The White .54 wheellock rifle

I received this rifle in early 2011. I've been shooting and learning about it since. Advice welcome!

Here's the lock. I've had trouble finding pyrites thin enough to shoot with it, so I have been using flints. Yes, I know, it wears the wheel. Any reason why pyrite needs to be so thin?

I've seen wheellock guns in this configuration in several museums.

Here's a 100 yard group, rested. I'm still learning to shoot it. It likes 75 grains of FFFG and a .53 ball with a .015 oxyoke patch. Any advice? Thanks.

First: That is a great looking Wheellock rifle!! Looks like it was styled after a Dutch Military piece? Is the barrel rifled or smoothbore? That looks like some fine 100 yard shooting with a Wheellock :thumbsup:
I'm sure this has been discussed before, but why can't the wheel be hardened to allow the use of flints?
I realize pyrites are softer - and crumble - after a few shots.
Again, great looking gun. Rick.

Hi Ricky.

This is a .54 rifle. It's essentially a long rifle with a wheellock action. This appears to be historically correct but I have never read or seen any evidence of wheellocks being issued to troops, although there's plenty of evidence that individuals carried wheellocks into battle. I would be grateful if you have any info which contradicts that.

Also I'm learning that European pyrite seems to be different from most North American pyrite. Apparently it doesn't crumble. Apparently it lasts quite well. Elsewhere on this forum is a series of photos which shows a lock with what seems to be a perfect pyrite crystal. Apparently these work quite well. Anyone know where we can get some of this?

That 100 yard bull is nice but it's also rested.

Thanks. Pete

Hi Pete,
The Landeszeughaus (armory)in Graz, Austria contains >4000 wheellock rifles, muskets, pistols, and wall guns. Most of those firearms were issued to troops protecting Austria's frontier with the Ottoman empire. Wheellock pistols, rifles, and muskets were used throughout Europe. Wheellock muskets simply were not nearly as common as their matchlock counterparts. The first rifle troops in Europe were armed with wheellocks during the late 1500s. Americans did not invent the military rifleman.

dave

European vs North American pyrite. Hmmmm. It even looks different. If that's true it sure would solve our problems. I do have a collector friend in Bavaria/Germany. I will ask him if he knows a source for pyrite in his local. Meantime, I hope others with pyrite knowledge see your Post and chim in.
Did you make the gun or use a builder? Rick.

Wow, Dave, it seems to me that I need to get my...self over to Austria and see that armory! That's big news! Also I would be most grateful for any info on European pyrite vs. North American pyrite. And is the geometry of the lock right on this gun? Should so little of the flint/pyrite be touching the wheel? My thought is that it may be an original design flaw which was replicated by The Rifle Shoppe.

And no, I didn't build it. I would badly injure myself trying to do that. White Muzzleloading put it together. He does all sorts of interesting things. Google him!

Hi Paul,
A trip to Austria would be fabulous but you don't need to do that to see some of the guns. Many photos are published in the book "Landeszeughaus Graz, Austria" by Robert Brooker. You can probably find copies on ABEbooks.com. In addition, many state and royal armories in Europe have examples of military wheellocks. In addition, the government of King Charles I of England published a rate book in 1636 showing the amounts the government was willing to pay for government issued firearms and repairs. They have a category for wheellocks. Pyrite is iron disulfide and is found all over the world. It occasionaly forms large individual crystals which is the form you are interested in. Often small crystals are held together in a soft matrix of other minerals (the crumbly pyrite). Anyway, it is not a North American or European thing just a matter of local geology. You can find both forms in North America. Check rock shops (online) for big pyrite crystals. I think the states of Utah and Colorado have mines where large pyrite crystals are found. I do not know if they would be better for wheellocks but I do know that the large crystals we find locally here in Ketchikan Alaska seem to work pretty well in my Italian wheellock reproduction (worked over considerably by me). A well functioning wheellock will have a powerful mainspring, a dog and dog spring that keep the pyrite pressed firmly against the wheel when the pan cover slides forward, and a well hardened wheel.

dave

Hi Dave.

So a powerful dog spring is important? Thanks.

Pete

Hi Dave!! Thanks for the info re Pyrite. Much appreciated. Rick.

Big hint: if someone with access to really good pyrite preshaped for wheellocks was to post some of it for sale in the classifieds, I'd buy it. Just a hint.

DITTO!!! Even a European source. Rick.

Hi,
Yes. The reason is that the dog is resting with the pyrite touching the top of the pan cover before the shot. When the trigger is pulled, the pan slides forward and the dog should then push the pyrite hard against the exposed wheel. However, I think one problem that many folks have is that the dog stays hung up at the position it was before the pan opened and the pyrite never descends upon the wheel. The remedy is a strong dog spring but also making sure the toe of the dog touching the spring is shaped correctly such that it continues to push the dog downward after the pancover is removed. Some wheellocks had push button pan cover openers that were activated manually just before the shot. That opened the cover and the shooter could push the dog down hard against the wheel preventing the problem I mentioned. However, the priming was then exposed to wind and rain for a moment before the trigger was pulled.

dave

ricky said:

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but why can't the wheel be hardened to allow the use of flints?

Click to expand...

I'm not a metallurgist, and I hope one of ours will chime in here, but my understanding is that it is impossible to make steel anywhere near as hard as flint (or the related minerals), even with modern materials and technologies.

On other matters, has anyone tried using chalcopyrite (copper-iron sulphide) in a wheel-lock, or heard of it being used and/or tried? I believe it is used in very-primitive fire lighting with a flint striker, and would seem a plausible candidate material for the original firelocks.

Regards,
Joel

HI

USE A ROUND WHEEL WITH NO GROVES AND NO NOTCHES FOR FLINT ONLY

Richard Westerfield