Where to find a Hawken Muzzleloading Rifle
Newcomers to the muzzleloading sport will find themselves most familar with the contemporary made “Hawken Muzzleloader” as one of the easiest ways to get into the sport, but finding your first muzzleloader can be tricky. This article will break down some of the pros and cons of each manufacturer as well as some trusted retailers for you to shop for your Hawken muzzleloading rifle.
My personal Traditions brand St. Louis Hawken, assembled from a kit.
For a Hawken Rifle in the 21st century, there are four major brands - Traditions, Investarms, Lyman, and Pedersoli. You will hear a lot about T/C, Thompson Center, brand Hawkens but they are NOT made anymore. The only Thompson Center Hawkens you will find for sale are used.
Used muzzleloaders are a great way to save money, but I don’t recommend them as your first muzzle-loader because it can be difficult for newcomers to muzzleloading to identify the quality of the rifle.
This article is going to focus on the Hawken muzzleloaders currently being built at the time of writing, December 2021.
As far as the 4 major Hawken rifle brands go in 2021, all build a great rifle, but there is a hierarchy of quality that is generally accepted among the community. This hierarchy of Hawken quality is as follows:
1. Pedersoli
2. Lyman
3. Investarms
4. Traditions
This article is not sponsored or paid for, and the opinions within are my personal opinions combined with opinions I see in mass online.
I personally own a Traditions St. Louis Hawken, built from a kit, and an Investarms Gemmer Hawken, built from a kit.
Build Quality
When talking about build quality, you’ll notice two big topics when these Hawkens are being discussed, the first being the quality of the finish and the second being the lock quality.
Quality of the finish comes down to how much money you are putting down on the hawken rifle. This means the historic accuracy of the build, the fit of the hardware (are there gaps in the inlets/do the parts fit well), the quality of the stain and oil, and the quality of the metal finish.
Lets break these down a bit:
Historic Accuracy - Is the rifle representative of an original Hawken rifle? Are the measurements, parts, calibers, fit and finshes similar to that of an original Hawken?
Fit of the Hardware - Does the hardware fit the stock of the rifle without gaps
Quality of the Stain and Oil - Is the color of the stock even? Are there drips or runs in the stain that degrade the look of the rifle? Is there an even oil, wax, or polyurethane finish over the stain? Does the oil/finish have any drips or runs? Is the finish even?
Quality of the Metal finish - Much like the quality of the stain/oil, is the color even? (In the case of faux color cased hardening, color variation may be by design), are the metal parts clean, meaning polished and free of burs and casting gates?
Of all of the Hawken rifles I have seen both in person and online, there is a scale of quality, in the end, you will generally get what you pay. Remember though, many of these hawkens, while still mass produced, do still require human hand assembly which can lead to some variation in the final look of ALL of these brands.
While traditionally, most of the original Hawken rifles were built as percussion lock muzzleloaders, we do see a lot of modern flintlock hawken models produced.
The biggest complaint out there about the production flintlocks are the locks, many consider them to be the bare minimum - they don't compare to nicer American made locks like L&R, Chambers, or Kibler. The advantage you get with the Pedersoli is the better lock, especially in comparison to the Traditions (Traditions receives a lot of complaints about their flint locks). That's not to say they are terrible, but they aren't great either. I've not finished my Investarms Kit, but hope to get some first hand feed back on the lock performance this winter.
Pedersoli will give you the best off-the-shelf lock performance hands down - but if you get a Traditions, Investarms, or Lyman Hawken and want to upgrade the lock down the road, with some work you can drop an L&R lock in there and be off to the races.
As far as production percussion lock Hawkens go, I’ve not experienced any issues with my Traditions St. Louis Hawken percussion rifle. At it’s sub $400 price point, and admitedly the lowest build quality of the modern Hawkens being discuss, this rifle is an amazing piece. It shoots straight, fast, and accurately. I don’t’ bring this up to sell you on the Traditions, but if you can only afford the Traditions at this time, you are putting a good foot forward in your Hawken Journey.
Kit Quality
So far, my Investarms kit is going together a bit nicer than the Traditions kit I did, out of the box the inlets are all perfect and require very little work. It's also a more comfortable profile, where the Traditions rifles are very straight, the Investarms has more drop and a beefier stock profile.
All kits, regardless of brand, will require some skill and work on the part of the builder. Youtube is a great resource, try to watch several videos on each brand, you'll be able to get a better feel for them. If you can, try to visit a shop that has them all in store too.
Where to buy a Hawken Muzzleloader
It used to be that you could find a Hawken at the big box outdoor retailers all over the country, but times have changed and finding a Hawken at a store like Cabela’s can be rare. That being said, there are a plethora of smaller, locally owned businesses around the country that support the great sport of muzzleloading. Traditions, Lyman, and Pedersoli have dealer locators to help you find a shop in your area.
Recommended shops
It can be overwhelming to shop from a list of distributors, so here is a list of some of the shops I use and recommend. All of these shops are USA owned and operated, and have supported the community for generations.
None of these businesses have compensated me for being included in this article, I’m recommending them because I’ve ordered from them for years and had great experiences.
Each of these shops generally carry all of the previously mentioned brands, though there may be some exceptions
In the end, I hope this helps you find your Hawken Muzzleloader. All of these brands are a great way to get started in your blackpowder journey.