Hawken Expert Bob Woodfill Reviews the InvestArms Hawken Muzzleloader Kit | Beginner Hawken Rifle
Bob Woodfill is a longtime friend of mine, when he wrote his book "The Hawken Rifle; Its Evolution from 1822-1870" I saw Bob's scholarly side and his willingness to share his research. In 2021 Bob became fascinated with doing whatever he could to spread his love of the Hawken rifle with muzzleloading enthusiasts everywhere. The success of his book brought Hawken fans of all kinds to his doorstep and he wanted to do more to give back.
When it comes to Hawken rifles, the original pieces are so valuable, many of us, including Bob will probably never own one. Masterful recreations can fetch $10,000+, and very historically accurate kits can fetch $1500-$3000 depending on how you complete them. Bob reached out to me wanting to understand how someone with a limited budget could enjoy the Hawken rifle.
When asked my mind immediately went to the Hawken kits I've built over the years. The first is the Traditions, St. Louis Hawken. Comically, Bob advised me on the build of this kit several years ago and had the same thing to say today, "It's a fine kit but there's not extra you can do with the kit". Bob was looking for an affordable, semi-accurate kit that could be finished to be a more accurate recreation of the Hawken Rifle. I ultimately recommended the InvestArms Gemmer Hawken kit to Bob as a good place for a newcomer to get a semi-accurate kit made of quality components. Bob bought his kit and was off to the races.
Bob Woodfill pictured above holding his completed Gemmer Hawken Kit before handing it off to it’s new owner.
The "Gemmer" Hawken kit doesn't bear much resemblance to the actual Gemmer made Hawken rifles, but it does a few things right. The InvestArms Gemmer Hawken kit features all steel/iron hardware like the original Hawken rifles and importantly, the InvestArms kits leave some extra wood on the kit allowing for historically accurate modification.
I met with Bob in June 2022 and he gave me some of his initial impressions of the kit, by September 2022 Bob had finished the kit and was excited to share it with me in this video. Ultimately this kit was sent home with a young man who drew a Colorado Elk Tag. He will be hunting elk just like the mountain man of the old days, Hawken in hand.