Is the Titan Mohawk collectible or a mistake?

[Geezer]

Definitely collectable.

What follows is from memory, so probably includes a mix of myth, rumour, and slander. And inaccuracies.

John Bowkett designed a single-stroke 12 ft/lbs rifle for the nascent Titan company. They made it as the JB1, the first production Bowkett. Unfortunately it was a dog and didn't work properly (were many of its parts badly made in India?) And they redesigned it for mass production, screwing it up.

The reworked JB1 was the Mohawk. It was better.

Back around 1988 or whenever the Mohawk came out, I thought that it and the Dragon were the future: all the recoilless advantages of the PCP, without all the charging gear faff and expense.

In reality, based on owning a Dragon, they were top-heavy, lopsided, and a pain to charge. A good HW77 did everything they would do, more easily and cheaply. And FT guys and really serious hunters were prepared to invest in PCPs - especially after Theoben and others brought out rifles with magazine feed.

So, a collectable mistake?

[Baxterbasics]

Well-if anyone regrets buying their PH Dragon (particularly if it has a H stamped on the action) and are thinking about skipping it-I will happily give them a warm home

[Muskett]

Never owned one.
Always thought they were an elegant rifle. Quirky and tricky so definitely for the collector rather than for the shooter.
No one is ever going to make one again. They are from a particularly difficult period of air rifle trading, so like quite a few at that time numbers are low so rarity will be strong. There are quite a few in this quirky arena and what happens in their place in the collectors market is anyone's guess. Eventually they should do well, but how well is another matter. Depend on the strength of the air rifle collectors market. I suspect in the future that could be quite strong as they are good items to collect. They are at least "interesting".

[hammy]

I've always fancied the FT version of the Dragon, lovely looking gun.
Only ever shot the .22 versions and liked them.
As for the Mohawk, it was ok for plinking or hunting , the cocking effort was just to much to shoot a competition course .

[Baxterbasics]

I've always fancied the FT version of the Dragon, lovely looking gun.
Only ever shot the .22 versions and liked them.
As for the Mohawk, it was ok for plinking or hunting , the cocking effort was just to much to shoot a competition course .

The .177 FT Dragon is a sweet rifle. I was in discussion with Aidrian Wilkes-the Parker Hale Wizzard, who was a friend of mine, I wanted Aidrian to build me a special "open budget" rifle from the parts in his possession. Unfortunately we both got sidetracked and it never came to fruition, Aidrians health deteriorated and he sadly passed away.

If a nice one comes available at some point and funds permit.......

[paul4be]

I had a Mohawk for a while. Nice to shoot, light and accurate. Great as an interest piece and also as a hunter etc without the need for a tank. Very easy to strip and work on as well.
It was just slow if you wanted to shoot quite a lot in one session.

[jjjjjj]

I have a Titan Mohawk in .177 its used as my main rifle its very accurate and as for cocking I don't see any problems with it I have even used it lamping from inside a land rover this is the second one I have owned and after selling my first one ( Women) I will not be selling this one its a keeper.

[norris]

Well-if anyone regrets buying their PH Dragon (particularly if it has a H stamped on the action) and are thinking about skipping it-I will happily give them a warm home

What does the "H" signify ?

[Baxterbasics]

What does the "H" signify ?

Ok.

The firing valve on the earlier Dragons were not properly case hardened steel and were prone to failure. Parker Hale reworked the valve using a stronger material and these rifles usually have a "H" stamped into the breech block.

Aidrian Wilkes did a custom rebuild on the Dragons, which included a modified firing valve using aircraft grade materials-it is my understanding that Ken Turner (who was one of Aidrian's closest friends) worked with and advised Aidrian on the early improvements.
After Aidrian's untimely departure, I, along with several other BBS members, helped to clear the rented bungalow where Aidrian lived. As I had large vans and storage facilities, connected to my business, I volunteered to remove and store Aidrian's equipment and also the complete set of spares which Aidrian had acquired from Parker Hale, when production of the Dragon ceased.
It was decided that this equipment and spares would need to be sold off-I duly purchased it all from Aidrian's estate. It was my intention to try and carry on Aidrians good work with helping Dragon owners, with the help of My Stepfather who was a very skilled engineer. Pressures of work and other factors led to me coming to the sad conclusion that I would probably never have the time to carry this out. I duly sold them to a member on this site, who I understand has kept Aidrian's good work
alive

I think Graham Bluck's original design and prototype rifles were fabulous-unfortunately bean counters run the engineering companies, not the engineers