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The Hawken rifle is a muzzle-loading rifle that was widely used on the prairies and in the Rocky Mountains of the United States during the early frontier days. Developed in the 1820s, it became synonymous with the "plains rifle", the buffalo gun, and a trade rifle for fur trappers, traders, clerks, and hunters.
Derived from the .50-60-400 Joslyn, the cartridge was developed after the unsatisfactory results of the .58 rimfire cartridge for the Springfield Model 1865 rifle. The .50-70 Government cartridge used the Benét internal center-fire primer design and became the official cartridge of the U.S. military in 1866 until being replaced by the .45-70 Government in 1873.
Cimarron Firearms began in 1977 as a muzzle loading shop and sporting goods store in Houston, Texas, known as "Bigfoot". Mike Harvey, who owned the shop, ordered plans for a Hawken rifle from a museum and built his first replica from scratch. As the economy worsened due to the early 1980s oil depression in Texas, Harvey sought to diversify his ...
During the American Civil War, an assortment of small arms found their way onto the battlefield.Though the muzzleloader percussion cap rifled musket was the most numerous weapon, being standard issue for the Union and Confederate armies, many other firearms, ranging from the single-shot breech-loading Sharps and Burnside rifles to the Spencer and the Henry rifles - two of the world's first ...
In general, loads close to 100% density (or even loads where seating the bullet in the case compresses the powder) ignite and burn more consistently than lower-density loads. In cartridges surviving from the black-powder era (examples being .45 Colt , .45-70 Government ), the case is much larger than is needed to hold the maximum charge of high ...
Small arms ammunition pressure testing is used to establish standards for maximum average peak pressures of chamberings, as well as determining the safety of particular loads for the purposes of new load development. In metallic cartridges, peak pressure can vary based on propellant used, primers used, charge weight, projectile type, projectile ...
This cartridge was sometimes used for deer hunting in the past, and William Lyman, the designer of rifle sights, said of it: "For large game, of course, a .32-20 W.C.F. cartridge is rather small, but it comes nearer to being an all-around cartridge in my opinion than any other."
The Hawken rifle evolved from the long rifle for use against larger, more dangerous game encountered in the American West. For firing heavier and larger diameter bullets with heavier powder loads, the barrel wall thickness was necessarily increased for strength, and the barrel of the Hawken was shortened to keep the weight manageable, making ...