The Best Hawken Repros

The Hawken rifle was an mid-19th century rifle designed by gunsmiths Jacob and Samuel Hawken. It was a black powder percussion rifle, rather than flintlock, and its caliber was typically .50 to .58, making it a powerful weapon capable of stopping any animal on the American continent. It was primarily used by settlers and frontiersmen in the West. The Hawken rifle is renowned as an exemplar of simple yet effective design and there are, in addition to existing original Hawkens, many high-quality reproductions available today.

  1. Custom Gunsmiths

    • The best Hawken reproduction rifles are made by custom gunsmith shops that dedicate the time needed to building individual rifles from scratch. Like the original Hawken brothers themselves, these gunsmiths do not mass produce their rifles but typically make them to order. Collectors or enthusiasts often compare these gunsmiths in online forums.

    The Hawken Shop

    • While there are many excellent reproductions of the Hawken rifle available through different gunsmiths, one shop in particular owns the original tools the Hawken brothers used to make their rifles. The Hawken Shop is a small gunsmithy which purchased the original "shop" from the previous owner who had in turn purchased it from the man who owned the Hawken tools in the 1860s. After 1915, these tools had lain unused for more than 50 years until they were sold at estate. The Hawken Shop produces Hawken reproduction rifles using many of these original Hawken gunsmithing tools, making their rifles a touch closer to history than those of other gunsmiths.

    Hawken Rifle Kits

    • There are also many high-quality Hawken reproduction kits available, at both major retail stores and through specialty gun shops. Unfinished kits allow an enthusiast to assemble the rifle themselves. There are also many gunsmiths who will design the rifle kit to the customer's personal specifications by changing the caliber, sights, trigger assembly and other parts on the weapon.

    Original Hawken Rifles

    • Of course the best Hawken rifles continue to be the originals. These rifles, while extremely scarce, are sometimes available through auctions or specialty stores. Because of the scarcity, demand and high cost, it's typical that only serious collectors purchase true Hawken rifles.