Matchlocks and Wheelocks

[Tony50ae]

As I have gotten older, I find my interest in firearms has shifted into more blackpowder. Oh sure I own an AR15. And also modern pistols like my Hellcat that I use for my CCW. I also own a couple double action revolvers and a single action revolver which is my New Vaqeuro. But I also own a CVA Hawken rifle, a reproduction 1862 Dance percussion revolver and a Traditions 31 caliber derringer. All percussion cap fired. I'm looking at adding a flintlock possibly.
But what about those matchlocks and wheellocks? I think it would also be cool to own one each of those. Are there even manufacturers of those? While flintlock and percussion guns can still be bought pretty easily, I haven't really seen the others really available. I love the history of firearms.

 

[hawg]

The Rifle Shoppe sells match locks and wheel lock parts sets but they're pricey.

 

[Tony50ae]

The Rifle Shoppe sells match locks and wheel lock parts sets but they're pricey.

I did visit that website. I didn't see any complere rifles. I would imagine prices would be high.

 

[Jim Watson]

Google, man, Google
https://veteranarms.com/shop/muskets/​Fishtail-Matchlock-Musket-p203620668

 

[Tony50ae]

Google, man, Google
https://veteranarms.com/shop/muskets/Fishtail-Matchlock-Musket-p203620668

My Google Fu was apparently weak lol.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

You might find an India made matchlock but not a wheel lock. The Rifle Shoppe is the only one I know of selling anything wheel lock related and they are proud of them. I don't recall if they sell a completed lock or just have the parts set. I could get into a wheel lock myself but can't justify the cost especially after buying and building a Ferguson, was 1800 clams for that set.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Miroku made a repro Japanese matchlock. You might be able to find one secondhand, if you're patient. Hege made a match-grade matchlock rifle, but it's a heavy beast - about 12 lbs. Accurate, though. Wheel lock guns? There's one guy in Poland making them, but he's having really serious issues getting them across the Atlantic. He'll sell you a lock, though...and the lock is the really hard part of those guns.

 

[paul harm]

15 or 20 years back I made a Matchlock. I did a Goggle search for matchlock and found some drawings of the locks and made one. The trigger assembly is more of a action as you squeeze it the hammer holding the burning rope comes down into the pan. On mine, the trigger itself on the outside of the stock is quite long and curling a little. A friend had a matchlock he made so I copied his stock. They were mostly a military weapon, so it's just a squared off affair, nothing like a Kentucky rifle. I also added a butt plate that was hinged and I kept more rope/match in it. Mine was a 72 cal seeing how I had a extra 12ga smoothbore barrel laying around. I got a deer one year after trying for two years. There use to be a group from I believe Wisconsin, that meet every year in the summer, a rendezvous. They may still do it. I sold mine to a good friend who's younger than me hoping he'll also hunt with it. I use to shoot " Tradegun " matches on different weekends. That's a flint lock smoothbore with no rear sight, PRB for steel targets and birdshot for clay birds thrown in the air. After making my Match lock I'd use it in place of my flinter. My proudest time was when I hit two out of four clay birds. The guys shooting with me couldn't believe it. You had to use a maintain lead style of shooting because the matchlock didn't always go off right away.

 

[AlexanderA]

https://www.gggodwin.com/Matchlock-Musquette-MM1_p_678.html

https://www.gggodwin.com/Matchlock-Shooting-Stick-MSS1_p_679.html

 

[Jim Watson]

A search turns up a few wheelocks, but at places I never heard of.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I've seen video of matchlocks with very fast ignition time. I still want one, but I'd like something more graceful and light weight than the traditional ones. Something along the classic lines, but again more rounded, more "graceful" and simple. Not "too" modern, like putting a matchlock on a Brown Bess stock and barrel, more like some kind of "hybrid". Yes I would hunt with it for sure.

