Which Hawken Replica?

[Cassady]

I'm toying with the idea of getting a Hawken replica for general shooting and possibly deer hunting. The two that I'm aware of that are reasonably authentic are the Lyman Great Plains Rifle and the Dixie/Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken. Most of the other "Hawkens" on the market don't look anything like a real Hawken to my eye...

Does anyone have an opinion on the relative merits of thes rifles? Can someone suggest reasonably (less than $800) priced alternatives?

Finally, I'm leaning toward a .54; is there any reason to consider a .50 or other caliber?

TIA

Cassady

 

[bramble]

Well Pilgrim, take it for what its worth since I'm kinda new at this, I shoot a .50 cal Thompson Center Arms Hawken that I assembled from a kit. I couldn't be more pleased. I'm still working up loads and fine tuning the range for POI, (5 inch spread at 50 yds, I think it can do better and I'm aiming for consistency at 100 yds). It is a fun weapon to shoot and effective on the hunt. I dropped a spike buck at 75 yds first time out. It will come down to your weighing the good advice. you'll get and tayloring that to your preferences. Good luck and welcome aboard.

 

[bramble]

PS
I just checked, Cabela's has rifles and kits for under 400, I have no direct knowledge of the quality or how close they are to authenic in appearance.
bramble

 

[playfarmers]

I have a Lyman Deerstalker and know of a couple of other Lyman owners. We all like our rifles, but I don't know how they stack up to some of the others. I do know that the T/C rifles I have seen are better quality, in my opinion.

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Cassady,
I'm puting the finishing touches to a Lyman Great Plains rifle in .54 caliber. I first shot the rifle last weekend and was pleased with its handling. I was attracted to the Great Plains because it looked more authentic to my eye than the other "Hawkens" out there. The walnut stock is first rate and came out with a beautiful grain. I reshaped it a bit to have even a more "Hawken" look. I went with .54 rather than .50 to give me more options on hunting. If I was to do it over again, I would probably get the flintlock rather than percussion. I purchased the kit last March for around $280. I'm not sure what they are up to now, but the price is still pretty reasonable.

Scott

 

[walruskid1]

welcome cassady, a t/c or a lyman gpr would both be good choices. i'm sure that somebody will jump in and tell you to have a rifle built or build your own. not bad advice but you can't beat a factory warranty when something takes a dump. i do own both and love them. a percussion t/c and a flint gpr. go with a .50 or a .54, .50 is much easier to buy for do to all the inlines in .50 just my .02

 

[Bountyhunter]

Welcome Cassaday.

The two rifles you have chosen are probably the best choices for being authentic. The Lyman has some internal differences, but it is a good rifle.

My opinion is that you cannot put the words Hawken and TC in the same sentence. (The TC's are good shootin rifles, but they ARE NOT HAWKENS, and it is a sacriledge to call them that.) It also goes for Hawken and any of the Imports other than the Lyman Great Plains, the Uberti Santa Fe Hawken or the Pedersoli rifle. If you could find one of the Uberti Santa Fe Hawkens, they are about the closest to being true authentic. I talked to David at Track of the Wolf, and he said that they do get some Santa Fe rifles through there fairly regularly. You might give him a call.

My $.02.
B

 

[Mike Mize]

Cassidy:
I have a hawkins 50 cal. that i got from Cabelas and i love it. I hads some questions about the recomended load for this gun and those questions were answered for me on this forum. the cost was around $315 after shipping. Hope that helps.

Mike

 

[fw707]

Cassady, I just built the same rifle as 41Aeronca's .54 GPR, and I'm totally pleased with it. It turned out much better than I expected and it shoots great.

And Welcome!

 

[Bountyhunter]

Since you are still in the search stage, check out this website.[url] http://www.thehawkenshop.com/[/url]
It is packed with information and History on the Hawken rifle. It also has two pages of pictures of original rifles.[url] http://www.thehawkenshop.com/examples1.htm http://www.thehawkenshop.com/examples2.htm[/url]

If you want a real Hawken, then the GPR and the Pedersoli rifles are the way to go. If you are content with just having a muzzle loader, then there are the others, but they are not Hawkens.

 

[jan buck]

midsouthshooterssupply has the greatplains for 376.00 for the flint and 357.00 for the perc. also extra barrels. i have two tcs and a lyman trade rifle. good luck with your choice. chopper.

 

[BrownBear]

I shoot the Lyman GPR in 54 and one shooting partner shoots the 50, both caplocks. Another bud shoots the Pedersoli, also a 50. Therefore we've had a lot of time at the range and hunting with the three.

