Rädschloss (Wheellock) eye candy!

[PhDBrewer]

Hello all. Thought it might be nice to post some images of beautiful wheellocks.
I will start with these from a Bohemian tschinke wheellock rifle, probably Teschen, circa 1650.

The breechloading Radschloss below is amazing.. one can reload by replacing the "cartridge". The images below are from Erhard Wolf's New book. I would highly recommend it.

William

 

[tenngun]

Hey we don’t talk breechloaders on this forum
It’s amazing to think about the builders of such guns. Wouldn’t you like to spend a year or so at their bench watching and learning

 

[TobJohn]

Thank you for starting this thread! I’ve come across some funky wheellocks in books and online recently and wanted a place to share them. I’ll post some when I get back from work.

It seems like self spanning was also a common feature for breech loading wheellocks, with at least 3 examples I have found. The actual cartridge and breech system itself seems almost standardized (as much as something hand made in the 1500s can be) with many wheellocks and some matchlocks using the same type of latch holding in that block that swings up and out.

Do you have a link to the book you mentioned?

 

[TobJohn]

Hey we don’t talk breechloaders on this forum
It’s amazing to think about the builders of such guns. Wouldn’t you like to spend a year or so at their bench watching and learning

That’s what I love about this time period. Incredible craftsmanship mixed with the “no bad ideas in brainstorming” that comes from periods of technological experimentation and rapid development.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Erhard Wolf's website, but it only lists 1st book on "Hunting Rifles" is shown: Start - Jagd-Feuerwaffen Note he self-publishes these books.

 

[TFoley]

Hello all. Thought it might be nice to post some images of beautiful wheellocks.
I will start with these from a Bohemian tschinke wheellock rifle, probably Teschen, circa 1650.

The breechloading Radschloss below is amazing.. one can reload by replacing the "cartridge". The images below are from Erhard Wolf's New book. I would highly recommend it.

View attachment 208394
William

Hmmmmm. I can see where Mr Snider got his idea from....................................

 

[TobJohn]

Erhard Wolf's website, but it only lists 1st book on "Hunting Rifles" is shown: Start - Jagd-Feuerwaffen Note he self-publishes these books.

Thanks Flint! Ah, I should probably take a break from buying expensive books from Europe anyway.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Hmmmmm. I can see where Mr Snider got his idea from....................................

I think the idea of a 'breech loader' also has the Norwegian breech-loading Kammerlader that should also be in that lineage, although it is an inline from 1842 and not a swing-out design as is the Snider conversion of the 1860s from the 1853 Enfield.

FYI, I also emailed Erhard Wolf for details on ordering his latest book with matchlocks and wheellocks.

 

[TobJohn]

Breech loading 1450-1550 - Ethnographic Arms & Armour

Even some handgonnes were breechloaders!

 

[Pukka Bundook]

Some very bonny work there, William!

TobJohn,
When I first saw this handgonne, I really wanted to make one something like it!
I think I'd go for a thicker breechblock and deeper slot, but all is fair in love and handgonnes!

Flint,
Please keep us posted on the info about the matchlock/wheellock book.

 

[TobJohn]

Here is one of the wheellocks I wanted to share:

A GEARED self spanning mechanism!

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Pukka - Will do!

TobJon - OK, starting immediately ...
You sir, cannot post anymore eyecandy WITHOUT citing the link to the pictures or the name/publisher/title of the book you're grabbing them from ...

 

[TobJohn]

Pukka - Will do!

TobJon - OK, starting immediately ...
You sir, cannot post anymore eyecandy WITHOUT citing the link to the pictures or the name/publisher/title of the book you're grabbing them from ...

Fair lol. I try my best but sometimes I get lazy. Any wheellocks that I horribly photographed from a book in English are from
Landeszeughaus Graz, Austria: Radschloss Sammlung/Wheellock Collection, by Robert Brooker. These recent Italian ones I have been posting are from Armi Da Fuoco Italiane, by Generale A. Gaibi (multiple options on Abebooks).

 

[PhDBrewer]

I am trying to set up a way for people to purchase Erhard's new book. I personally carried 12 books back last December for distribution in the states. Because of the weight.... only 5 books per piece of checked luggage. I can get them but the price increases as shipping is very expensive from Germany. A book shipped to Alaska from Germany costs $86 for shipping. Let me check with Erhard about another possible solution I have devised. Smile.
William

 

[TobJohn]

I am trying to set up a way for people to purchase Erhard's new book. I personally carried 12 books back last December for distribution in the states. Because of the weight.... only 5 books per piece of checked luggage. I can get them but the price increases as shipping is very expensive from Germany. A book shipped to Alaska from Germany costs $86 for shipping. Let me check with Erhard about another possible solution I have devised. Smile.
William

That'd be great. The past two I bought (just mentioned, one Germany and one Italy) had nuts shipping, with the wheellock book being particularly egregious. Maybe something like a group buy would be possible.

 

[PhDBrewer]

Erhard self published the books which was very expensive to do. He eliminated the outside box to keep costs down. I looked at shipping 100 books and the costs did not decrease much. Crating and moisture mitigation added to the expense. Currently to buy online is €178 which is about $193. Add the 3.5% credit card fee and transfer fee and the cost is about $220. PM me if you really want one and we can discuss.
William

 

[PhDBrewer]

Try this link.
https://jaegerbuechsen.com/en/home-2/He only accept bank transfers. There is an online company called Wise that will accept a credit card, convert the funds and process the payment. Costs about $25 for this service.

William

 

[TobJohn]

Erhard self published the books which was very expensive to do. He eliminated the outside box to keep costs down. I looked at shipping 100 books and the costs did not decrease much. Crating and moisture mitigation added to the expense. Currently to buy online is €178 which is about $193. Add the 3.5% credit card fee and transfer fee and the cost is about $220. PM me if you really want one and we can discuss.
William

Ah dang. After my recent purchases, I probably cannot justify spending that much on another book. Thank you for providing the information, though!

 

[TobJohn]

Here is a video on a breech loading wheellock, for those curios of the mechanism.


Its probably because the gun is German and not French, but Ian mistakenly said it was rare for guns of this period to have sights. From what I have seen on matchlock and wheellock long arms of the early 1500s-mid 1600s, its very rare for them NOT to have sights. Anyone that is more experienced, please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

PM me if you really want one and we can discuss.

PM sent William ...