How many of you have Pre-Flintlock rifles?

[KyRifleman]

I have made and shot rifled matchlocks and wheelocks. Both can be very fast and accurate.A snap matchlock is much fasted than a flintlock. Instead of pyrites, take the flint
off a magnesium striker, cut it into pieces about a half inch long and insert two side by side into a small piece
of aluminum that correctly fits the jaws of the cock.It will
last a long time and spark very well without undue wear on the wheel.I have made two smoothbore matchlocks for the USA muzzleloading team

 

[Leonredbeard]

Kyrifleman,
I am always looking for good ways to cheat. :winking: What is a magnesium striker? :shocking: I tried the zippo strikers and the striker 'flints' from torch lighters. :: They both are destroyed by the flame coming out of the flash hole. :curse: I have pyrites that work very well if I do all the things necessary between shots while spanning and priming. :shake: Do you have to wipe the magnesium and the wheel between shots to get consistent fire in the pan? :: Really interested. ::
God bless.
Volatpluvia

 

[miqueleter]

As a matter of fact, I do have a .50 rifled wheellock carbine that I butchered together a few years ago. Cherry stock and steel furniture including a saddle ring. Shoots better than I can hold and the ignition is FAST, even though I use those crumbly pyrites you so detest. Good enough for the limited shooting I did with it. Saw an original in the Royal Armouries at the Tower that I used for a rough guide.

 

[Teleoceras]

Miquleter:

As a matter of fact, I do have a .50 rifled wheellock carbine that I butchered together a few years ago. Cherry stock and steel furniture including a saddle ring. Shoots better than I can hold and the ignition is FAST, even though I use those crumbly pyrites you so detest. Good enough for the limited shooting I did with it. Saw an original in the Royal Armouries at the Tower that I used for a rough guide.

Oh I don't detest pyrites at all! It is just a royal pain to find some good gun grade rock and then shape it.

BTW, that Wheellock of yours is gorgeous!

I figure that if I went with a Pre-Flintlock rifle, it should be a combination Matchlock\Wheellock arm of at least .50. I don't think any modern gunmaker is making such an arm though. :boohoo:

 

[SquirrelsaurusR]

KyRifleman,

Welcome to the forum!

 

[KyRifleman]

Magnesium striker is a flint and steel for a modern camper, you can find them at sporting good stores. It is a block of magnesium with a flint on the back. The flint is what you want it is 3/16 dia and about 2 inches long.Like a very large zippo flint.Cut the flint in appropriate lenghts and insert two side by side in a small block.Good Luck and don't put magnesium scrapings in your fire starting kit.

 

[Cmabie]

Thanks KyRifleman. I will try two of the flint pieces. I tried one of the flint peices and could not get a hot enough spark. I found some fine grained iron pyrites that seems to be harder than the solid cube type I had been using. It seems to spark well and is not as crumbly. My Shroeter wheellock puffer is good for about four shots, then I have to clean the fouling out of the lock. I am thinking that possibly not too many shots were fired in the heat of combat.

The wheellock carbine that miqueleter built looks like the one in a book that I have on building a wheellock. At present I am building a TR Shoppe wheellock pistol. It took about a year and a half to get them to send me all of the castings. I have spent hours sawing off sprews and hours filing. A local blacksmith hardened all the springs and wheel for me. I have yet to adjust and harden the sears. I had to send a few parts out to have a little extra metal added to them as it appears their is about a 10% shrinkage in the castings. Rabbitears

 

[miqueleter]

:RO: Rabbitears,

The wheellock carbine that miqueleter built looks like the one in a book that I have on building a wheellock.

Good eye. The stock outline is in fact from a pattern in a "How to" book, probably the one you have. So is the lock, though we modified it a lot. I was overseas at the time and the base library had just such a book so we did some tracing. Also helps to be an ordnance shop officer full of crackerjack machinists and welders. That's why I say "we". Still, I wouldn't do another, butchering no talent that I am. Still, it fits well and shoots straight.

 

[Xtramad]

At present I am building a TR Shoppe wheellock pistol. It took about a year and a half to get them to send me all of the castings.

Is this a common problem with them? I was thinking of building the same wheellock myself.

 

[SquirrelsaurusR]

Is this a common problem with them?

Go back and read this thread from the beginning. There are several examples in this thread of what to expect from TRS. Lots of delays, lots of filing and re-drilling, etc. I chose not to deal with them. Also some info here:
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=26452&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&vc=1

And here:
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=12425&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&vc=1

 

[Teleoceras]

At present I am building a TR Shoppe wheellock pistol. It took about a year and a half to get them to send me all of the castings.

Is this a common problem with them? I was thinking of building the same wheellock myself.

Unfortunately yes. I don't deal with TRS anymore because it was just too much of a headache dealing with them. ::

 

[Cmabie]

Teloceros,
As before mentioned,I had quite a time getting all of the parts from TR Shoppe to build their German wheellock pistol. It is getting close to completion. The Schroeter wheellock pistol may not be quite as authentic as TR Shoppe's as they used an original pistol to copy the parts from. Schroeter designed his pistols on ones that he had seen. His castings are much better than TR Shoppe's. However, one has to make a few changes on the lock to make it work as it should. These two pistols are the only preflintlock guns I own. I have two flintlock rifles and a percussion rifle. These were made from kits from Thmpson Center and Dixie Gunworks. Also I have three flintlock pistols and an 1816 Springfield that was converted to a percussion rifle musket at the outbreak of the Civil War. I have a 1/4 scale six pounder naval gun that is 75 cal. I won first prize in the smoothbore division at the last muzzle loading cannon competition. A full size gun would be quite heavy and one would need a winch to remove one from a trailer. I have other original black powder breach loaders that used for hunting and target shooting.
Rabbitears

 

[Xtramad]

Ok, it sounds like the kind of headache I don't want.

I don't think I would have any problem making the parts from scratch, I just need a decent drawing to work from.
Does anyone have a scale drawing of this germanic wheellock pistol that they could scan for me?

I've had good sucess in the past with getting accurate messurements off photographs by digitizing them and scaling them in a CAD program aganst a known size. You can then trace the outline of every part. If the photo is properly focused and you take perspective into account you should get a very good scale drawing of the gun.
I just have to visit a museum and get some good digital photos of this gun. This is of course a whole lot of work. :shake:
Does anyone have such a blueprint?

 

[Leonredbeard]

Xtramad,
I seem to be the only one who got all his parts for the germanic sporting rifle lock in good time and no backorders. I have a set of very high quality line drawings of the rifle lock, but that won't help you. But it sounda like you have a plan.
God bless.
volatpluvia

 

[Xtramad]

I ain't gonna let myself be stopped by things like that. I know some people in the arms collecting community, so if I'm lucky I might get to take some messurements of an original. If not, I'll just go with my picture-CAD-guestimate plan.
It's a pity no one else has castings for this lock, it's a graceful and elegant design.