Original Item: One of a Kind. This is magnificent example of a German 17th Century Wheellock Hunting Rifle. These rifles have lovely lines and highly decorative stocks, a style often duplicated for later made guns and air rifles. This example features a very rare internal "wheel" to the lock, which is usually on the outside for more easy access. The top of the barrel is marked by maker Georg : Hoffman with a date of 1670, right in the correct period for this style of high end hunting rifle. We have not been able to find much about this particular gunmaker, which is not uncommon, as there were many local gunsmiths in the German area, and records were not kept nearly as often during those days.

The rifle features a lovely brown full stock, probably made from walnut or some other quality hardwood. It has some lovely horn appointments, such as the butt plate, nose cap, front ramrod pipe, ramrod tip, and even the lock screw escutcheons! It also has a lovely sliding figured wood patch box cover, which has horn fittings on both the front and rear. The lock plate bears some lovely engraving, showing hunting dogs chasing down a wild boar, while the flint holder has the engraved face of a man on the top, but the bottom looks like some time of mythical creature with wings and a tail! Really some great designs on this rifle!

The heavy octagonal barrel of the rifle measures about 27 1/2 inches in overall length, and features heavy 8 groove rifling in the .55 inch bore. It still shows strong rifling, with a bit of fouling and oxidation in places, indicating only light use. These were for the most part often used more as showpieces than functional guns, so this is not uncommon.

Functionally, we have not made any attempt to test the wheellock to see if it still works, and we do not have the proper spanner that would have been included. After this long the mechanism is most likely delicate, and we do not want to damage it. Overall condition is very good, showing light wear and a lovely patina of age. We do not see any major damage, just some of the horn fittings being a bit loose due to the shrinkage and the glue drying out, such as on the tip of the ramrod and front ramrod pipe. Overall this is really in fantastic shape for being over 350 years old.

A great example, ready to research and display!

Specifications (Musket):-

Year of Manufacture: Circa 1760
Caliber: .55 inches
Ammunition Type: Lead Ball & Powder
Barrel Length: 27 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 40 1/2 inches
Action: Wheellock
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded

A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name is from its rotating steel wheel to provide ignition. Developed in Europe around 1500, it was used alongside the matchlock and was later superseded by the snaplock (1540s), the snaphance (1560s) and the flintlock (c. 1610s).

The wheellock works by spinning a spring-loaded steel wheel against a piece of pyrite to generate intense sparks, which ignite gunpowder in a pan, which flashes through a small touchhole to ignite the main charge in the firearm's barrel. The pyrite is clamped in vise jaws on a spring-loaded arm (or 'dog'), which rests on the pan cover. When the trigger is pulled, the pan cover is opened, and the wheel is rotated, with the pyrite pressed into contact.

A close modern analogy of the wheellock mechanism is the operation of a lighter, where a toothed steel wheel is spun in contact with a piece of sparking material to ignite the liquid or gaseous fuel.

A wheellock firearm had the advantage that it can be instantly readied and fired even with one hand, in contrast to the then-common matchlock firearms, which must have a burning cord of slow match ready if the gun might be needed and demanded the operator's full attention and two hands to operate. On the other hand, wheellock mechanisms were complex to make, making them relatively costly.

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