[BJ]

:?: I recently acquired a caplock pistol and am looking for any info on it. It is a .50 cal, "Hawken"(?) style, 8" blue bbl., 1" across flats, snail, but not hooked breech, brass Hawken nose cap and wide trigger guard. It has a pin front sight, but no rear sight. The wood appears to be beech or plane maple, hard but not much figure. The remaining furniture is "browned" a deep bronze. The only writing is "50 MOWERY OLNEY TEXAS" and S/N 2XXX. Any info would be appreciated.

 

[xnmr53]

Rifled or smoothbore?

 

[BJ]

Rifled

 

[The Shrink]

BJ

Sorry, I can't help. It seems a strange combination. "Mowrey" is a New England style design, "Hawken" is Great Plains, and Texas is more Great Plains than New England!

 

[Charlie Detroit]

Well, I just ran a bunch of searches for "Mowrey Gun Works"...I guess they must be out of business. I was unaware that they ever made a pistol, but I see no reason that they shouldn't. You're going to have to go to your local Library and start looking in past issues of gun publications; annuals, magazines, etc. to pick up the traces.
I have only seen one actual, I-can-put-my-hands-on-it Mowrey...that's a rifle owned by a member of my club. Two-piece stock (some of the fanciest wood I've ever seen), octagon barrel about 30" long, brass "receiver" in which the lockworks are, with a side hammer, and a brass Swiss-style buttplate. Impressive-looking piece.

 

[alpini]

I've got one that I bought from Bill Mowrey himself in 1983. It's a traditional styled plains rifle, 54 cal, 1in barrel, birds eye maple stock with browned and nickel hardware. He was building some Penn. rifles also.
His shop at the time was Red River Gun Works. He was located in Witchita Falls,Texas. I think the shop was in Iowa Park. At that time he said he sold Mowery Gun Works to some one in Ill.
I still have the rifle and it's marked with his name and a Texas star. The sn# is also on the barrel. It was patterned after the H.E. Dimmick plains rifle of the 1840 or 50's.

 

[Charlie Detroit]

Upon a little (!) further looking, it SEEMS that Mowrey Gun Works was sold to Deer Creek Rifle Works...and things get kinda fuzzy after that. Or maybe it's this old brain; gettin' too full o' wisdom. Thinkin' seriously about when it's time to trade it in on a new one.