 

[paul harm]

You do realize the wick is always getting shorter in so that it may not work after a while because it doesn't hit the powder in the pan? Then you have to loosen the hammer clamp to readjust the wick. And it's a good idea to shake any ash off and blow on it just before you take a shot so it's glowing real nice and hot. And it's a little hard to adjust the wick right with powder in the pan. You either have to blow the powder out or do it with the frizzen covering the powder. That's the big reason I hunted deer out of a pop up blind. I would have the wick adjusted but not lit. Had my handy Bic lighter in hand. Matter of fact, I had to blow powder out of the pan, readjust the wick, put powder back in the pan, blow on the wick, and finally shoot the deer. I never could have done all that sitting out in the open. And if you make up your own wicks, make sure you use hemp rope. With regular rope big enough pieces of rope can drop off burning when you're messing around with it and set off your charge. Hemp won't do that. Nick, the friends who's gun I copied, ask me at a match if I was using hemp rope. Sure I said. Well the next time I loaded up and still had the ramrod down the barrel, I was messing around adjusting the wick and a piece dropped off and there she blows. Man did that thing jump in my hands from recoil. 5/8" ramrods are heavy along with the RB. I then contacted Track of the Wolf for hemp rope. You'll also need some fertilizer and I think ammonia to soak the rope in. Not sure what it all takes any more, you'll have to look it up on the internet. After it soaks good, take it out and lay it flat on some newspapers to dry. If you hang it up to dry, the mixture will go to the lower end and then some of your wick will burn fast, and some slow. Anyways, it's fun if you like messing around with that sort of thing. A real learning experience. Good luck.

 

[paul harm]

Alex, I just clicked on the web site you provided and from what I can see that's Matchlock looks just like the one I made. My barrel was almost flush with the stock, but other than that they're the same. I guess the 1K I got for mine was spot on. Mine had some experience with it, wick, RBs, and mold.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

You do realize the wick is always getting shorter in so that it may not work after a while because it doesn't hit the powder in the pan?

And therein lies the fun and challenge! Yes, that actually appeals to me.

 

[Mike OTDP]

Pro tip: Having a tightly fitted pan cover is essential. You load the gun, prime it, then close the pan cover and blow off any powder. Then take the lit end of the match out of its safety container (most of us use an old soft drink can with a slot or two in the side), knock off any ash from the end, and fit it to the serpentine. Then open the pan cover, aim, and fire.

If you have a failure to ignite the priming powder, exercise extreme care. Lift the serpentine just enough to get the pan cover shut, close the pan cover, and remove the match. Then take a breath and start the cycle over. The odds of accidental discharge are about 50%, in my experience, so control of the firearm is essential.

 

[AlexanderA]

You do realize the wick is always getting shorter in so that it may not work after a while because it doesn't hit the powder in the pan? Then you have to loosen the hammer clamp to readjust the wick.

The musketeers back in the 17th century would take a 5-6 foot length of slow match and light both ends. Then they would hold the lighted ends between the fingers of the off hand. The match would be clamped in the match holder basically for each shot. If both ends of the match went out, they were in big trouble! Powder was carried in little wooden pre-measured canisters, one for each shot. Typically, about a dozen of these would be suspended by strings from a shoulder belt; hence, this was known as a "Twelve Apostles' Belt."

The armies were organized with groups of musketeers interspersed with blocks of pikemen. The pikemen were there to protect the musketeers, and vice versa. The pikemen were armored, but the musketeers were not (except maybe for a helmet).

What eventually broke the back of the "pike and shot" armies was Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus' innovative use of mobile artillery. Blocks of pikemen could be decimated by artillery fairly easily, and then the unprotected musketeers could be scattered by cavalry charges.

 

[paul harm]

Mike is giving a procedure for " line matches" , For " woods walk " shoots I'd just hang the wick in a near by tree branch and sometimes just leave it in the gun. If it was left in the gun I'd remove it when priming the pan and I was careful enough not to pour powder on the wick. I had a friend with a wood lathe make up 20 little containers [ forget the proper name now ] and hung them from my shooting bag shoulder strap. The wick won't go off from shooting it if it's adjusted properly. It should stop just shy of touching the powder, not go down in it. It's the heat from the wick that sets off the prime. The only accidental discharge in 10 years of shooting mine was in the beginning I used regular rope and a piece dropped off. Once I went to hemp rope I never had a accidental discharge.
Yes, when being in the military both ends were lit because your life depended on a lite wick, but us pork eaters don't have that problem and just light one end. Saves on wick usage.