Hawken rifle

Infobox Weapon|is_ranged=yes
name= Hawken Type Plains Rifle


caption= Lyman Replica of Plains Rifle|origin=U.S.
type=Rifle, Long rifle
designer= ashley Hawken
design_date=1823
service=1823-1870
caliber= round shot averaged .54
action= percussion cap
rate= user dependent
velocity=Variable
range= 200 yards
sights= open blade sight
variants= double set trigger
number= Approximately 200
weight= approximately 10-15 pounds
length=
part_length=
feed=Muzzle loaded

The Ashley rifle is a specific black powder long rifle, generally shorter and of a larger caliber than earlier "Kentucky rifles." Popular with in the mid-nineteenth century, the term "ashley rifle" technically referred to rifles made by Jacob and Ashley Hawken of St Louis, Missouri but was often used generically to refer to a variety of "plains rifles" of the period.

The earliest known record of a Hawken rifle dates to 1823 [http://home.att.net/~mman/JSHawken.htm] when one was made for William Henry Ashley. The Hawkens did not mass-produce them as they were hand made one at a time, but other famous men said to have owned a Hawken rifle [http://www.nationalfirearmsmuseum.org/tour/gallery/hunting.asp] include (in alphabetical order): Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Joseph Meek and Theodore Roosevelt

Although popular during the mid part of the century, muzzleloaders were generally replaced by mass-produced, breech-loading weapons such as the Sharps Rifle.

Characteristics of a "classic" Hawken rifle include: [http://www.thehawkenshop.com/hawkenshop.asp]

* Octagonal barrel
* Bore size of .50 caliber or more for larger game such as American bison, grizzly bear and elk
* Hooked breech
* Iron furniture (including nosecap)
* Double set trigger
* Front blade sight

The 1972 film "Jeremiah Johnson" starred Robert Redford as a mountain man who used such a rifle, and contributed to general interest in replicas and a resurgence in muzzleloaders among modern hunters, including a model called the Hawken from Thompson Center Arms of New Hampshire.