Hawken shotguns

[Treestalker]

Back in the dream time a friend had a triggerguard said to have come off an original Hawken shotgun, it was iron and was a work of art. I am entertaining the Idea of building a half stock Hawken style heavy single barrel percussion shotgun, but cannot locate any pictures of one to work off of. Does any one have a picture or two? The old guard was a scroll type with the screw front to mount to the trigger plate. Thanks, George.

 

[bang]

I was hankerin for a shoutgun but just couldn't cough up what the sell for. As luck would have it I found a 50 cal barrel for a Hawken. Just what I needed to replace the 40 year + 45 barrel that's worn out. So I step drilled and polished the old 45 barrel up to a 32 gauge. Was going to go up to 28 but at 32 it will shoot a 50 RPB with 020 patch.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Like many American gunmakers the Hawken Bros. imported English SXS guns with the Hawken name on them. Very common practice.

 

[plmeek]

The Hawken brothers advertised "Rifles and Shot Guns" and the 1850 business census listed an annual production 100 rifles and 20 shotguns. John Baird searched for a Hawken marked shotgun, but never found one. He did find a double barreled shotgun with a scroll guard he thought was of Hawken manufacture, but it wasn't marked. Charles E. Hanson, Jr. wrote that his research found little to add to the meager info on Hawken shotguns.

Comfortably_Numb is probably correct about the importation of English made shotguns. At most, they may have assembled shotguns from English parts that they ordered.

They're kind of like the late-1820s J&S Hawken flintlock rifles. We've never seen one so marked and don't know what they look like. That means you have a lot of freedom to use your own imagination.

 

[Treestalker]

Thanks gentlemen, it looks like a blind hole, but I know the English used trigger guards that were very similar to Hawken Bros. I'll collect parts and build a half stock percussion shotgun of early plains design, perhaps with an octagon/round barrel and hook breech of 'duck stomper' magnitude that will be suitable for bird or bear! What guage could I comfortably squeeze out of a 1'' across the flats? Thanks for your advice, Geo.

 

[plmeek]

...What guage could I comfortably squeeze out of a 1'' across the flats? Thanks for your advice, Geo.

Track sales octagon-to-round smooth bore barrels that are 1" at the breech in 28 gauge, 24 gauge, and 20 gauge, so 20 gauge appears to be the largest bore you could "comfortably squeeze out of a 1'' across the flats". These are tapered barrels that are 0.815" OD at the muzzle.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Thanks gentlemen, it looks like a blind hole, but I know the English used trigger guards that were very similar to Hawken Bros. I'll collect parts and build a half stock percussion shotgun of early plains design, perhaps with an octagon/round barrel and hook breech of 'duck stomper' magnitude that will be suitable for bird or bear! What guage could I comfortably squeeze out of a 1'' across the flats? Thanks for your advice, Geo.

Colerain makes an octagon to round barrel in a "C" profile with a breech at 1.062" and 16 gauge. IF you wanted a 12 gauge you'd have to go with the "D" profile of 1.125"
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/652/4/COLE-FOWL Now those are 44" long, but you could shorten them as they are both cylinder bore.

LD

 

[Treestalker]

Thank you, Phil, and Dave, the info is appreciated. Be well, Geo.