The earliest known record of a Hawken rifle dates to 1823 when one was made for William Henry Ashley.^[1] The rifle was dubbed "Old Bill" and had a 42-inch barrel carrying an ounce ball (about .68 caliber). While the Hawken brothers made several guns, including flintlock rifles and some of the earlier percussion caps, no additional Hawken rifles were produced before 1831.^[1]: 25 In 1831 fur traders Peter A. Sarpy and Etienne Papin are recorded as using the rilfe. In 1832 several mountain men are listed as purchasing Hawken rifles, including brigade leaders Andrew Drips and Lucien Fontenelle.^[1]: 32 Members of later Ashley Rendezvous also owned Hawken rifles, including Auguste Arhcambeau and Ft. Union hunter Joseph Ramsey.

The Hawkens did not mass-produce their rifles but rather made each one by hand, one at a time. They employed a small crew working in a frame building producing approximately 100 rifles a year.^[1]: 20 A number of famous men were said to have owned Hawken rifles, including Auguste Lacome, Hugh Glass, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Orrin Porter Rockwell, Joseph Meek, Jedediah Strong Smith, and Theodore Roosevelt.^[3]

Hawken rifles had a reputation for both accuracy and long range.^[4]

Samuel Hawken outlived his brother and remain in business until 1855 when his son William continued with the business moving to a new shop that year. In 1856 partner Tristan Campbell dropped out of the business which closed the sporting-goods section of the shop. William continued with the gunsmith operation until he was forced to close the shop at the heart of the Panic of 1857.^[1]: 41-43 The Hawken rifle company was sold in 1862 to William Watt, and the last rifle actually made by a Hawken was built in 1884.^[5]

Although popular with mountain men and hunters of the fur trade era, up through the mid part of the 19th century, muzzleloaders were generally replaced by mass-produced, breech-loading weapons such as the Sharps rifle and the Winchester rifle.

Jacob Hawken had an early influence from a gunsmith in Virginia and may have also used the iron-mounted Southern bear-rifles of the early 1800s for inspiration for the Hawken rifle.^[1]: 47 The plain iron-mounted Hawken rifle may also been partly designed by James Lakenan, Hawken's associate that had a military influence in making iron-mounted militia rifle with a stout scroll guard and long iron patchbox that resembled civilian hunting rifles, including the Hawken rifle. Jacob Hawken also had military rifle experience that may have inspired the oval, bottom-hinged patchbox used in the Hawken rifle.

The rifles are generally shorter and of a larger caliber than earlier "Kentucky rifles" from which they descend. The style of the rifles is the same as the Harpers Ferry Model 1803, a half stock rifle (although they also made some with full stock), with the same lines as the Kentucky rifle. The "plains rifle" style would become the "sporter" for much of the United States during the 1840s.^[6]

Their "Rocky Mountain" guns were typically .50 caliber or .53 caliber, but ranged as high as .68 caliber. They averaged 10+1⁄2 pounds (4.8 kg), although there are examples of 15 pounds (6.8 kg) guns.^[7] Barrels were of varying lengths (33 and 36 inch examples are described), and are octagonal on the outside and made of wrought iron. The walnut or maple stocks have a curved cheek piece, often looking like a beaver's tail and called that.^[2]: v They tended to have double triggers; the rear trigger is a "set" trigger. When the rear trigger is pulled, the hammer does not fall but rather the action "sets" the front trigger, the front trigger becoming a "hair trigger," tripped with a light touch. In many examples, when the front trigger is used without using the rear "set" trigger, it requires a firm pull, and others require the trigger to be set before the front trigger will drop the hammer at all. Although, the 25th anniversary model made by Thompson/Center was an exception to this. Rather, it had a single trigger with a tension screw that allowed for adjustment of take-up and length of pull. The front sight was a blade sight. Unlike many modern reproductions, the butt plate and other trim were not made of brass, but of iron.^[2]: v

The first recorded sale of a Hawken rifle was in 1831. The fixed price for a traditional Hawken rifle was $22.50 - $25.00. Several of the fine engraved Hawken rifles sold for $38 between 1837-1842.

In Karl May's Winnetou books, the eponymous Indian brave and his blood brother Old Shatterhand both owned Hawken rifles. Winnetou decorated his rifle with silver thumb tacks, and Old Shatterhand named his own gun Bear Slayer.

The 1972 film Jeremiah Johnson, starring Robert Redford as a mountain man who used such a rifle, contributed to general interest in replicas^[8] and a resurgence in the popularity of muzzleloaders among modern hunters.

The First Mountain Man series (1991-2019) by William W. Johnstone, sees the leading character "Preacher" wielding a Hawkins Rifle, as his primary arm, in every entry.

• Wayne Van Zwoll (2001). The Hunter's Guide to Ballistics: Practical Advice on How to Choose Guns and Loads, and Use Them Effectively. Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 978-1-58574-375-9.^{[permanent dead link]}

• The way to load and shoot a Hawken rifle
• The Hawken Rifle: Its Place in History, by Charles E Hanson Jr. Research data on the Hawken ("Hauken", "Hawkin") brothers and their firearm offerings.