This historic, incredibly rare, and very distinctive rifle is featured on page 49 of "The Peacemakers: Arms and Adventure in the American West" by R.L. Wilson where it is described as a "Sam Hawken-made .70 caliber rifle, the most massive Hawken known. From the collection of Theodore Roosevelt, the rifle was Kit Carson's. Likely a buffalo killer, as well as a target rifle for bench shooting. Condition and the quality of workmanship as fine as those of any known Hawken firearm." This rifle is also pictured and described in Wilson's book "Theodore Roosevelt: Hunter Conservationist" by Wilson with more information: "Massive, 18-pound Hawken Target Rifle, dispersed from the Boone & Crockett Club Collection in 1972. Listed as item no. 10, the rifle was one of 30 pieces which were sold, while 13 were retained-the latter all with TR significance. The intent had been to retain the 13 for exhibit at the Gun Room at Sagamore Hill. For security reasons, the firearms are no longer on display." Kit Carson's Hawken rifle is mentioned again on page 88 in Wilson's discussion of the gun room. Also see page 89 of Wilson's "Theodore Roosevelt: Outdoorsman" which discusses the guns on display in the Sagamore Hill gun room. The rifle was also described in the catalog for the Christie's October 7, 1981, catalog in lot 31 where it was headlined as "An Historic American Heavyweight Target or Hunting Rifle" and the provenance was listed as "The Theodore Roosevelt gun room, Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, Long Island. According to the Roosevelt family tradition the rifle belonged to Kit Carson." Jacob (1786-1849) and Samuel Hawken (1792-1884) are among the most famous makers of American muzzle loaders and worked together in St. Louis in the famous Hawken shop. Their rifles have long been associated with the 19th century frontiersmen, and their early rifles are known to have been used by the mountain men active in the fur trade in the 1830s, including by General William Henry Ashley and the American Fur Company. Many of their rifles, including this one, date to after the heyday of the Rocky Mountain fur trade when Hawken rifles continued to be in demand, including by former fur trappers like Jim Bridger and Kit Carson who found new work as hunters, guides, and scouts. Before large caliber cartridge "buffalo rifles" like the Sharps Model 1874 and Remington Rolling Block became popular for hunting bison, percussion rifles were used for the job, with some rifles upwards of .75 caliber put to use to fell the massive beasts. If the Hawken brothers were among the most famous riflemakers of the era, Kit Carson is arguably the Hawken rifle's most famous user. Carson owned multiple Hawken rifles throughout his lifetime and used them extensively in his often perilous adventures in the American West. Because of Carson's fame and his presentation of some of his rifles to his friends during his lifetime, a select few of his rifles survive today. They are among the most desirable of all American muzzleloading rifles. Christopher Houston Carson (1809-1868) was already a real life frontier legend when Theodore Roosevelt was a boy, and Roosevelt continued to admire Carson as an adult as well given he purchased a copy of Fredrick MacMonnie's sculpture of Carson at Tiffany's in New York as a birthday present for himself in 1915. The sculpture notably depicts Carson on horseback with a Hawken rifle in his arms and remains in the North Room at Sagamore Hill, and in letters referring to Carson, Roosevelt expresses clear admiration. Kit Carson worked the legendary Santa Fe Trail while still a teenager and became one of the famous mountain men who worked in the Rocky Mountain fur trade until 1840. In 1841, he worked as a contract hunter feeding the residents of Bent's Fort on the Santa Fe Trail. He then worked as a guide on multiple western expeditions, including the famous Fremont Expeditions in 1842 and 1843 that helped pave the way for the famous Oregon Trail and the 1845 expedition to California and Oregon. While working for Fremont in California, Carson met Edward Fitzgerald Beale (1822-1893), also known as Ned Beale. Beale was a midshipman in the U.S. Navy but was detached to serve with the ground forces in California in the Bear Flag Revolt and Mexican-American War. At the Battle of San Pasqual on December 6, 1846, Beale, Delaware scout Chemuctah, and Carson famously snuck through the enemy lines to get reinforcements from San Diego, saving the day for the Kearney and the besieged American troops after suffering severely in the journey. After his service under Fremont and then in the Mexican-American War, Kit Carson became a household name and was soon the subject of dime novels and other published accounts of his escapades in the West, some true and some completely fictitious. In 1852, he arranged to go out on a beaver trapping expedition with many of his old friends, and on their return to New Mexico, they participated in shooting matches. He dictated a memoir in 1854 and also started work as an Indian Agent. He continued to hunt and During the Civil War, he remained loyal to the Union