Building persona around a rifle

[Montana Muzzleloader]

What persons would be appropriate for a percussion Hawken (style) rifle? In this case, a defarbed Lyman GPR. Thanks.

[old salt]

You could portray a trapper in the late 30's early 40' or a person traveling to Oregon by wagon train.
Also you could be gold seeker on the way to the gold field in California

[beowulf]

look at the lives of mariano medina , john johnston , kit carson , or jim bridger , for an idea of what , a lot of the original owners were like , traders,trappers, scouts , and probably more than a few who just settled in somewhere to farm or raise cattle ! that great plains , is a pretty decent representation of a hawken rifle .of course with some of these guys ( like the rifle itself ) it can be hard to figure out where the truth starts and the fiction ends !  , but above all , have fun with it !

[flintboomer]

Made your bundle on a trapping trip and got out with your hair, decided to settle down and buy a farm/store/bought some trade goods and ?? lots of possibilities!

[beowulf]

Made your bundle on a trapping trip and got out with your hair, decided to settle down and buy a farm/store/bought some trade goods and ?? lots of possibilities!

[Hanshi]

Those "plains" rifles were common farther west but not at all uncommon in the east.

[Montana Muzzleloader]

What types of clothing & equipment would be appropriate?

[Red Badger]

This is where a trip to the library will come into play,  The basic is you are limited to after 1830 because of the percussion cap.  The rest is open to you, if your a trapper or frontiersman, buckskin is still ok, if yor a townie, broadcloth and onsiburg will work as will paisly prints and other fabricks... pure cotton is a no no (it was very expensive and rare) linen and homespun stuff will do - explore... and if you are doing Montana I would be doing a trader/trapper from the Hudson Bay company which opens you up to french and canadian materials also ( and they were friendly to the blackfeet)... 

On another note I spent several years in Great Falls and the Cascade mountain area...