Dikar Hawken-type percussion rifle, .45 calibre, patchbox, double set trigger, replica, Spain, 1993
Percussion rifle after the Hawken pattern, consigned as a target rifle, .45 calibre. Octagonal blued barrel, marked “Dikar Spain-.45 Cal.”, “Black Powder Only” and “HAWKEN”, serial number 915902, Spanish proof markings with bore size “11,4”, gas pressure marking “700 Kp/cm²” and year code “M2” of the Eibar proof house for 1993. Percussion lock, lock plate and hammer colour case-hardened with scrollwork engraving. Half stock with brass nose cap. Brass mounts: trigger guard with long spur, curved butt plate, patchbox with round hinged lid on a shaped base plate, oval decorative plate. Double set trigger, original Dikar sliding rear sight, front sight, ramrod present. Very good condition, mechanism works, bluing intact, no missing parts discernible. L. 114 cm.
This percussion rifle is a Spanish black-powder replica after the Plains rifles of the brothers Jacob and Samuel Hawken, who from 1815 built rifles in St. Louis for trappers, traders and expeditions of the American West; the first known Hawken was made in 1823 for William Henry Ashley, and its users included Kit Carson and Jim Bridger. Characteristic features of the Hawken type are the half stock, the octagonal barrel, the double set trigger and the patchbox with hinged lid. The maker is the cooperative Dikar S. Coop. in Bergara (Basque Country), formed in 1969 from the arms works Mendi and Jukar, part of the Mondragon group since 1991 and owner of the American muzzle-loader brand CVA (Connecticut Valley Arms) since 2003. Muzzle-loader exempt from licensing under German law, also as a replica, sale to persons aged 18 and over only.