J&S Hawken pistols

[blienemann]

Rather than add to Mark's post on his grandfather's fine pistol, here is a separate thread with similar topic. I finally found scans of several small prints of the original pistol that was the basis for Joe Corley's several copies, and my efforts once more removed. There are differences in Mr Dawson's pistol - longer belt hook with different finial, so there may be another original out there. The two seem to be pretty close. I hope the upcoming article will illustrate the original pistol with better photos.

Joe noted that the wood forward of the lock broke out, had been glued back with a small piece of twig or wood holding it together, and repeated that detail in several copies he made. The size, components, checkering and other details are close. I wonder how many original Hawken flint pistols remain for us to study and copy. Joe made an approximate copy using Ron Long’s flintlock. This pistol and a duplicate went to the latest Alamo movie, where Travis carried it, or had it on his desk while writing letters.

I attempted a version of Joe’s version, using a Ron Long lock again, but tried a few different finishes with a faux stub twist barrel, case hardened and blued parts in walnut. I could not tell from the old photos what finishes the original carried.

I saw a few similar English pistols – sometimes referred to as “great coat pistols” at gunshows many years back, and always thought they would make a great pistol for a well-armed mountain man. I’ve stocked a half dozen like this and smaller, remembering what I could. Recently I was able to acquire an example by E Bond – this one a smoothbore, and perhaps a source for the Hawken brothers’ work. Mark's grandfather apparently had access to originals, and had the eye and skill to deliver great versions. Thank you again for sharing, Bob

[Mtn Meek]

Another Joe Corley J&S Hawken Pistol

Adding to and elaborating on Bob Lienemann’s post, here are some pictures of one of Joe Corley’s J&S Hawken pistols that Bob wrote about.  This is a near twin to the one Corley made for Bob that ended up going to the Alamo movie, but some features such as the belt hook are closer to the original than on Bob’s pistol.

...Joe noted that the wood forward of the lock broke out, had been glued back with a small piece of twig or wood holding it together, and repeated that detail in several copies he made...

The image below shows the split in the stock on the Corley pistol and the small wooden peg used in the repair.



Corley built his pistols with a hooked breech.



He stamped the bottom of the barrel with his name, possible serial number (P11), and “02” which is mostly likely a date.



Corley apparently used a commercially available flint hook and tang because the tang on this pistol isn’t a close copy to the original.

If you notice on the one he made for Bob and on this one, Corley chose to orient the thumb piece differently than the one on the T. K. Dawson pistol.  It's difficult to see in the pictures of the original that Bob posted, but it appears to have the thumb piece oriented like the Dawson pistol.


An Accidental Discovery of What May Be Some More Pictures of the Original

While researching Green River Rifle Works, its competitors, and its successors, a friend sent me some prints and negatives of some vintage 1980s rifles.  They came in a large envelope with a bunch of other negatives.  Sorting through all the negatives and scanning them to make digital images, I discovered many were of antique guns.  One gun in several of the pictures appeared to be a Hawken pistol.

Here are some of those images.







I don’t know who took these pictures or where or when.  They came to me from a totally different source than Joe Corley, but it looks like the same pistol as the original in the black and white photos that Bob posted above.

I guess we will have to wait until Bob Woodfill publishes his article on the T. K. Dawson pistol to find out if this is the same pistol that Dawson copied or a different pistol.


2004 Alamo Movie

...This pistol and a duplicate went to the latest Alamo movie, where Travis carried it, or had it on his desk while writing letters...

Here are several stills from the Alamo movie showing Travis with the Corley Hawken pistol.

Travis has the pistol tucked into his belt in this one. Most of the long guns in this photo are military muskets, but the man on the left is holding a Southern Mountain Rifle in the air that was also made by Branson, Brooks & Lienemann for the movie.



In this scene, Travis has the pistol clipped to his belt with the pistol fully exposed, though it is hard to see in the shadow.



A still showing Travis, Crockett, and Bowie standing in front of the iconic chapel.



A close-up of Travis with the Corley Hawken pistol.