DP- some people, such as the GGGfather one, come up with their opinions honestly - afterall, TC themselves advertised that 'Ol Sam would have been proud to have a TC hawken. That Add - was placed on the box itself. No wonder people are led astray - I was- for a very short period of time.
An old guy near the town in which I was a Policeman became my best friend and he and Irene were almost like a Mother and Father to me. Lester H. Hawkes was his name, a machinist from Kalispel Mt, friend of Les Bauska and employee at one time of John Buhmiller, now gone to his reward showed me pictures of him back in Tennessee in the 30's, with a long squirrel rifle he'd made. He also showed me some pictures he'd 'made' of 'real' Hawkens he'd seen around the US. Les also showed me a bundle of Bauska Barrels, explaining the difference between them and the TC with their cut rifling. Of course, this led me to redesign the stock of my rifle as best I could, and to mount a Bauska barrel on it. I then had a rifle I was proud to own, but it was still not a Hawken. In a few years, I'd made my own rifle, while in the meantime, Taylor was transferred back onto the mainland from the northern island and was building them from parts he was buying State's Side.
This sport and hobby is a learning experience. We never stop learning. Some latitude must be given - advertising today, and yesterday, is a powerful tool of the manufacturer and jobber. Over time, people learn, some more quickly than others, depending on their acquaintances.
