The legend of the Hawken rifle had fully matured with Baird’s book.Įven though muzzleloaders and black powder shooting continued to be common well into the 20 th century in certain parts of the country such as the Appalachia Mountains, and saw a small revival with the formation of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) in 1933, it was the Civil War Centennial that sparked a renewed national interest in black powder arms. Baird was heavily influenced by the writings of James Serven, Ned Roberts, John Barsotti, and especially Charles E. The series was first published in book form as Hawken Rifles: The Mountain Man’s Choice in 1968 and had many additional printings in the 1970’s. Baird first published his series of articles entitled “Hawken Rifles, The Mountain Man’s Choice” beginning in February 1967 issue of Muzzle Blast magazine. The snow ball really got rolling by the time John D. In addition the Hawken shop began to furnish all the guns for the Missouri Fur Company.” sparked renewed interest in Hawken rifles with publication of his book, The Plains Rifle, in 1960 with statements like, “Together they eventually developed a reputation for the best in ‘Mountain Rifles’ that was never approached by any other maker.” Hanson cites Ruxton, Kephart, Barsotti, and Serven frequently as sources for statements such as, “Many old long rifles were shortened and rebuilt for these lusty customers, but gradually new rifles from Jake’s shop took their places. Next to pick up the banner was John Barsotti in 1954. Serven wrote several articles on Hawken rifles in the late 1940’s and 1950’s that continued to perpetuate the legend. The legend was kept alive by Horace Kephart when he published his first article on the Hawken rifle in 1896 and later articles in the 1920’s. By the time that Sam Hawken was interviewed for an article in the Missouri Democrat in 1882, it was claimed that, “Fifty years ago the man who went West was not equipped unless he carried a Hawkins Rocky Mountain Rifle.” Petters who had Kit Carson’s autobiography expanded and published in 1958-59, embellished the legend of the fur trapper and his Hawken in their writings. Other authors and editors in the 1850’s, such as Lewis Garrard in Wah-to-yah and the Taos Trail (1850), Lieutenant George Brewerton in a series of articles for Harper’s New Monthly Magazine (1854-1862), and Dr. Ruxton has his hero, La Bonte, purchasing a Hawken rifle in 1825. The beginning of the legend can be traced to George Ruxton’s novel Life in the Far West, which was published in serial form in 1848 and book form in 1849. Ironically, the popularity of the Hawken rifle, well after the fur trade had declined, may have been the inspiration for its legend as “the mountain man’s choice”. But this was nothing compared to the heyday the Hawken enjoyed in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The demand for the Hawken brother’s rifles during this period made these their most prolific years. The heyday of the original Hawken was undoubtedly the late-1840’s and the 1850’s-the period of the Great Western Migration to Oregon, Utah, and California.
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