Here's some quick reactions:

The GPR 50 is a little heavier than the 54 due to the extra meat in barrels with the same outside diameter. His 50 is steadier to shoot (and the 54 aint bad at all) due to the extra muzzle weight, but he also has to lug more in the hills. I prefer the feel of my 54 and he prefers his 50. How can you beat that?

The Pedersoli is surely a fine piece, but he paid quite a bit more for it. Both us Lyman owners drool over the Pedersoli, but not enough to buy our own.

All three shoot about the same--- Darn Good! We've all taken quite a few deer, I've taken moose and elk, and the Pedersoli has taken an elk. I hesitate to use a 50 for such big ones, but the Pedersoli killed its elk just as quick as my 54. We're all careful hunters and only take broadside shots within our range limits, so virutally everything has been a one shot kill. Doesn't prove anything about killing potential of either caliber, rather it makes us proud of our hunting and shooting. Nice place to be, rather than reaching for more and more power to compensate for bad shooting and stalking.

 

[faw3]

Ive run (with friends) 3 Hawken sites here you might want to back track on here this last year. Im not sure but the 800 is for a maple stock Ped, and I belive the walnut is 600 something. Myself Im haveing a fullstock one made, and have the grandfatherof production Hawken's the Ithaca, also a 1985 TOW Curley Maple Sante Fe Hawken, Id put these 2 in the Ped class, close to a real Hawken. Most the others are mostly good to great rifles but not Hawken's. Fred :hatsoff: and if you want a real replica you'll have to have it bult or do it your self. Which ever way you go good luck and you'll have a fun time, all 3 of thses will shoot better than I ever will. :thumbsup: BrownBear I see your from my home, I plan on comeing back after 56 yrs to Fairbanks I hear it has more than just one dirt/mud road now :rotf: fw

 

[MikeChapin]

I know quite a few people that have the Lyman GPR. The rifles shoot well and look enough like a Hawken to be satisfying from the historical standpoint. It is usually the rifle I recommend to people who want something more historically accurate than a T/C and close to the quality.

I have just seen pictures of the Pedersoli so cannot tell you much about it other than it looks great and Pedersoli makes a quality rifle.

I would still go with the Lyman. They can be bought brand new for $400 or less. The Pedersoli would have to be great to justify the the extra $400.

 

[rabbit03]

Mine might not be an original but I like it. Probably wouldn't get many to argue that it is not too unlike an original! It is the Track of the Wolfs' Jim Bridger hawken in .58cal. X 42 " X 1 1/8. A bit large but not unlike alot of other Hawkens built back then and it shoots exactly where it is aimed.!!

Built it out of their kit and am very pleased with it.

FWIW-Have fun and get-r-done

rabbit03

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Nice job! That's a Hawken for sure. I think it's best to call the T/C and Lyman plains rifles rather than Hawkens. The Lyman is closer to a Hawken than the T/C is, but Lyman calls it a plains rifle. The T/C looks nothing like a Hawken, but they call it a Hawken. Go figure....

 

[Robert58]

The Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken is the one I would buy if I had the money. Someone posted a month or so ago that they bought one for $750.00 from Flintlocks Etc.

Good luck,
Robert

 

[Otter]

I have two Lyman GPR's - both perc, one .54 and one .50. I have two Cabela's "Hawkens" - one flint, one perc, both .54's. That said, I prefer shooting and toting the .54 Lyman GPR. Great shooter and packs a punch when needed. The .50 GPR shoots as well, I just like the .54 better. The GPR is closer to the original "Plains" style rifles than most other production muzzleloaders (IMHO) and it won't break the bank even if purchased new. Last I was at Sportsman's Warehouse theirs were about $370. If you want a "real Hawken replica" your going to have to pony up a bunch more green than the GPR.

 

[Bountyhunter]

You bring up a good point.

I was in a conversation recently about "plains" rifles and we got to doing some looking and it seems that the rifles were originally called plain rifles. The Western fur trappers did not want brass or any shiny decorations on their rifles. They ordered plain rifles, which apparently got changed to plains rifles.

Bill

 

[max]

I have a Lyman GPR that I built from a kit and it shoots very well as others will testify, but the trigger usually needs work to function properly. I also have several T/C Hawkins in various calibers and ended up switching all of the barrels to Green Mountain drop-ins, Goodoien Match barrels or Rice barrels before they would shoot round ball loads well. The rifling on the factory barrels is just too shallow to grip the ball properly. If price is an issue, I'd go with the Lyman. If not, I'd be very tempted to try the Pedersoli which has a much better finish, is closer to a real Hawkin and based on their reputation should shoot better.