smokingoodtimes
32 Cal.
I’ve been wanting another muzzleloader particularly another smoothie. They are just so fun to play with. Deep down part of me still wanted another style Hawken rifle. A Hawken style gun is first muzzleloader I bought when I was 13. Long story short at the beginning of my summer that year I asked my dad about getting one and he said if you work all summer, don’t miss a day and waste your paychecks on manure he agreed. So worked all summer in the fields, never missed day and never spent a penny. Last day of work for the summer I cashed my last check and told dad I still wanted a muzzleloader. The next day he took me to Cabelas and we walked out with a Cabelas Hawken. So the Hawken has some sentimental value to me. So 21 years later I decided to hold off on another smoothie and started looking at Hawken guns.
I liked the looks of Pedersoli rocket mountain Hawken but didn’t like the fake browned barrel nor the 1400ish price tag. Then I came across the signature series and was curious. I then happened to be on totw to order some supplies and saw they had a used 54 cal tc Hawken, then saw they had a new signature series on hand in 54 cal for 850. So I ordered it.
sorry for all the extra info. On to the rifle!
Fit and finish: I would say really good as I would expect from a company like Pedersoli. The bluing is deep and looks really nice. I’d prefer a browned barrel but that’s just a personal preference. The wood is ok. Not bad just lacks character. For a rifle in this price range I would expect more character but again just my thoughts. I like that the barrel lugs are dove tailed to the barrel. I helped a friend build a GPR from kit and I remember they were soldered on. Totw had noted that the factory ramrod was a touch short for the bore so they supplied another one with the rifle that was a better fit.
Shooting: I always enjoyed how comfortable these guns are to shoot even with heavy charges. The stock shape and cheek piece makes handling the recoil a breeze. I haven’t been able to really test accuracy yet. I liked how this gun has a prb twist of 1 in 65 vs 1 in 48. Many have had great luck with prb in 1 in 48 but I haven’t. The dozen or so shots I did take where at 50 yards shooting off hand on a cold day with snow, rain and fog. All the shots fell in 2 1/2 to 3 inch group. These could easily be improved by changing powder charge or components and shooting from a knee or off sticks and im confident this rifle could easy shoot groups half that size. Only gripe I had was the barrel seems really tight. First few shots were with a .530 round ball and a .018 pillow ticking patch lubed with mink oil and on a clean barrel loaded stiff. I didn’t dare try loading a second without swabbing since I didn’t have my metal range rod. Using a .015 patch let me reload a second shot but almost put the ramrod through my hand to do it but it did go. I haven’t had a chance to try .010 patch’s yet but will next time I can shoot. The only .010 patch’s I have are the prelubed patch’s that never seem to have another lube in them.
Overall I really like the rifle. It’s been asked on this forum if it’s worth the price. I guess that depends. If your in the market for this style gun and can find a good deal on one where your only spending a couple hundred more than the standard model but a couple hundred less than MSRP I think it’s very worth it. It’s it worth it’s MSRP? I guess that depends on who’s looking at it.
I liked the looks of Pedersoli rocket mountain Hawken but didn’t like the fake browned barrel nor the 1400ish price tag. Then I came across the signature series and was curious. I then happened to be on totw to order some supplies and saw they had a used 54 cal tc Hawken, then saw they had a new signature series on hand in 54 cal for 850. So I ordered it.
sorry for all the extra info. On to the rifle!
Fit and finish: I would say really good as I would expect from a company like Pedersoli. The bluing is deep and looks really nice. I’d prefer a browned barrel but that’s just a personal preference. The wood is ok. Not bad just lacks character. For a rifle in this price range I would expect more character but again just my thoughts. I like that the barrel lugs are dove tailed to the barrel. I helped a friend build a GPR from kit and I remember they were soldered on. Totw had noted that the factory ramrod was a touch short for the bore so they supplied another one with the rifle that was a better fit.
Shooting: I always enjoyed how comfortable these guns are to shoot even with heavy charges. The stock shape and cheek piece makes handling the recoil a breeze. I haven’t been able to really test accuracy yet. I liked how this gun has a prb twist of 1 in 65 vs 1 in 48. Many have had great luck with prb in 1 in 48 but I haven’t. The dozen or so shots I did take where at 50 yards shooting off hand on a cold day with snow, rain and fog. All the shots fell in 2 1/2 to 3 inch group. These could easily be improved by changing powder charge or components and shooting from a knee or off sticks and im confident this rifle could easy shoot groups half that size. Only gripe I had was the barrel seems really tight. First few shots were with a .530 round ball and a .018 pillow ticking patch lubed with mink oil and on a clean barrel loaded stiff. I didn’t dare try loading a second without swabbing since I didn’t have my metal range rod. Using a .015 patch let me reload a second shot but almost put the ramrod through my hand to do it but it did go. I haven’t had a chance to try .010 patch’s yet but will next time I can shoot. The only .010 patch’s I have are the prelubed patch’s that never seem to have another lube in them.
Overall I really like the rifle. It’s been asked on this forum if it’s worth the price. I guess that depends. If your in the market for this style gun and can find a good deal on one where your only spending a couple hundred more than the standard model but a couple hundred less than MSRP I think it’s very worth it. It’s it worth it’s MSRP? I guess that depends on who’s looking at it.
