Antique GERMANIC WHEELLOCK RIFLE with SERPENTINE ENGRAVING .54 Caliber 1700s Fascinating European 17th / 18th Century Weapon

Product Description

Antique GERMANIC WHEELLOCK RIFLE with SERPENTINE ENGRAVING .54 Caliber 1700s

Fascinating European 17^th / 18^th Century Weapon

Here we present an antique Germanic Wheellock Rifle made circa the late 17^th to early 18^th century, likely in Germany. This piece has an overall length of 41 ¾”. Swamped octagonal barrel with .54 caliber bore (land to land). Serpentine engraving on the dog. Carved stock with sliding patchbox.

The wheellock rifle was developed in Europe in the late 15^th or early 16^th century, though exactly who developed it is unknown. Leonardo da Vinci produced an early sketch of a wheellock mechanism mounted on a rifle as part of a series of military design commissioned for the Duke of Milan somewhere around 1490. Another early depiction of the wheellock was drawn by Martin Loffelholz of Nuremberg, Germany in 1505, though it shows as being used as a tinder lighter rather than a rifle.

A German gunsmith named Johann Kiefuss is often credited with inventing the wheellock in 1517, although there is little evidence of this and is believed to have originated from legend. In 1517, Emperor Maximillian I issued a decree outlawing the civilian use of such guns within the Holy Roman Empire. Some of the earliest surviving examples of these rifles using the wheellock mechanism were made in Italy, probably around the early 1520s. Due to the expense of wheellock weapons, the matchlock remained the standard type of gun lockwork until the invention of the flintlock.

The overall condition is very good. Gray patina throughout. The action is not fully tested but the mechanism has good spring tension. The firing trigger of the double set trigger mechanism is has a partial post. The bore is bright with strong rifling. The stock has a small chip right under the wheel of the lock and is otherwise solid. Here is an uncommon opportunity to own a very scarce wheellock rifle!

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 30-3/8 inches.

Caliber: .54 Wheellock

Overall condition as seen in photos.

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$6450
#240157