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LOT 175
Extremely Rare and Desirable S.
Hawken St. Louis Signed Full-
Stock Percussion Rifle - NSN, 54
cal., 33 inch octagon bbl., brown
finish, walnut stock. The famous
Hawken brothers, Jacob (1786-
1849) and Samuel Hawken (1792-
1884), remain among the most
renowned names in American
muzzleloading history. They were
active together in St. Louis starting
in 1825 and have long been
associated with the 19th century
mountain men. Some of their early rifles are known to have been used by the mountain men active in the fur trade in the 1830s,
including by General William Henry Ashley and the American Fur Company. After the end of the Rocky Mountain fur trade,
Hawken rifles continued to be in demand as migration to the West increased during the gold rushes and with the opening
of new territories for settlement. In this period, mountain men like Jim Bridger and Kit Carson found new work as hunters,
guides, and scouts, depending on their Hawken rifles both to put meat on the table and for protection against their foes. Many
continued to use their Hawken rifles into the late 19th century, with a few like Tom Tobin photographed with their trusty Hawken
rifles near the end of the century.
While the Hawken shop is best known for its half-stock rifles, they also continued to build robust full-stock rifles. Some customers may
have preferred a full-stock to a half-stock, and others were most likely attracted by the fact that the full-stock rifles were offered at
lower prices, $18 for a full-stock vs $25 for the more labor intensive half-stocks. These full-stock rifles were thus key products for the
Hawken shop’s business but are far less often seen today. This c. 1850s full-stock rifle is typical of the full-stock rifles manufactured by
the famous Hawken shop in St. Louis. The “S. HAWKEN ST. LOUIS” marking was used following Jacob’s death in 1849. Samuel Hawken
retired in 1855 and passed the shop onto his son William. William Hawken and Tristram Campbell had been partners since at least
1853 but split by early 1856. The Hawken shop was sold in 1860 to a group of gunsmiths, including J.P. Gemmer who eventually took
over. The shop also marked some of the rifles “S. HAWKEN ST. LOUIS” after 1862, but by that time the full-stock rifles would have been
out of fashion.
The barrel has a slight swamped profile and measures approximately 1.17 inches at the breech, 1.09 inches in the mid-section, and
1.11 inch at the muzzle and has the muzzle face decorated with stars, seven-groove rifling, a nickel silver blade front sight with
dovetailed base, a dovetailed elevation adjustable sporting notch rear sight, “S. HAWKEN ST. LOUIS” stamped on top of the barrel
behind the rear sight with the name and city at different angles, and a solid breech plug with integral tang that extends to just ahead
of the comb and has a tapering and then swelled profile. A fence on the bolster is absent, which is a feature we have noted on a
previous Hawken full-stock rifle. The lock has no visible markings. The lock screw washer has a finial pointing down. The adjustable
double set triggers are fitted in a long trigger plate with a pointed rear finial and squared front. A screw from inside the trigger plate
secures the scrolling tail of the trigger guard. The barrel is secured by two wedges in addition to the tang screws. The forend is also
fitted with a iron forend cap, an iron upper ramrod pipe, and an iron entry pipe. The butt has a straight “Tennessee” style cheek piece
with an incised line at the edge, a difference noted between the Hawken full-stock rifles versus the beavertail cheekpiece of many
of the half-stock rifles, as well as a crescent iron buttplate with rounded heel tang and a rectangular iron toe plate. These full-stock
Hawken rifles are highly sought after but less well-known than the half-stock rifles thanks to fewer surviving examples. A similar J. & S.
Hawken marked full stock rifle was chosen by John D. Baird to be in his portrait on the back of his books “Hawken Rifles: The Mountain
Man’s Choice” and “Fifteen Years in the Hawken Lode” and on the first page of his “Full Stock Hawken Rifles” chapter in the former.
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