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Description
Nevada State Museum, Springs Preserve, Las Vegas.

Please credit and link if used, thank you!

.50-Cal Boomstick,

As America pressed past the Mississippi River, the scouts for Westward expansion were the Fur Trappers, Mountain Men and Traders of the 1820s-1850s. In pursuit of the valuable beaver hides in great demand in Europe (Primarily for hats, more on that later), the new wildlife encountered (Grizzly Bear, Bison, etc) led to demands for a new rifle, which Jacob and Samuel Hawken, newly established in the western entrepot of Saint Louis, were able to provide. The classic lines of the 'till-then ubiquitous Kentucky Rifle did not loan themselves to the new territory. A shorter barrel, a larger bullet and a tough design that had increased range and accuracy were needed for the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. The "Rocky Mountain Rifle", as they marketed it, was made by hand by the two brothers from 1823 until they sold the business in 1862. The last rifle made by the Hawken Company was in 1884, being rendered obsolete by mass-production and breech-loading cartridge rifles.

Carried by such notables figures as John Freemont, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, and Jeremiah Johnson, there was a resurgence in interest in replicas in the 1980s, leading to the creation of re-enactment societies, shooting competitions and even special hunting seasons for those who wished to discard the advantages of modern technology...

Description
Nevada State Museum, Springs Preserve, Las Vegas.

Please credit and link if used, thank you!

.50-Cal Boomstick,

As America pressed past the Mississippi River, the scouts for Westward expansion were the Fur Trappers, Mountain Men and Traders of the 1820s-1850s. In pursuit of the valuable beaver hides in great demand in Europe (Primarily for hats, more on that later), the new wildlife encountered (Grizzly Bear, Bison, etc) led to demands for a new rifle, which Jacob and Samuel Hawken, newly established in the western entrepot of Saint Louis, were able to provide. The classic lines of the 'till-then ubiquitous Kentucky Rifle did not loan themselves to the new territory. A shorter barrel, a larger bullet and a tough design that had increased range and accuracy were needed for the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. The "Rocky Mountain Rifle", as they marketed it, was made by hand by the two brothers from 1823 until they sold the business in 1862. The last rifle made by the Hawken Company was in 1884, being rendered obsolete by mass-production and breech-loading cartridge rifles.

Carried by such notables figures as John Freemont, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, and Jeremiah Johnson, there was a resurgence in interest in replicas in the 1980s, leading to the creation of re-enactment societies, shooting competitions and even special hunting seasons for those who wished to discard the advantages of modern technology...