Italian wheel lock

[JCKelly]

It runs in my mind that 17th century Englishmen, e.g. the Puritans, were fond of Italian arms & armor. There is an Italian matchlock musket in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Harold Peterson, Arms and Armor in Colonial America, page 40 shows a wheel lock carbine found in Boston, believed to have been restocked in America. This carbine is in the NRA museum, if I recall correctly it is rifled and maybe .53 caliber.
So just for fun, here are photos of a double-dog Italian wheel lock, detatched, that I got in the Good Ol' Days from C.H. Weiz, Arlington, Virginia. The plate is 9" long. Except for the extra dog it is a decent match for that carbine at the NRA.

Some day I will learn how to take photos with my Nice Computerized camera (believe that?).
 
The plate is nearly exactly 9" long. Why two dogs you might well ask? Look at raspla's utube of shooting off the priming in his pistol. Pyrites tends to break suddenly. I recall some geologist explaining that there was more than one type of iron pyrites crystal found in nature, one of them being much to be preferred for gun use. I did not keep a record of this.

[volatpluvia]

Having built and played with a wheellock, having built three operational locks, I can tell you that there are different types of pyrites.  Some work well and break easilly, others work well and last a while, some last a long time but don't work worth a hoot, etc.  I can understand why they put two dogs on one lock.  And I can tell you that a wheellock gonne with two dogs was intended to do serious work, either hunting in an uncontrolled situation (ie. survival) or for war.  JMHO
volatpluvia

[smart dog]

Hi,
Thanks for the photos JC.  I always love seeing the internal parts of wheellocks.  It is a shame that, based on comments on another muzzleloading forum, it seems that most modern shooters experiences with wheellocks involve cheap junk guns made in India.  The owners get frustrated because the locks don't work well and they have the impression that wheellocks were terribly finicky and unreliable guns.  They are so wrong and they need to experience shooting a proper wheellock like the one you showed. 

dave       

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Dave, I could not agree with you more!  I have made only one, and followed a book's instructions closely.  What I produced is a completely reliable firearm that you could bet your life on.  It has no jar when fired, and makes a wonderful target pistol.  Ignition seems as fast as a percussion gun.

The lock pictured now is a work of art for sure.  ...great pleasure studying it.

[Chris Treichel]

Apparently the wheelock I have is a Schroeter that doesn't have much in common with origionals either. Its been more of a pain than anything usefull.