pistols

[eseabee1]

looking at building a pistol to go with my fullstock hawkins I got coming hopefully soon been over a year..Where is a good place to start looking for parts looked at TOW but didn`t lik ewhat I seen any other places you all might know of .Oh yeah forgot I wantto barrel to match the rifle 54 cal

[keweenaw]

Styles on pistols is a highly personal  thing.  The original pistols vary, in my eye, from pretty clunky to truly elegant.  Some of them hold wonderfully and some would be better used as a club.  The kit Barbie Chambers sells is considerably better than average in both style and fit and 54 is a standard caliber.  Some of the pistols Jim has built based on this pattern are in the truly elegant category.  http://www.flintlocks.com/pistols.htm  At least this will give you some idea.

Tom

[brokenflint]

eseabee1   IIRC there are some extant examples of hawken pistols, I'm not near my limited book collection but will look when I get home tonight.  There may be one in Sam Dykes pistol book, I think where I am recalling it though is in one of the buckskinner series books, was a photo from the museum of the fur trade.

Broke

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

The most commonly seen repro of Hawken's pistols is from J. Baird's first book.  Pictured there is a pair of .65 cal pistols, which for all intents and purposes are simply English styled bag butt pistols.  Here is a picture of the one I made in .60 cal..  It's a great shooter.

[Dphariss]

This is a great pistol design. I have built two 54s one each flint and percussion.
Have a flint in 58 to to do probably right after hunting season.
I make my own swivel links since I think the TOW ones are far too thin but they make good patterns.
I have always cut off the finger hook on the guard figuring its in the way. Are these worth keeping?

Dan

[eseabee1]

that is something like what I am looking for but want the stock full and in flint guess I should just start looking for parts

[Dphariss]

that is something like what I am looking for but want the stock full and in flint guess I should just start looking for parts

Swivel ramrods are tougher on FS guns.

Dan

[eseabee1]

I dont want the swivel ramrod that is something more for me to break  ..Just like the looks of it I like the chambers pistol but don`t want the barrel that long ..guess I am just picky

[brokenflint]

Here's a kit link http://www.longrifles-pr.com/hawkenpistol.shtml

Broke

[Red Owl]

Really nice, beautiful gun, I like the low sights. I always thought the swivel on the ramrod would be a big plus- for those that have one- how do you like it? How do you like the hook on the trigger guard?

[G-Man]

Since you want a fullstock, keep in mind that lots of eastern guns (and gunsmiths...and frontiersmen...) went west with the frontier.  So I would imagine you could have found just about any style pistol, contemporary or prior to the style of your half stock Hawken rifle, as a companion piece - everything from an 1700s flint pistol to an early cap 'n ball revolver...and anything from the 100 years or so in between...

GM

[Daryl]

This full stock pistol is fun to shoot - L&R John Bailes lock,  in .54 slow twist so uses a healthy powder charge.  Shoots well with 60gr. 3F - easier to shoot than a .44 mag, but about the same 'power' as my 4"M29.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

The trigger guard spur...I use a two hand hold when I'm serious which is most of the time.  I'm left handed, so I grip the butt of the pistol in my left mitt so that the pistol is directly in line with the bone of my forearm.  Then my right hand goes around the fingers of my left, and the index finger of my right hand grips the spur.  My right thumb presses down behind my thumb on the left hand.  I'll get Daryl to take a picture...worth a 1000 words, eh?  So yes, the spur is useful.

I made the parts for my swivel, and it is a very useful accessory to the pistol.  The brass end of the rammer makes a comfortable addition to the 1/4" steel rod for pushing the ball down the bore.  When you pull out the rod, the swivel centres the rod perfectly in the bore.  The brass knob is exactly the right size to use as a jag.  So I pull the rod out all the way, reverse it, and use it to clean the pistol, when I don't remove the barrel.  But, the pistol has a hooked breech, so I always remove it to wash it thoroughly after a day at the range.  The swivel is not fragile.  I think it's original purpose was to prevent the rod's loss, especially loading on a galloping horse.

[Daryl]

That .60 cal. pistol of Taylor's is incredibly accurate and easy to shoot as well, held just as he explained. Standard revolver hold, with the addition of the spur, of course.

[keweenaw]

Ed Rayl will make you any length, contour, caliber and twist of barrel you want, but you need to know what you want when you call him to order it.  Barbie will sell you all the parts to build her pistol less the stock and barrel if you want to go that way.  Or maybe you would like something like Chris Altland is purveying: http://www.firelockpistols.com/  He sells an assortment of guards, etc. for a variety of styles.

Tom