W.L. Mowrey Builder

[BigSkyRambler]

Picked up a whopper of a .54 Hawken style rifle.  Premium Tiger Maple stock and heavy 34x1 1/8 barrel. Top of barrel has W.L. MOWREY in very small letters. Lock stamped ROLLER on outside.  Triggers have a small maker's mark I am unfamiliar with.  Looks like an underlined MI or MT. Would like to find info on barrel and triggers. Thanks in advance.

[Bob Roller]

W.L/Mowrey was a builder in Olney Texas in the early 1960"s.I made some locks for him and he insisted on my name on the outside of the lock plate.I thought it would give the impression I made the guns when I did not.No idea about the triggers or barrel.Maybe Douglas or Bill Large but Bill marked his barrels with stencils.Mowrey also made a muzzle loader that was not like the Hawken and had a brass breech with a lock built into it.This gun shown is probably about 55-60 years old.
Bob Roller

[BigSkyRambler]

W.L/Mowrey was a builder in Olney Texas in the early 1960"s.I made some locks for him and he insisted on my name on the outside of the lock plate.I thought it would give the impression I made the guns when I did not.No idea about the triggers or barrel.Maybe Douglas or Bill Large but Bill marked his barrels with stencils.Mowrey also made a muzzle loader that was not like the Hawken and had a brass breech with a lock built into it.This gun shown is probably about 55-60 years old.
Bob Roller

Thanks, Bob.  I thought it odd also for your name to be stamped on outside.  I was wondering if it was the same Mowrey from Texas that made the Ethan Allen style rifles with brass receivers.  This is another well preserved survivor.

[BigSkyRambler]

Clearly a much higher quality build than Mr. Mowrey's "production" models.  None of the markings found on production guns and no SN.  Barrel much heavier and marked on underside at breech with X X.  Any significance in this, other than as witness marks?

[Bob Roller]

Ethan Allen.THAT was the name my feeble mind couldn't remember and Mowrey was a, or maybe THE maker of new ones in the 60's,
These "X's are a mystery to me as well.The Hawken has been on a good run for years but I would not try to rely on the sales of a high
price muzzle loader to keep the door open and the lights turned on.Diverse products and/or services worked for me and I did better minus
lock orders and what locks I made,most went to Germany.Now retired and until my wife can be safely left alone in the house there will be
little or no shop work.Thank you for the inquiry,it gave me the opportunity to explain our situation as it now stands today.
Bob Roller
* MAYBE that "X" is a Roman numeral 10.Maybe.

[B.Barker]

When I was a kid back in the 70's I seen Hawken rifles advertised by Mowrey gun works in magazines.

[BigSkyRambler]

When I was a kid back in the 70's I seen Hawken rifles advertised by Mowrey gun works in magazines.

Likely one of his later production guns.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I suspect the X's simply mark the bottom flat, ie:  witness marks.

[Hungry Horse]

 I think the X’s were an attempt at quality control. I owned a beautiful little Mowrey squirrel Rifle in .45 caliber. It was one of the earlier models, and it was beautiful, with curly maple stocks, and their eye catching brass box lock. But the reason I got it second hand, and cheap, was that it shot about two feet to the left. Sight adjustment was barely possible by moving the sights to the edge of the barrel. Eventually I made a set of sights that fit the barrel, but had their blade, and notch one the edge of the barrel. I believe whoever made the barrels didn’t mark the run out on the early production.

Hungry Horse