and became the lieutenant colonel of the First New Mexico Volunteer Regiment and faced the Confederates in the Southwest. He was also tasked with conducting brutal campaigns against the Mescalero Apaches by General J.H. Carleton. After the war, he was a brigadier general of volunteers. After leaving the army in 1867, Carson spent his remaining days ranching near Taos, New Mexico, and was also called upon to aid in affairs between the government and the Ute. When Carson died in 1868, Theodore Roosevelt was still a boy, but men like Carson were a lifelong inspiration for Roosevelt. He wrote extensively about American frontiersmen and their role in American history and society in many of his books and sought the "strenuous life" himself in the West before embarking on his political career. In 1887, Roosevelt founded the Boone & Crockett Club with George Bird Grinnell to help protect American wildlife and wild places to conserve game animals for future generations of American sportsmen and to establish ethical hunting practices. The name clearly reflects his respect for the frontiersmen of earlier generations. On July 23, 1907, Roosevelt wrote to Grinnell about loaning Carson's rifle to the Boone & Crockett Club noting that the rifle had been given to Roosevelt shortly before Beale's death and that Beale indicated he had personally seen Carson use it. Beale himself wrote about one of Carson's Hawken rifles in a poem about his first harrowing adventure with Carson stating: "...I see you leaning on that old long Hawkins gun of yours, (mine now) and looking out of those clear blue eyes at me with a surprised reproach, as one who takes an insult from a friend..." That rifle is now known as the "Carson-Beale" Hawken rifle. It is featured between pages 288 and 289 in "Edward Fitzgerald Beale" by Stephen Bonsal published in 1912 and is discussed in detail in The American Society of Arms Collectors article "The Carson-Beale Hawken: Its Identification and Recent History" by Lee Burke with the collaboration of Bill Pirie. That rifle was also sold at the same time as this rifle in 1972 and was also featured in the American Rifleman article "A Celebration of Excellence" by Brian C. Sheetz in August 2003. Unlike the other Kit Carson Hawken Roosevelt owned, this rifle is far from your typical Hawken "Mountain" or "Plains" rifle even though it retains many of the more classic Hawken features. Given this rifle's general configuration, and immense weight, it was clearly meant for highly accurate shooting from a rest such as a pair of cross-sticks. The large caliber is certainly not typical of target rifles of the period suggesting stopping power was a primary concern, and all of these characteristics taken together would certainly have made it a prime candidate for hunting bison on the plains. In the mid-19th century, millions of bison still roamed the plains, and Carson participated in hunting. The most obvious difference setting this rifle apart from most Hawken rifles is its immense weight. While noted as weighing 18 pounds above, we find that it actually weighs 19 lbs. 3.3 oz. on our scale. Much of that weight comes from its heavy barrel. The bore measure approximately .70 caliber (14 bore) which is significantly larger than the typical .54 caliber (28 bore) found on many of the classic Hawken rifles. The browned barrel is cleanly marked with the "S. HAWKEN ST. LOUIS" marking used following Jacob Hawken's death in 1849 and by the Hawken shop even after J.P. Gemmer had purchased the shop. The muzzle is cut round for using a bullet starter, and the barrel features seven-groove rifling, traditional dovetailed blade and U-notch sights, and a very nicely shaped breech plug. A very rarely seen adjustable peep sight is fitted to an integral base on the upper tang. Rather than barrel wedges like a normal sized Hawken rifle, the heavy barrel is secured via a screw passing through an winged iron washer in the bottom of the forend. The casehardened lock has no visible markings. The rifle is equipped with adjustable double set triggers and has iron furniture that matches the furniture on other classic S. Hawken rifles, including the distinctive finials on the trigger guard and toe plate. The walnut buttstock has a pewter forend cap, checkered wrist, and shadowline cheekpiece in keeping with the styling of the smaller Hawkens. Provenance: The Theodore Roosevelt Collection and Gun Room at Sagamore Hill; The Boone & Crockett Club Collection; Property of a Gentleman

Exceptionally fine. The rifle retains 75% original brown and casehardened finish blended with smooth brown patina, some minor oxidation, and generally fairly minor overall wear. The stock is very fine and has some spots of wear in the otherwise crisp checkering, general mild scratches and dents, crack at the lock screw on the left, and the vast majority of the original finish. Mechanically excellent. This is an incredibly rare Hawken rifle variation, the largest caliber Hawken known, and it is from Theodore Roosevelt's personal collection at Sagamore Hill. All around, an outstanding and distinctive rifle with highly desirable provenance.