I finished my last Kit Carson Hawken on Sunday and sighted it in on Monday and Tuesday for my mule deer hunt Wednesday. It is the top rifle in the photo below (the bottom one is a nearly identical one with a one inch barrel and slant breech) with a 15/16" Hopkinson and Hobbs barrel I cut from 36 to 31 1/4", like the Carson rifle. I detailed the flat muzzle with files like the original Carson rifle. I used a Schillinger lock, not cut for snail, and a 1" straight Hawken Shop breech plug and tang Kevin gave me, which I filed to 15/16" width. It has a Bob Roller trigger and Track's Jim Bridger butt plate, trigger guard TG-Hawk-L-I, entry pipe Hawk-TE-7-I and the 1" Plains Rifle Forend Cap (on hand) which I squeezed down and filed to fit the smaller barrel. I had to modify most of these parts.
I made the key escutcheons, rod thimbles and hickory ramrod, and riveted the underrib on with .200 copper wire. I had to bend the hammer about 3/16" inward and modify the stock, which is a Pecatonica hard maple Hawken stock inlet for 15/16" barrel and 7/16" rod, but not the tang, lock, trigger plate or butt plate. I cut it for a 13 inch length of pull. This stock works well for the Carson Hawken, with modifications. The rifle weighs 8 pounds.
The original Kit Carson Hawken has a low rear sight, which Track of the Wolf copies, and a very low front sight, probably bout .090 high. Track's Jim Bridger and Kit Carson Hawken sights are only about .200 above the barrel, where a notch would be cut. If you use that flat to aim with, the front sight will have to be cut down about .080 below that for a 50 yard zero. Then the front sight is only about .120 above the barrel. I like a front sight about twice that high, so have to make a taller rear sight. I filed one out of steel and drilled a .130 hole at the elevation I wanted, but had to file my front sight (Track's FS-TC-CB-81, about .080 thick) down to bring the point of impact up. I quit at .210, but the rifle still shot low.
So I patched the rear sight. I cut a piece of steel lumber banding with my Dremel tool and disc cutter, shaped to fit the back of the sight. Then I marked where I wanted the taller hole to center. Drilled that .100 (the best size) and super glued and clamped it on the back of the rear sight. Ground and filed the edges to shape. Worked just fine. I aim with the top of the front sight in the center of the hole for a 50 yard zero. But if I hold the front sight at the top of the hole, that rises the impact about 2 inches, which gives a second longer range zero. This gives about a 4 inch raise at 100 yards, or about a 150 yard zero with my hunting load, which was 100 grains of Olde Eynsford 1 1/2F.
Sighting with my first sight.
First sight and 100 yard impacts.
Raised rear sight, held center hole at bottom of black.
Held with the top of the front sight at the top of the hole. Tapped rear sight left after shot 4, then back for 6.
My last Hawken or plains rifles. From top, H&H .54, front sight .210 high, .54 Kit Carson .200 high, .54 Jim Bridger .220 high, .58 Flint Plains rifle .255 high, .50 fullstock Carson inspired antelope rifle, .240 high. That rifle is lightest in weight, 7 pounds 13 ounces.