Steven D Hughes

[skullcap]

Does anybody know.  Or have a picture of how Steven  D Hughes  of Green river forge may have signed any Hawken guns built.    Edited for proper spelling.

[SDH]

It is Steven With a V.

Here is a picture of lead sheet with the four various hallmarks I used over the years. Early on I realized if I didn't mark them in an obvious way, no one would know who made the gun.

Very early on I marked my projects with a simple SDH with letters cut down into the barrel. This you might find on any gun I built for Green River Forge.
After moving to my own workshop, about 1980 I continued to use the inset stamp but some in a silver plate inlet into the barrel. In the early 80's I started using the largest stamp with stylized SDH shown here, mainly inset in silver but also some in 24kt gold. It was mainly used on octagon Fowler barrels and all of a series of American Fowlers I built in the 80's and 1990's. The next die was the 1/4 x 1/2" SDH in raised block letters inset in 24kt gold. This is shown in the percussion rifles bbelow. The smallest SDH block letters in gold is 1/8"x 1/4" was used on all breechloading guns and in rifles since moving back to Montana in 1995. I still use this stamp today.
I built just a couple of Hawken type rifles, I remember one fullstock with silver mounts. In muzzleloading guns I built quite a number of 20 ga. Fowlers and I built a series of 11 California percussion rifles, two shown here.



I've never been prolific but have spent a 35 year career building the best guns and rifles I was capable of creating. All of my guns were built to hunt with and shoot and function was always important to me. Largly retired, lately I've been compiling notes about my career as we have little time for this when simply living out lives. I'd be glad to try and answer any questions anyone might have.
Steven Dodd Hughes
American Fowler from 1990

[Carl Young]

Steven, l always enjoyed seeing your work in the double gun journal years ago. Then I bought your book when it came out which provided me with hours of entertainment and ideas. I hope you will post your work here on ALR for us to enjoy.

Regards,
Carl

[skullcap]

First thank you for your response.  Really wasn’t expecting you personally  to see this but glad you did.     Ok so I picked up this Hawken gun.  Thought hey it’s really well built and figured a  late 80s build at the time.   Pulled the barrel and lock for cleaning and find more than expected. Parts are from early to mid 70s.  Researching as to a possible GRRW or Green River forge.   Finding a list of builders. Your middle initial and last name is on the top flat.   Pictures to follow.  Thanks. Rick

[SDH]

Lovely looking Hawken Rifle Rick!  I wouldn't mind owning it~ looks authentic in style and components and the the craftsmanship looks high quality, at least from here, but I have no idea who built it? I've never felt competent to engrave my own work, part of the reason I had custom dies made for striking my initials. I have an idea how you might figure it out and I'll report back this afternoon.

[tallbear]

I believe the maker of your Rifle is Dave Hughes of the Pittsburg PA area.He was part of the group known as the Honest Brothers.He is best known for his silver work but built a number of guns as well.He was a great craftsmen and better guy.Ken Gahagan might be able to confirm my attribution.Enjoy your rifle......

Mitch

[SDH]

I was going to suggest a booklet by Bill Brandanburg if the GRRW connecction was strong. The rifle looks much like the ones they produced in the 70's and they were known to have used Douglas barrels early on. Sometime in the late 70's (?) Brandenburg published a small booklet showing marks by various gunmakers mainly in the Green River Rifle Works arena and the west. I think it was called Book of Marks but I'm wintering away from my home/shop and can't access it right now. Brandenburg later bought Green River Forge.

Many times the maker can be traced through the guns regional origin. In other words, where did you acquire the rifle from? What region of the country. Why did you think Green River Forge?

It sure is a handsome rifle.

[skullcap]

Was thinking Green river forge based on the D Hughes on top flat.   Cause I knew you worked for green river.   So it’s not your name.  The gun maybe GRRW .   Tall bear suggest Dave Hughes.   Thank you for that. I’ll look into this name.   

[tallbear]

Daves signature on a pistol he built.If you search his name on The Contemporary Makers Blog much information about Dave will come up.

Mitch

[skullcap]

Yep. For sure.  Looks spot on   I will look him up. Thank you again

[ScottH]

SDH
Your posted work looks wonderful. Thanks for sharing. The California percussion guns are very nice!

[SDH]

Thanks ScottH and Carl~~
I built a series of a dozen California Percussion Rifles. Spending many hours researching Larry Shelton's book by the same name, I designed a composite rifle I could create using 1980's available parts I could modify to get a correctly authentic rifle. The locks and breeches were from Griffith Tool, Walter Cain built the set triggers and the barrels were mainly GRRW. The were mostly .50 and .54 cal with one .45 quick twist bullet rifle I kept.
The rifle were made for serious hunting and competition shooting and were a accurate as you might imagine with top barrels etc. They were all stocked in California English walnut, had squarish flat-topped checkering and poured nose caps. I shot several Oregon blacktail deer with one and won a few matches as well.
Here are a few more pics of two I retrofitted with custom tang sights using bench made offset bases and Marbles tang stems and cups. Many original California rifles were used into the early 20th century with retrofitted sights. Some pics of two rifles:

[Bob Roller]

That lock was made by Bud Brown, DBA Cherry Corners was located in the Log Cabin Shop in Lodi,Ohio.I have a vague memory of a long call from someone about locks and wanted a discount.My answer was "I don't pay anyone to buy my parts,locks or triggers."The Cherry Corners locks were more authentic than mine internally.DBA means "Doing Business As".I don't know if this fine project was connected to the long ago call or not.I did give Wes Kindig a price break because he bought locks from me and triggers before I was able to refine the design and workmanship.After he passed away in 1973 I was working in a local machine shop that catered to the coal mining  industry and when I got done with that I started my shop again with bronze bearings for car transmissions and locks and triggers on a very limited basis and continued until the cost of bearing grade bronze went up almost over night.After that most of the locks went to Europe/Germany and that
kept me busy and I trained a friend,Frank Whitmore to make screws and he caught on quickly and was glad for the extra money.
I had no intention of writing this but cold,wet days sometimes are welcome.
Bob Roller 
That California rifle is elegant and a "4 pin"lock would be just right for one of these.What kind of wood is the stock.Walnut or???

[SDH]

The percussion locks for both rifles were purchased directly from Griffith Tool Co. before the Oak Harbor entity bought them out. The plate was reshaped at my workbench to bar-in-wood configuration along with subtle hammer shaping straightening and checkering the spur. It was mated to a Griffith Tool Co. hooked breech. I still have, in my tool chest the template used to shape the lock plate.
The fiddleback stock is French walnut directly from Tessier and the lower stock is California English walnut probably from Calico Hardwoods.