m pad

Lock panels - use your lock side panel to make a template for the offer side panel. Make sure it's aligned for/aft

Lines - hold the unfinished stick in light so that you can see if there are any lines that aren't straight and or use a straight edge. Picture looking at trigger guard from bottom shows a wave next to the trigger bar front extension. It looks like it is scalloped/concave between the trigger guard and bottom of lock panel. It should be more or less flat or even convex through the bulk near the trigger plate and then gently roll into a very very light concave closer to the lock panel.

Top stock edge - hard to tell in the picture but it should be close to bore centerline and flat. There a pretty exaggerated swoop down to meet the nose cap, which does happen to a degree in some Hawkens but not so dramatic. It could be made worse by the specific nose cap you use and it's molded in web thickness. Commercially available nose caps and parts in general have been very poor options for making a correct Hawken without heavy modification. Nose cap is one of the biggest offenders for making certain Hawken styles.

Screws - time your screws so the slots are aligned with length of gun

Wedges- trim off excess a little more. Heads for commercially available Hawken keys are typically wayyy to big. A general rule of thumb for head size is about 1/16" bigger on each side of the key body

Lock- I'm guessing you had to heat/bend the hammer to align it with the nipple? Maybe file on it? It appears to be a late S Hawken type, and those were a bit more uniform for hammer style. I'd go with something like the Davis Hawken lock and just slim the hammer a little on the front and rear to make it a little less fat looking/more graceful. The lock plate front top edge is not aligned with the stock barrel channel top edge. It should be flush.

Stock architecture - pretty good overall, but the wrist may be a little thin too to bottom relative to the rest of the stock and it appearing to be an S Hawken

 

[2Stamp]

Very nice work. Overall, pretty dang good for your first one. What kind of barrel? Straight or tapered? Built from precarve or plank? Lock inletted or barrel and RR only if it's a precarve?

Here's some items for improvement and some matter more than others depending on the level of authenticity you're going for.

Finish - either go with a finish or experiment to figure out a way to make the finish look less built up/on the wood and instead in the wood. Really really thin coats, or cutting back the finish in between coats with a 3m pad

Lock panels - use your lock side panel to make a template for the offer side panel. Make sure it's aligned for/aft

Lines - hold the unfinished stick in light so that you can see if there are any lines that aren't straight and or use a straight edge. Picture looking at trigger guard from bottom shows a wave next to the trigger bar front extension. It looks like it is scalloped/concave between the trigger guard and bottom of lock panel. It should be more or less flat or even convex through the bulk near the trigger plate and then gently roll into a very very light concave closer to the lock panel.

Top stock edge - hard to tell in the picture but it should be close to bore centerline and flat. There a pretty exaggerated swoop down to meet the nose cap, which does happen to a degree in some Hawkens but not so dramatic. It could be made worse by the specific nose cap you use and it's molded in web thickness. Commercially available nose caps and parts in general have been very poor options for making a correct Hawken without heavy modification. Nose cap is one of the biggest offenders for making certain Hawken styles.

Screws - time your screws so the slots are aligned with length of gun

Wedges- trim off excess a little more. Heads for commercially available Hawken keys are typically wayyy to big. A general rule of thumb for head size is about 1/16" bigger on each side of the key body

Lock- I'm guessing you had to heat/bend the hammer to align it with the nipple? Maybe file on it? It appears to be a late S Hawken type, and those were a bit more uniform for hammer style. I'd go with something like the Davis Hawken lock and just slim the hammer a little on the front and rear to make it a little less fat looking/more graceful. The lock plate front top edge is not aligned with the stock barrel channel top edge. It should be flush.

Stock architecture - pretty good overall, but the wrist may be a little thin too to bottom relative to the rest of the stock and it appearing to be an S Hawken

I forgot the screw timing. Those little buggers on the wedge plates, it doesn't take much to over time. Then you're starting over.