MTN ARMS INC. OZARK MO USA

[Urban Coyote]

.54 caliber, near perfect bore but as the photos show she's been used, another "Ugly Ducking".

I own a .54 Ozark Arms halfstock Hawken as well as a .40 Muskrat but these guns were made in Branson, MO not Ozark MO.

This gun appears to be a Dimick style. I'm hoping I might rattle some memories here and obtain some more information on the maker.

Thanks in advance for any information you might be able to offer.

 

[poker]

Ive never heard of the maker, but I wouldnt call it ugly. Unless Im missing a lot it looks pretty good to me.

 

[Urban Coyote]

I'll have it back on the range next week, hopefully. As I recall it groups really well but I can't recall my load. No, she's not really that ugly. It's too bad the T/C tang sight has been added and the original rear site removed. Practically, the peep sight is a winner but I miss the authentic look. The poured nose cap has a crack in it and I need to put together a better loading road for it.

 

[bpd303]

They were just up the road from us. Never bought anything from them though. A quick Google search found a lot about them including three threads here. This one gives the convoluted history of the co.
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=53723.0

 

[Dobegrant]

nice looking rifle, I agree i have a couple of muzzleloaders with lyman rear peep sight, great for shooting nice groups but have some with the traditional rear sight and like how they look better more original.

 

[Crockford]

It favors my .36 muskrat, but I don't think the muskrat came in a .54. I also have a .50 OMA.

 

[Crockford]

 

[Urban Coyote]

I located the following in a post here from 2016, it clears things up a bit however my gun is a Dimick and not a Hawken. Note the barrel of the Hawken shown in the photos is marked as my Dimick is.

THE FOLLOWING WAS COPIED FROM A 2016 POST.

"The company started out as Mountain Arms, then the name changed to Ozark Mountain Arms.

Milt Hudson founded the company called Mountain Arms Inc. in Ozark, MO. It appears to have started producing Hawken rifles in 1977.

In 1979, Milt Hudson left Mountain Arms Inc. and formed a new company called The Hawken Armory located in Ozark, MO. Mr. Hudson had apparently been crowded out of Mountain Arms Inc. by some new partners he had taken in. The new owners changed the name of the company to Ozark Mountain Arms and moved it to Branson, MO. The company operated there until late 1983 or beginning of 1984 when Gene Arnaud sold it to Bob McKellar who moved it to Ashdown, AR. In the meantime, The Hawken Armory had apparently changed owners and moved to Hot Springs, AR in 1981.

It’s not clear how long The Hawken Armory operated in Hot Springs, AR, but the Ashdown, AR version of the Ozark Mountain Arms"

 

[smoothshooter]

.54 caliber, near perfect bore but as the photos show she's been used, another "Ugly Ducking".

I own a .54 Ozark Arms halfstock Hawken as well as a .40 Muskrat but these guns were made in Branson, MO not Ozark MO.

This gun appears to be a Dimick style. I'm hoping I might rattle some memories here and obtain some more information on the maker.

Thanks in advance for any information you might be able to offer.

The company you are asking about was located on the west side of the square in Ozark, Mo in the 1970’s. I lived about 3 miles from their shop at the time, and bought a .58 Hawken copy from them in the late ‘70’s. I think the. Barrel was stamped OZARK MTN ARMS, or something similar. Very high quality gun. After a year or two they moved to Branson, MO, which was about 35 miles south of Ozark. Seems like they had 3 to 5 employees at the time of the move. Was never aware of any of the company behind the scenes “politics” but a few months after they closed the Ozark shop I heard vague rumors that there had been some kind of turmoil involved that resulted in the move.
Lost track of them after that. Hated to see them go. Thought it was kinda’ cool to have a quality semi-custom muzzleloading gun manufacturer in the area.

 

[Urban Coyote]

Wow, smoothbore, thank you for the information, it helps.

Other than the Ozark Mountain Arms, Branson, Taney and Muskrat guns the only others I've found reference to, either OMA, Branson or Ozark MTN Arms, Ozark have been Hawken style guns. Mine is clearly not a Hawken but appears to be a Dimick replica.

Does anyone happen to have any knowledge of a Dimick style rifle offered by OZARK MTN ARMS, Ozark, MO please?

 

[plmeek]

Other than the Ozark Mountain Arms, Branson, Taney and Muskrat guns the only others I've found reference to, either OMA, Branson or Ozark MTN Arms, Ozark have been Hawken style guns. Mine is clearly not a Hawken but appears to be a Dimick replica.

Does anyone happen to have any knowledge of a Dimick style rifle offered by OZARK MTN ARMS [INC], Ozark, MO please?

As I wrote in that 2019 post on ALR, the original company of MOUNTAIN ARMS INC. (there was no OZARK in the company name then) in Ozark, MO was founded by Milt Hudson. At that time he offered both a Hawken rifle and a Dimick rifle (see ad below).

This letter to the editor explains how Milt Hudson lost control of Mountain Arms Inc. and formed a new company he called The Hawken Armory.

Your rifle was made by Milt Hudson when he owned Mountain Arms Inc. prior to August 1979.

In marketing, companies often try to confuse consumers. I think the new owners of Mountain Arms Inc. were trying to do that when they renamed the company after moving it to Branson, MO. They were trying to get customers to think it was still the company associated with Ozark, MO by calling it Ozark Mountain Arms.

It's a testament to how successful this marketing slight of hand was as people today are much more familiar with Ozark Mountain Arms than with Mountain Arms Inc. or The Hawken Armory.

 

[Urban Coyote]

Awesome information, thank you.

 

[Rifleman1776]

these guns were made in Branson, MO not Ozark MO.

As plmeek pointed out, the company was originally in Ozark, MO. I visited them there at one time. Where those particular guns were made, I don't know. But the company did change locations and is best known for it's Branson, MO shop. The .54 cal. surprises me a bit, they were best known for small calibers.