Jonathan Browning Mountain rifle

[bigted]

I have lusted after one of these since they came out. so when I found one on GB I bid on it and surprise ... I won it. as memory serves ... I believe that the big fanfare when it came out was that it was a direct image of a Sam Hawkins rifle. I know they stayed outta my reach till recently price wise.

now before it arrives ... id like some insight as to anyone's experience with them ... good, bad or indifferent?

I have gotten a membership at the local rifle and pistol club so this new purchase should be bellowing smoke there soon I am hoping.

it will need a mainspring and a couple barrel wedges ... anybody have suggestions on where to look for these parts?

thanks in advance for the tips and insight on these rifles.

[mooman76]

Try Track of the Wolf or cainsoutdoors or dixiegunworks.

[doc1876]

If you ate adventurous, you can make barrel wedges. They aren't that hard. We have some smiths on here if you can't find a spring.

[slumlord44]

I have also been wanting one of these for some time. I was also watching the one you bought. Almost bid on it. You got a good deal on it. The barrel wedges should not be hard to make if you are handy. If worse comes to worse a good gunsmith should be able to make the mainspring if you need one. Could just be dirty or need an adjustment. You should end up with a cheap rifle. They are pretty much the ultimate in modern day factory percussion guns. I am sort of torn between the Browning and a CVA Mountain Rifle in .54 or .58 for my next front loader. I have mostly CVA so far and have found them to be great shooters at bargain prices although the prices keep going up. Congratulations!

[doc1876]

From most of what I have read, you might try waksupi, he seems to have s great deal of ml experience.

[bigted]

thanks all. I appreciate all the comments and hope they keep coming. I will post photo's when it is in my hands.

[waksupi]

I believe this is the rifle that John Baird and Ed Kennedy got Jim Bridger's original Hawken out of the state museum, and did extensive measurements.

[bigted]

Waksupi ... looking at images of the rifle on the net [Bridger's] the Jonathan Browning look very similar except for the trigger ... browning has a single and the photo's of Bridger's rifle have set triggers ... also the barrel length is maybe longer on the original Hawkin ... otherwise they resemble each other very well it seems.

thanks for the info ... I had no idea which they copied but sure nough looks to be your rite on the stick here.

hey by the way ... you know where I could land a main spring for the lock if needed? was advertised as needing one but I will tear into it upon its arrival. I will make/modify wedges myself with some from TOW.

[waksupi]

Waksupi ... looking at images of the rifle on the net [Bridger's] the Jonathan Browning look very similar except for the trigger ... browning has a single and the photo's of Bridger's rifle have set triggers ... also the barrel length is maybe longer on the original Hawkin ... otherwise they resemble each other very well it seems.

thanks for the info ... I had no idea which they copied but sure nough looks to be your rite on the stick here.

hey by the way ... you know where I could land a main spring for the lock if needed? was advertised as needing one but I will tear into it upon its arrival. I will make/modify wedges myself with some from TOW.

I'm not sure, I think Uberti actually made the rifles. That may help in a search. If you have a Track of the Wolf catalog, do a side by side comparison, or call Dave there at the shop, and tell him what you are looking for.

[fouronesix]

I think Western Arms USA copied, very closely, one of the original Hawken rifles and had Uberti build them…. the result was the Santa Fe Hawken.

I don't know what Browning used as a model for the Jonathan Browning Mtn Rifle because there are a bunch of obvious differences from original Hawken rifles- at least the originals I've seen or photos of originals I've seen. Same holds true for the Ithaca version.

Green River also did a copy of the Hawken.

But one thing for certain, for non-custom production Hawken rifles, the Browning, Ithaca and Green River rifles are a lot closer to a real Hawken than the T/C "Hawken" and all other similar ones called "Hawken".

For what it's worth, the Santa Fe Hawken by Uberti is a very close copy of a real Hawken.

[starmac]

Awe man, next you guys are prolly tell me my genuine cabellas hawken is some poorly executed repro hawken wannabe. lol

[bigted]

until I get the rifle in my hands for a close inspection ... and going by the pictures of Bridger's S. Hawken ... the Browning does not look that far off from that particular rifle built by the Hawken brothers in St Loo.

any rate I am tickled to be getting it and look forward to shooting the sweety and finding what it likes to digest.

[TreeKiller]

Just be aware if it has the rounded brass butt plate it will eat your shoulder with a heavy charge. I shot 1 twice and it was enough for me.

[slumlord44]

Just be aware if it has the rounded brass butt plate it will eat your shoulder with a heavy charge. I shot 1 twice and it was enough for me.

My CVA "Hawken" .54 gets unpleasant with heavy loads. M

[starmac]

The curved buttplate on my 54 doesn't bother me. Now that said if I load her up and shoot a heavy conical, it will smack my cheek more than enough to get uncomfortable.

[bigted]

Just be aware if it has the rounded brass butt plate it will eat your shoulder with a heavy charge. I shot 1 twice and it was enough for me.

those curved crescent butt plates are ok for what was used with in the rifles that had em ... meaning that the shooters rarely used charges that went much heavier then 80 or 90 grains and then they pushed round ball's with these charges.

the heavy charges and heavy mini balls or boolits were in genuine military rifles and they did not sport the fancy crescent plate ... rather the "shotgun" type or the modified shotgun called the "military" plate which handled the heavy charges behind those terrible elongated boolits.

I learned on a kickin hummer how to "shoulder" a crescent ... rather "upper arm" it ... on a lite weight 45-120 winchester shooting 120 to 135 grain charges of 2F behind the Lyman 457125 500 grain round nose. now that hummer kicked and when I got told how to hold it ... it were still heavy but didn't gouge my arm up like before.

I like from 60 to 90 grain charges in my ball shooters. easy on the body as well as on the rifles. it is accurate and doesn't kill my bank account when I go for a shooting spree.

[dualsport]

I'm happy for you. Good score! Pictures please.

[bigted]

so these are borrowed from the GB pictures where I won this bid. these are not my photo's so hope it be ok to post em here from my saved photo's in my computer.

[dualsport]

Beautiful.

[Beerd]

so these are borrowed from the GB pictures where I won this bid. these are not my photo's so hope it be ok to post em here from my saved photo's in my computer.

nope, it's not OK.

makes too many of us drool.
..