looking to get another54

i been looking at rifles on gun broker and other places trying to find a percussion 54cal rifle and have 3 or 4 im watching but theres one i really like but dont know about the maker of the barrel if someone just happens to be over that way browsing around could you give it a look and give me some advice on it. its listed as a hawken 54 cal and its laying on a bear skin last time i looked it was still on the last page. not trying to promote it or help sell it just asking if any of the folks here is familiar with the kit it was made from and if you have ever heard of the person that done the barrel work. thanks up front for any help

It would help if you posted the item number. :v

It's a nice looking rifle but I'd want to see some close ups showing wood to metal fit at the tang and trigger plate. The butt plate looks to a bit proud of the wood. I don't know who may have made the barrel, assuming those initials are from the barrel maker.

Duane

Found it;
# 410300980
I can't comment cause I don't know,, Purty wood.

if it's gunbroker item # 410300980 all I can tell ya is it's one damn fine lookin' rifle, appears to be well made, & i'd sure be proud to own it.

my opinion & yer welcome to it, bubba. :thumbsup:

Nice looker and alot of "xtra's". Do the contact seller thing and ask what ya want to know!

Hope it shoots as good as it looks!

The seller states his uncle built the rifle in 89/90 but doesn't tie that to the stamp on the barrel which is dated 87.

That could mean he "reused" the barrel from another build (built by J.T.) or that was the barrel maker (although a stamp with that much info is not typical of a barrel maker - and most likely one of us would have recognized the initials - there just isn't that many barrel makers out there).

Regardless, the wood looks to be a high grade, and what I can see of the inletting (zooming the pics) looks quite good.

I will point out one small thing that won't matter unless you spend time with the most "nit-picky" Hawken followers - the trigger guard is believed to be a post 1840 style and the eastern cheek piece (which I prefer myself) would typically belong to an earlier rifle.

But again, there are no hard/fast rules with Hawken rifles.

I see the price is currently in the 500 range. If I was in the market, based on what I see, I might be willing to throw a couple hundred more bucks at it and still consider it a deal.

There looks to be close to 1000 bucks worth of "parts" there and the assembly looks like it was well executed and it appears to be in "near new" condition even if it is 25 years old.

I think it's definitely worth bidding on up to whatever price you are comfortable with. One thing to ask the seller is what the length of pull is. Do you know what yours is for that matter? If the two measurements are close then go for it. If the rifle doesn't have enough LOP then consider that you'll be wearing a coat or a layer or two of clothing when out hunting that will account for an inch more or less; ie- if your length of pull is 15"s and your rifle has a 14 1/2 inch LOP then a half inch of clothing will make it fit you perfectly. Also, LOP isn't as important when shooting off a bench. Just some things to consider and even if it wasn't ideal for me I'd still consider bidding on the rifle. If it was a left hand lock then I'd consider bidding against you. :v

PS- get him to include that powder horn in the extras and you've definitely got a good deal.

I believe that this rifle does have the correct trigger guard for an early Hawken, more telling would be if it has a straight or slant breech. He states that the barrel measures .95 across the flats?? That would be close to 15/16ths. Not necessary bad but I think that a 1" would be more common/better. The accessories are not included. Not bad but I have seen better go for just a few $ more. A real nice Birdseye Maple "Sharon" barreled Hawken sold a few weeks ago for just over $800. That was a much more desirable rifle because the barrel maker is well known. Just my 2cents.

Take a look at the trigger guard scroll.

galamb said:

The seller states his uncle built the rifle in 89/90 but doesn't tie that to the stamp on the barrel which is dated 87.

That could mean he "reused" the barrel from another build (built by J.T.) or that was the barrel maker (although a stamp with that much info is not typical of a barrel maker - and most likely one of us would have recognized the initials - there just isn't that many barrel makers out there).

Click to expand...

Or it means the barrel was manufactured in '87 and the gun wasn't assembled until a few years later. Doesn't make it a used barrel. It means the barrel was probably still new, but a few years off the production line before it was used to make the gun. :idunno:

oldarcher said:

I believe that this rifle does have the correct trigger guard for an early Hawken, more telling would be if it has a straight or slant breech. He states that the barrel measures .95 across the flats?? That would be close to 15/16ths. Not necessary bad but I think that a 1" would be more common/better. The accessories are not included. Not bad but I have seen better go for just a few $ more. A real nice Birdseye Maple "Sharon" barreled Hawken sold a few weeks ago for just over $800. That was a much more desirable rifle because the barrel maker is well known. Just my 2cents.

Click to expand...

I've seen a number of 1" barrels that measured a bit less than that after were draw filed.
It also could be a tapered barrel.

Duane

the owner of the rifle got back with me and about the only thing he could tell me was his uncle made it for him for a couple hundred dollars. the uncle was big into black powder rifle building and the owner wanted to use the rifle on a bull elk hunt but never drew a permit and over the years lost interest in the hobby. he dont know anything about where the parts came from and the initials on the barrel is the only clue to anything. he did say he would throw in some of the tools and stuff he had with the gun in the listing but the powder horn had his uncles name carved into it and he was keeping it. so i reckon all the history of the rifle died with the maker.

Besides asking for more pictures that show close up views what else would you ask if you were looking at this rifle and thinking about buying. I thought about asking the seller if he knew anyone else that has one of his uncles rifles and try to do a little investigating to see if i could find out some background on the work done for them and maybe their rifles were made with the same barrel and such. Just from the pictures he has listed and the return option would you go much higher on the bid not knowing anything else than what has been mentioned from the seller.

It does look well made.

Unless the bore rusted badly during the years of non-use, I still think it would be a deal at 800 bucks.

It really does look like it has sat in the back of a closet for 20 years or so. There are no apparent marks on the outside of the barrel - such nice appearance it could have been browned last week.

If you really are interested it could be many many years before something like this pops up again at a price somewhat under 1000 bucks.

I have to agree, the $800 + price would not be out of line and I expect it will go for more than the current $504.

HOLY manure the seller sent me some pictures and i would post them here but im scared some of you might get that I GOTTA HAVE IT FEELING, AND TRY TO BUY IT OUT FROM UNDER ME. Just kidding when i get them up loaded to the hosting service i will post them, i figure its going to sell for more than i can shell out anyway. im already getting some of them you gotta be kidding looks from mommy.

bpd303 said:

I have to agree, the $800 + price would not be out of line and I expect it will go for more than the current $504.

Click to expand...

Just checked and the current bid is $865 with 3 days to go.

So now it's getting into the range of those that "seriously want it".

Even if it hasn't been shot much or at all it still is a used rifle and while apparently well built it still was assembled by "some guy" and not a recognized builder which would command a premium.

The cost of the Bridger or Carson kit from Track is just on the $800 mark - so probably indicative of the value of the parts on this rifle (when new).

With a couple days left it has about reached the point of what I would pay for it and suspect that last few guys/gals bidding on it will push it up a fair bit more.

I built mine from a blank for a little under 700 bucks, so perhaps what I value it at is skewed because I work for nothing when working for myself.

I realize having one of Track's kit's built by a builder would result in a 1600-2000 dollar price tag (kit plus labour costs), but still only value a used rifle, even "gently used" at no more than 50% of new.