But I’d never been deer hunting and moreover, had never so much as touched Dad’s muzzleloader, a .50-caliber Thompson-Center Hawken replica.

The Hawken brothers were known for crafting “plains rifles,” large-bore firearms with half-stocks, often chambered in .50 caliber or larger.

Loveland resident Daryle Klassen gets giddy when he talks about holding Mariano Medina’s .50-caliber Hawken rifle — a piece of Loveland history worth $250,000. Sharon Danhauer is a little more ...