Who Lusted for a Hawkin Rifle - Perhaps The Movie Jeremiah Johnson Started It?

[JeremiahJohnson]

I watched it when it came out in 1972. Wanted to be a mountain man after that (I was 10), but most of all I wanted a Hawkin Rifle...more than anything...

[video=youtube;QFLwH-ZZ1MY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFLwH-ZZ1MY&feature=player_embedded[/video]

When I was a teenager I finally realized my dream...kind of. I built one from a kit, proof fired it (set the neighbor's field on fire), and set to hunting whitetailed deer with it. Killed my first one with it the next year - iron sights - just like old John Jeremiah Johnston did it.

Since that time I've read all I can find about the real mountain man and many of his contemporaries. I still get a thrill to hear black powder discharge and smell that distinctive smoke in the air, especially on a wintery morning.


Anyone else share my affliction?

 

[Expat]

I used to. I did love that movie when it came out. I bought a kit Hawken as well in the early 80's. I would guess I killed as many deer with it as I did with my shotgun or more. I always loved that smell.

 

[churchmouse]

Never fired one. Loved the movie and can watch it again any time. A lt of those actors are no longer with us.


And some folks say....he is up there still

 

[IUprof]

I also love that movie and the Hawken. Someday I may buy one just because...

 

[BogWalker]

I very much appreciate those rifles as well. I find them a bit too pricey for me though. I always find something else I'd rather drop the money on.

 

[Leo]

I liked the Hawken because of the set trigger. The "hair trigger" function comes in handy for distance off hand shooting. There are a lot of better shaped stocks from a shooters point of view.

 

[CHCRandy]

I have a couple of TC Hawkins. Have not fired them in years....but they have a lot of sentimental value. I loved hunting with them guns.....while it did get frustrating when they would dry fire....they always made for an exciting hunt.

My dad built his first one in mid 70's.......probably because of this movie. It was a .58 cal. and I think the first time he shot it he broke his partial...load was a little hot. I remember it took him a long time to build it. Later on the kits got cheaper and easier to build. I had a .45 cal. Hawkins that was a shooting machine.

Then came Knight and the in lines.....and the Hawkins was history.

 

[Hookeye]

Saw the movie at the theater as a kid.
Have a TC Hawken, it's a "Silver Elite" model (stainless steel, no patch box).
Have had a couple of Renegades.
I ALWAYS use the set trigger on my double trigger rigs. Even hunting. Don't see the problem, but I am used to light stuff.
Stock fit of my Hawken sucks, really cracks my cheek.
I should make a spacer for the rear sight and go with a taller front.
My Renegades were comfy shooters, as was my new Englander. Hawken? Kicks me like a freakin' mule........and probably why I now need a crown.

Crap deer and the Hawken SE

Best deer, also taken with the SE

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

Wow. Good stuff.

Tell ya I'm getting nostalgic here. I'm thinking I may have to drag out the old Hawkin this fall, give it a good going over, and take it back to the field.

Buddy of mine made a deer skin hair on possibles bag for me. I still have it.


The way that you wander is the way that you choose.
The day that you tarry, is the day that you lose.
Sunshine or thunder a man will always wander where the fair wind blows.
Where the fair wind blows.
And some folks say.................he's up there still.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

[video=youtube;f7nqxIdROsI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7nqxIdROsI&feature=player_embedded[/video]

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

Saw the movie at the theater as a kid.
Have a TC Hawken, it's a "Silver Elite" model (stainless steel, no patch box).
Have had a couple of Renegades.
I ALWAYS use the set trigger on my double trigger rigs. Even hunting. Don't see the problem, but I am used to light stuff.
Stock fit of my Hawken sucks, really cracks my cheek.
I should make a spacer for the rear sight and go with a taller front.
My Renegades were comfy shooters, as was my new Englander. Hawken? Kicks me like a freakin' mule........and probably why I now need a crown.

Crap deer and the Hawken SE

Best deer, also taken with the SE

Nice deer Hook! Bet that mount takes you back. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jgreiner]

We had several when i was a kid, we used to use them to deer hunt, since rifles were not allowed in Iowa. They were a ton of fun to shoot.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

Hey, anyone remember cleaning the barrel in a soapy mixture in the bath tub?

I did it that way once while still living at home. Mom put an end to that QUICK.

 

[indiucky]

Hey, anyone remember cleaning the barrel in a soapy mixture in the bath tub?

I did it that way once while still living at home. Mom put an end to that QUICK.

Same here...I think it went something like this..."WHAT IN THE NAME OF SAM HILL ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT FILTHY GUN IN THE BATHTUB??????"

