Hawken Rifle from Cabela's

[summerhelp]

I was looking at a Hawken 50 0r 54 cal percussion rifle at Cabela's and was wondering what other people though of them. I read about the wood ramrod being junk and the sigh screw working loose. Can they shoot out past one hundred yards? Any info would be great as I'm trying to decide between the Cabela's Hawken or a 94 Winchester.

 

[XxWINxX94]

The Hawken is a great BP gun for everyday shooting. I do not understand why it has a wooden ramrod, but it still does work for "ramming" your lead down the barrel. As far as accuracy goes, I guess it depends on how your loads are. If you have a tight-fitting, quicker moving ball than yes accuracy may be better.

I like the Hawken for the small percussion caps. I have a Colt (Armi Sport) signature musket which uses the huge caps (No. 11s, I think), and it just eats them up. The Hawken uses the nice small ones (No. 9s I believe).

Octagon Barrel is very thick, and very heavy, which is probably better on a BP gun anyway.

P.S. I have the .54 cal one and am quite satisfied with it. Although if it were me, I would buy a Winchester (If its pre-'64 ).

 

[WALKERs210]

I have an Investarm Sporterized Hawken 54cal that is the same as Cabela's. It is one of the best I have owned, as for the caps it uses #11 which are not that expensive somewhere around $5 -$6 per 100. Very accurate and easy to carry, 54cal has a nice punch also.

 

[arcticap]

Can they shoot out past one hundred yards?

That depends on your accuracy expectations. The barrel has a 1 in 48" twist which can be finicky at long range. I truly believe that it's more of a mid-range rifle better suited for shooting offhand out to 70 - 75 yards. Some folks can shoot this and similar guns out to 100 yards but it takes some work and experimentation developing loads which not everyone can do as successfully as others. When it comes to muzzle loading, there certainly aren't any accuracy guarantees other than you will be sure to have a lot of fun shooting it. And it's better to have expectations that aren't unrealistic. Pie plate accuracy with that rifle at 100 yards might be like visiting Utopia or reaching the top of Mount Everest. There may be some conical bullets that can shoot really well at long range too. But what many folks don't realize is that these BP rifles need to be cleaned religiously after every shooting session. And for best accuracy the barrel might need to be swabbed out in between shots or every few shots depending on the type of powder being used or its accuracy can suffer. If you start out with a similar but less expensive percussion rifle then you may be able to learn about and have fun muzzle loading and be able to afford a Winchester rifle too. A basic starter rifle might not shoot quite as well as the Hawken but it will be lighter and you can still have a lot of challenging fun shooting round balls offhand at 50 to 75 yards at smaller targets, with some occasionally good 100 yard shots too. There's a reason why some muzzle loaders have really long barrels and are called long rifles. The Cabela's Hawken is a great gun and so is the Winchester. But neither of them are really known for being long range tack drivers. They're both good, solid and dependable guns for their effective range and intended purpose.

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

I have and hunt with a Lyman Trade Rifle (same gun, slightly more primitive).

I consider it a 75 yard round ball gun. With the correct conical (I have used Maxi-balls and REAL), it is still only a 75 yard gun. Round ball twist guns I have used are more accurate at long range (custom southern mountain rifle).

The Win Mod 94 is a much handier and more efficient hunting rifle, period.

The only real advantage primitive BP gives, aside from the unique shooting experience, is that it can be used in a number seasons, and is legal in most states special hunts (PA may still have a flintlock only season), but you can also go flintlock if you so choose.

 

[Mr Bernoulli]

Jerimiah Johnson would say the hawken 50 cal or better lol

 

[Chawbaccer]

Jerimiah Johnson would say the hawken 50 cal or better lol

Yea, but he settled for a .30 which is at least a double lol.

 

[alienbogey]

Yea, but he settled for a .30 which is at least a double lol.

Until he obtained a .50 from Hatchet Jack.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

I have a LH percussion Cabela's Traditional Hawken in .50 caliber. It's a nice rifle but I haven't shot it past 50 yards. It's basically the same gun as the Lyman Trade Rifle but with the addition of a cap box on the stock, and availability in southpaw configuration. The sights may be slightly different as well. Both rifles are made by Investarm in Italy.

It has a wooden ramrod because that's what most traditional rifles have. The rod which came with my rifle is good enough for loading though I prefer a longer rod for range sessions. Synthetic rods are available if you are concerned it might break.

The nipples take No.11 caps. For the posted above with the musket, you can get replacement nipples which use No.11 caps instead of musket caps.

 

[Blue Line]

buy the blackpowder if you want to experience blackpowder hunting/shooting. Lot more fun and I would take a shot over 100 yd anyway. If you want a tack driver buy one of those in-lines with a scope and sabot and all. It isnt the same as a more traditional BP burner. Any BP gun is an experience to shoot, the sound, the smell, the process for loading (and cleaning) all adds to the experience. As for the rod, I have a wooden one for show and use a fiberglass one for range and hunting.

The Winchester is a classic in its self, no comparison with the Hawken, unless you want to load blackpowder rounds for it.