| Overall Rating: |
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4
out of 5
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Reviewer Images
(click to see full-size image)
Advantages: Performs well
Disadvantages: Quality
"The Hawken rifle kit I recieved was far from the kit my brother-in-law bought in past yrs.
My stock was covered with burn marks that took hours to remove. I don't mind the rough cut of the wood as shaving and sanding can easily remove that. However, the burn marks had me worried about the final product. I shaved and sanded the stock for a total of 15hrs (all by hand) taking my time on days off work.
The cast of the brass was as bad as the stock. The seam line on the trigger guard being the worst, I sanded all the brass down from 150 grit to 2000 grit wet sanding, and then used jewlers rouge for the final polish. 4hrs total on the brass was spent to get it like a mirror.
The stock was finished with 3 coats of Tru-oil, 3 coats of polish, and 3 coats of wax. Barrel was blued, and all the cheap screws in the kit were replaced with all brass."
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What do you usually hunt?:
Deer
How many times a year do you hunt on average?:
11+
Would you recommend this product as a gift?:
Yes
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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Advantages: Durability, Ease of use, Performs well, Quality, Value for money
"I absolutely LOVE this rifle. I'm not even a remotely skilled wood-worker/tool-worker, but this kit was an absolute pleasure to work with. This is a GREAT rifle for the price and, when completed, really does give the weapon its' own character and personality, but also gives you a huge sense of achievement and accomplishment. It is a very accurate weapon using round, ball ammunition loaded with one hundred grains of Goex's FFg black powder. I'm able to consistently shoot five-inch diameter groups at approximately one hundred and twenty-five yards using the aforementioned load protocol. My rifle is ALWAYS the center of attention and conversation between my friends and I when we get together to shoot, have some fun, and generally to just blow off some steam. Out of all the rifles I own, my St. Louis Hawkin fifty caliber is probably THE MOST FUN rifle to shoot (with the possible exception of my Colt Armory, law enforcement restricted, M-4, model 6933.) My ten-year old son absolutely LOVES to shoot this muzzle-loader and is truly shocked that his "idiot" Dad bought it as a kit and assembled it without anyone's help. He really gets a "kick" out of shooting "our" Hawkin (no pun intended.) In fact, he is trying to talk me into buying a black powder revolver for he and I to work on together however, I'm still trying to figure out how to get this "acquisition" past my wife. Ha Ha Ha. I do have a question that hopefully someone out there in cyber-land will be able to answer for me. I've had my St. Louis Hawkin for approximately twenty-five years now and shot hundreds of rounds through it without any problems whatsoever. However, I think it's time to replace the entire percussion lock-plate, component assembly due to its' normal wear, tear and corrosive consequences that is inherent in the discharge of a true black powder firearm. My question is this; does anyone know how, or where, I can purchase the entire percussion lock-plate, component assembly, specifically for the St. Louis Hawkin, percussion fired, dual trigger, fifty caliber, muzzle-loading rifle? Any help or information on this is greatly appreciated."
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What do you usually hunt?:
Deer
How many times a year do you hunt on average?:
3-5
Would you recommend this product as a gift?:
Yes
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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Advantages: Durability, Ease of use, Performs well, Quality, Value for money
"My wife bought this for me at Christmas.Due to work it took me a year to complete. But it turned out great. The instructions were very easy to follow, and it was a lot of fun. I've taken it to the range 3 times now and I love shooting it."
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| Overall Rating: |
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5
out of 5
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"This was a fun and enjoyable kit to put together; perfect for someone like myself building one for the first time. I plan to buy another some time so I can apply the lessons I learned from the first.
Shaping the stock to the butt plate was the hardest part; although all cutouts and shaping of the wood are close to where they need to be, they still require final shaping and sanding.
The instructions may seem daunting at first due to their brevity. Take some time to get familiar with the part names and the parts. Loosely hand fit pieces into the places you think they should go. As you become more familiar with the parts, it begins to make sense how they fit together. Patient and repeated hand fitting (test fitting) is key. Don't rush to bolt things into place. Sand the wood a little at a time and test fit, then repeat, and repeat.
On the down side, I'm not too happy about the plastic sites. The screws that hold brass pieces in place should be replaced with brass screws. The original screws provided to hold the trigger guard are a little short and should be replaced with somewhat longer ~brass~ screws, in my opinion.
Overall this was a very fun kit to build. It's a bit of a challenge but not a daunting project for the beginner. There is enough work to be done that I had a definite feeling of satisfied accomplishment when I finished it. For the price it was a very good buy."
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What do you usually hunt?:
Deer
How many times a year do you hunt on average?:
1-2
Would you recommend this product as a gift?:
Yes
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