This halfstock Plains rifle will serve you well. Stocked in maple stained and finished to best reveal the figure over the length of the stock. The 31" Green Mountain barrel is mated to a hand engraved L&R percussion lock. The rifle is trimmed in traditional iron furniture, all of which has a matte brown finish. Neatly assembled by contemporary builder Mike Compton. Weighing in at 8.4 pounds the halfstock rifle has a trigger reach of 13-1/2" making the gun well suited for today's shorter to average size shooter.

The rifle is assembled around a .50 caliber straight 1" octagon Green Mountain barrel that measures 31" from the muzzle to the breech. The bore is cut rifled with eight lands and grooves with a 1 in 70" twist for patched round ball. Green Mountain Barrels are machined from high quality American made bar stock, A.I.S.I. 1137 modified, stress relieved, annealed, certified rifle barrel quality steel. All barrels are drilled from solid stock, reamed to a high degree of smoothness, then optically checked for straightness. Very close tolerances are maintained. Finished a smooth brown, the barrel coloration is a nice compliment to the golden brown figure on the maple stock. The front sight is a copper base with a nickel silver blade. The rear sight is a semi-buckhorn dovetailed 8" ahead of the breech.

This Hawken halfstock stock is correctly trimmed entirely in traditional iron furniture. The modestly curved Hawken buttplate, will help to minimize the recoil from the .50 caliber bore. The figured maple stock was stained with Aquafortis to accent the figure and finished to a satin sheen. This rifle is fitted with a long beaver tail hooked slant faced hooked breech. The long tang supports the two tang bolts that anchor the tang to the long trigger plate, reinforcing the wrist, a classic feature of rugged Hawken rifles. Screw slots of the tang screws are neatly indexed. To dismount the barrel put the lock at half cock, remove the two barrel wedge keys,and the barrel can be lifted from the stock for cleaning. There are escutcheons surrounding the wedge keys. The wedge keys are well fitted and we recommend a small hard wood or brass drift to apply pressure to them. The wooden ramrod is fitted with a steel tip threaded to accept 8-32 cleaning and loading accessories.

Our bottom view shows the lightly engraved Hawken toeplate. Hawken double set triggers are made with very long trigger bar. Two screws enter from the long steel tang, re-enforcing the wrist from above and below. This was a desirable feature for a Mountain Man, when trapping in remote areas. The triggerguard bow is signed M. Compton. The 7/16" diameter hickory ramrod is held in place by classic Hawken browned iron ramrod pipes. The ramrod is fitted with a steel tip threaded 8-32 for loading and cleaning accessories. A browned iron muzzle cap protects the end grain of the stock. The single lock bolt is surrounded by a tear drop sideplate escutcheon. The buttstock is shaped with an oval cheek piece to comfortable align the sights. The cheek is inlaid with a nickel silver oval with Federal eagle clutching an olive grand and sheaf of arrows.

Ignition for this rifle is provided by this percussion lock designed by L&R Lock Company. The percussion lock works smoothly, it is well tuned, has a quick release and fast time assuring instant ignition when it is required. Browned to match the rest of the gun the lock is hand engraved with mid 19th century scroll work with the J&S Hawken marking. The hooked breech is fitted with a stainless steel nipple for a No. 11 percussion cap. The area around the nipple, and the corresponding inside edge of the flash fence on the hooked breech are polished bright The L&R Hawken double set triggers are properly tuned to fire from the set, or unset position. You can cock the lock before or after setting the triggers. Adjust the screw between the two triggers, inboard to reduce set trigger release pressure, our outboard to require a stronger pressure. The set trigger can provide very light release, perhaps an ounce or two, for accurate aimed shooting during pleasant weather.

If you are in the market for a well made halfstock Plains rifle with a highly figured maple stock consider this lovely piece today. Built to be a shooter with a .55 caliber Green Mountain barrel, and R.E. Davis percussion lock. This handy rifle would be an excellent addition to any black powder shooters collection and should work great at the range this summer and in the woods next fall.