New to me Hawken custom rifle

[William O.]

I recently traded with a friend to get a left handed, 50 caliber Hawkins. The German silver patchbox says "rifle made for J.Bundy and stamped on the Green Mountain barrel flat underneath the maker is M.A. Reese. The last I can find on him was a website and shop in Scottsdale, Arizona that seems to have closed up in 2013. Some of his rifles have turned up on Track of the Wolf as recently as 2008. Curiously, all but one of his rifles that I've turned up are left handed, as is mine. Does anyone have more information about him or maybe know if he's still around?

 

[AZbpBurner]

If he's closed up shop & sold all his guns, he's likely got cold, dead hands ...

 

[Captjoel]

Mike Meese used to live and work in southern lower Michigan. last I heard, or talked to him was about 3 years ago and he was no longer taking gun building orders.

Met him several times at the Kalamazoo Living History Show held in March every year.

Here is one of his full stocked rifle's I had the pleasure of owning for a time. I liked his workmanship!

 

[William O.]

Mike Meese. Stupid spell check;not Reese. That gives me something more to go on. The workmanship is very good and I'd like to know more about the rifle itself, just out of sheer curiosity. If I could find who commissioned it in the first place, J.Bundy the name on the patchbox lid, to add more history to it then all the better. I am looking forward to shooting it, that's for sure. Unfortunately I am to be off my feet for the next four or five weeks after tendon surgery to my right foot (or what's left of it) so I can only read about it until then. Thanks for the info.

 

[William O.]

A pic of my rifle, which turns out to be about a 53 caliber. In last picture it is the second one from the top.