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Hawken fullstocks. Any experiences?

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I have never built a Hawken fullstock, either for myself or a customer.
Are they much different from a Golden Age rifle, in terms of fitting and work?
I understand the architecture and fittings are different.

Any kit makers anyone likes? Or should I start with a blank?
I like Don Stiths stocks. Any opinions?
Thanks,
Phil
 
It is my understanding that most of the Hawken fullstocks were made with solid (not hooked) patent breeches. Since the barrels were less likely to be removed from the stock for cleaning, and barrel wedges would not be removed as often, most did not have escutcheon plates.

Most of the Hawken fullstocks being built now have the "flat to wrist" triggerguards. Mine does. We have somehow convinced ourselves that this is an earlier style, and that fullstocks were all "early," which I don't think is necessarily the case. This J&S halfstock was almost certainly built as a fullstock, and then shortened. Check out the triggerguard:

J&S Hawken 2.1.png


I believe the John Brown (Mormon pioneer, not the abolitionist) fullstock has a documented purchase date, in St. Louis, of 1845. Apart from its exceptionally large bore, I think it is pretty typical:

John Brown Hawken.jpg


Again, you see the "big bow" triggerguard and the circular scroll.

I would also recommend that you look at the original S. Hawken fullstock on the Historical Arms website. Click that link and you'll go right to it. There are just too many pictures to post here. As an S. Hawken rifle, it would be a little later, and the triggerguard looks different from the two above, but it is not the "flat to wrist" type.

Herb Troester, who posts occasionally on this forum, could probably tell you what parts to order. However, as far as I know, appropriate solid patent breeches are simply unavailable now. Some individual gunmakers may have a few of them saved, but since the Allen Foundry closed, the supply has dried up and is not being replenished. I think even the Don Stith kits have hooked breeches now.

There are people on the forum here who know a lot more about this than I do, but since nobody had responded yet, I thought I would throw in what I believe to be accurate. Also, I am aware that nothing I've said really answers your question about building from a kit or a board, but I hope you find some of it helpful, or at least interesting.

I want to wish you luck on your build, whether it's from a kit or a plank! We'll be wanting to see some pictures as the project gets going, you know...

Best regards,

Notchy Bob
 
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I have never built a Hawken fullstock, either for myself or a customer.
Are they much different from a Golden Age rifle, in terms of fitting and work?
I understand the architecture and fittings are different.

Any kit makers anyone likes? Or should I start with a blank?
I like Don Stiths stocks. Any opinions?
Thanks,
Phil
I don't do kits, can't help ya there. I made this Hawken in the late 70s or early 80s. Purchased a curly maple blank, and parts along with a Hawken drawing from one of our ML vendors. I did not notice any difference between my flintlocks or this with respect to difficulty in the overall build. This Hawken has a tapered barrel and that was a little more of a challenge than a parallel barrel. I use a router for taper and parallel barrels. The key for me was the nice full scale drawing I used. Don't make one without another Hawken example or a good to scale drawing.
Forget the kit if you have made other rifles, you can do a Hawken.
Larry

IMG_3101.jpg
 
Gents, thanks for the opinions!

What barrels do we like? I have used Green River, Rice, and Douglas ML barrels. Anything we found better these days?
Thanks again,

Phil
 
A Hawken rifle is much more complicated than a Golden Age rifle to build.
The long tang of hourglass shape is challenging to inlet. Fitting the snail breech to the lock is tricky. Drilling those tang bolts to the long trigger bar requires precision. Getting the tang bend and the long trigger bar fitted to the stock and each other creates the whole wrist architecture. Make a small adjustment and it all looks wrong. Narrow steel buttplates with a sharp curve are 3x as hard to inlet as a big flat brass buttplate. There’s no decorations. It’s all architecture. No place to hide.
 
Hanson said full was about $.50 cheaper then half stocks, about $50 today.
I ‘spect the solid tang and no plates on the keys along with not having to affix the rib made them an easier build.
My first build was a fs Hawken I screwed it up six ways from sunday. But it took a blue red and white ribbon the first shoot I took it to.
Gave it to a friend in the early eighties
 
ToTW kit. Link to the Flickr album containing all of my build pics below. If you click on any picture in the album, you can see any build notes I added below the pic.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/100435142@N08/albums/72157639906287386
Teaser pics of finished rifle:

16729536386_caf9649f12_c.jpg


16567919988_84a93f6318_c.jpg


It can shoot:

50 yards...4 shots pre-sight adjustment and 4 shots post adjustment:

18215350050_e272aedafd_c.jpg


75 yards:

17780405114_fff28ccf58_c.jpg
 

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