Hawken
History Classic
St. Louis (2021-2025)
Sponsored by the NMLRA
Location: Historic Daniel Boone Home
St. Charles Co., MO
Hawken History recreated:
Education
Demonstrations
Displays
Living History
Seminars
Bring your Hawken to shoot.
Shoot an original Hawken!
More to come in the NMLRA MuzzleBlast magazine
Craftsmen Credit - Bag, strap sheath and powder horn are by Jeff Luke. Woven wool strap by Teresa Rawle, patch knife by Spencer Luke and forged buckle by John Rader. Western Bowie by John Cummimgs, Rifle by William Selb.
The Hawken rifle is a muzzle-loading rifle built by the Hawken brothers that was used on the prairies and in the Rocky Mountains of the United States during the early frontier days. It has become synonymous with the "plains rifle", the buffalo gun, and the fur trapper's gun. Developed in the 1820s, it was eventually displaced by breechloaders (such as the Sharps rifle) and lever-action rifles which flourished after the Civil War.
The Hawken "plains rifle" was made by Jacob and Samuel Hawken, in their St. Louis, Missouri shop, which they ran from 1815 to 1858. Their shop continued to operate and sell rifles bearing the "Hawken" name under later owners William S. Hawken, William L. Watt, and J. P. Gemmer, until Gemmer closed down the business and retired in 1915.[1]
Samuel and Jacob were trained by their father as rifle smiths on the east coast. They moved west and opened a business in St. Louis at the beginning of the Rocky Mountain fur trade.[2] The brothers' claim to fame is the "plains rifles" produced by their shop. They produced what their customers needed in the west: a quality gun, light enough to carry all the time, capable of knocking down big targets at long range.[3] They called their guns "Rocky Mountain Rifles," reflecting their customers: fur trappers, traders and explorers