I bought a Lyman Great Plains Rifle because it was the closest to the original Hawken (at the time) and had everything browned on it and two German Silver inlays put in...A crooked moon and a star on the cheek piece...I won a few local matches with it in my late teens and once placed second when it was pretty obvious I had cut closer to plum center than the other guy...It was a club, the prize was a shooting box, I was young and not "in" as it were and I ended up with a knife as second...

Fast forward to three years ago when I opened the shop...I guy a couple of years younger than me came in...He looked at me and said, "My dad and I were up there at the Lewis and Clark shoot in Utica...You won that box, I was about 14 years old and I remember how mad my dad got when we left that day, he said you weren't in the "good ol' boy" group and they wanted the other guy to have the box as he donated alot of money to the club..."

I was shocked he remembered that and when I asked him how he could remember that he said that his dad used that as a hammer to explain how the world works...

I always suspected it but it was funny as heck to have my suspicions confirmed 30+ years later.....

After I got into 18th century reenacting I can clean a firelock in about three minutes with a toothpick and a cup of boiling water...

"You've come along way Pilgrim."

 

[Leadeye]

Great rifles for Indiana muzzle loader season when it first began, but I retired mine when I bought my Knight.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

My CVA Hawken is the most reliable and best shooting muzzleloader I have. Love that rifle. Unfortunately for my wife's plans for my disposable income, I finally got my greasy paws on an Optima pistol the other day. That instrument is a thing of beauty and grace. I think I do have to have one, in .50 Cal for sure, and I can't wait to find a .223 or 5.56 barrel for it and make a few songdogs I know shut up.

 

[Alamo]

I remember that movie, I was 12 in 1972 -- everybody and their brothers wanted a Hawken rifle after that. The gun magazines were flooded with kit rifles, tomahawks, and the like. It kicked off a whole craze for mountain man/backwoods culture. Seems like the Fox Fire books took off about then as well. Brown County was full of guys in buckskin with black powder rifles.

Coincidently I just watched that movie again a few nights ago. Some movies don't age as well once you grow up, but that was still pretty good. My favorite part is "Are you shore you can skin grizz?" "Just as fast as you can find them." That scene was used in a military acquisition school I attended to explain salesmen, contracts, and production.

 

[JeremiahJohnson]

I remember that movie, I was 12 in 1972 -- everybody and their brothers wanted a Hawken rifle after that. The gun magazines were flooded with kit rifles, tomahawks, and the like. It kicked off a whole craze for mountain man/backwoods culture. Seems like the Fox Fire books took off about then as well. Brown County was full of guys in buckskin with black powder rifles.

Coincidently I just watched that movie again a few nights ago. Some movies don't age as well once you grow up, but that was still pretty good. My favorite part is "Are you shore you can skin grizz?" "Just as fast as you can find them." That scene was used in a military acquisition school I attended to explain salesmen, contracts, and production.

Haha. Beware when a mountain man sends you to his cabin, but he'll be along shortly because he's "got a chore to do". Ha!

 

[Hookeye]

I started with a Renegade (when they still made them nice). Had a few more TC sidehammers, then messed around with scoped Knights.
Back to TC sidehammer when I saw that Hawken SE new for $315 at Lengels.
I like the crisp air, snow.........deer close and having to cock the hammer as quiet as can be (not totally quiet). The concussion of the shot..........the smell of real BP.
Good stuff.
Alas, I am older, more grumpy and lazy. I'm running T7 in my Hawken, Maxihunter lead bullets, musket caps.
It's not as much fun...........I didn't even take it out of the safe last yr.
Hassle factor too high. Plus my deer spots aren't as good.
Not enough deer to get a MZ tag...........we limited ourselves to one doe each last yr, filled that tag during gun season (with rifle- which sucked).
Rather pop does with bow.
But maybe if none cooperate, use the MZ again. Spot is small, it's not like I can take a sandwich and a stroll, work the lay of the land and pop one.............like I used to on my bigger and better spot (which was sold).

 

[Harleyrider_50]

Hey, anyone remember cleaning the barrel in a soapy mixture in the bath tub?

I did it that way once while still living at home. Mom put an end to that QUICK.

Yep...........kitchen sink fer me, actually....
Built mine back'n mid 90's.....LUV at da*n thing.....prolly same kit you did. Got the .50 in'a stock.....got the .54 cal with it.....but ain't never shot it.
patch'd RB's jus' fer shoot'n, an' make'n smoke.....Hornady Great Plains fer hunt'n.