Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken

[Blackwater]

Do any of you have any experience with this rifle? Handled one??? It has flung a cravin' on me, and at $1K+ (w. curly maple stock), I need to know more about it before pulling the trigger. I like the .54 caliber, the longish 34.5+" tapered barrel, and the lines of it, plus the pics, as best as can be judged by them, seem to make it look pretty classy. I once spent half a whole day in the Smithsonian with the originals, and was just plain mesmerized by them. To think that those old craftsmen made them with little tooling, and in particular, little steel, is just flat awe inspiring. The grace and style and craftsmanship is simply amazing, and the Pedersoli has just captured my fancy as one that emulates what I saw in the Smithsonian. It was humbling to see how much those old guns actually varied, but they all had very clean, fluid lines, and were obviously made by men who USED them. Little things here and there show a whole lot of thought went into them, and they were "bespoke" for each individual buyer/user. Simply fascinating artifacts.

So, who has handled or shot the Pedersoli?

[Nikkisdad]

Blackwater, I have one and I want to tell you this gun is awesome in everyway, fit, finish, accuracy and so on. I use ffg 80grains, swaged RB, .015 patch and wow. You will not be disappointed. If there are any specific questions you may have let me know and I will do my best to answer. regards Manny

[Blackwater]

Thanks, Mannie. I just got a nice custom rifle, and did NOT need to fall in love yet AGAIN with another kind'a spendy rifle, but .... the lot of a real gun nut isn't always a happy one. Half of me is wanting to find something to disuade me from a purchase, and the other half of me can't wait to get one. Funny how that works, ain't it??? My experience with most ML's is that most can be very accurate if the shooter just figures out what to do to get the accuracy he wants, and is willing to try different things until the gun tells him what it wants to shoot its best, and that always seems to vary from gun to gun, even of the same make and model. It's the styling and execution that makes me swoon, though, and just from the pics, it's a real looker, and Pedersoli is pretty trustworthy regarding fit and finish these days. That's a plus. I'm really having trouble finding ANYTHING to disuade me from getting one, so that side of me has its lips pooched out a bit. The other side, though, is laughing, and wears a big, evil grin. I guess schizophrenia is the ultimate destination of any real gun nut, isn't it? Well .... isn't it? Or is it just me????

One last question: As to the finish, is it shiny or is it just nice and lustrous? The pics seem to indicate it's fairly shiny, but pics can't tell much difference between a good, polished luster and a real shiny, spray-on type finish. That matters to me.

[Nikkisdad]

Just nice and lustrous is the way I would best describe the finish, been to the range a dozen or so times no dings or scratches - holds up well to use. The finish seems to hand rubbed to me very nice. Mine is .54 caliber you will ot be disappointed. Bought mine from Cabelas on sale $999.00 and free shipping - get one and you will be a happy camper....Manny

[pietro]

.

The Pedersoli is about a close in pattern/looks to a gennie J&S Hawken rifle as you're going to get in a production rifle this day/age.


.

[bigted]

pictures man pictures.

[Blackwater]

Ted, here's a link to a pic from Dixie's website:

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/popup_image.php?pID=13404

And thanks to you who've fed the "buy" side of me ..... I think??? ;^)
There's just no relief from this craving, and from experience, I feel myself sliding into yet another new gun. That trip to the Smithsonian really did something to me .... or maybe it was the "spirits" in those old originals that did it??? They WILL speak to you, if you can just listen.

[rlb]

Kinda looks a lot like a fancy Great Plains Rifle.

[zampilot]

I just bought one...t'll be here 12/24.....got to check my supply of powder...

[mac266]

One of my friends loaned me one to get me hooked on shooting flintlocks. It worked :)

[weasel 21]

Bought one from Cabelas about 2 years ago. Mine's a 50. Beautiful rifle;very accurate.

[Larryo1]

I built my "Hawken" back in 1970 from a set of blueprints that were made off an original in the Kansas state museum for 10 bucks. It is a .54 caliber and the barrel is 34 inches and 1 1/8" across the flats. The rifle is heavy at 16 pounds. I use 90 grains of Swiss 1½ under a patched round ball. The rifle is very accurate with this load and the recoil is not too bad.

[Blackdog]

I've been wanting a Pedersoli. This could be the one.