Original Early 19th Century Austrian Chemical Lock Wheellock Rifle by Jos. Reisinges of Wels — Heavy .56 Cal Octagonal Barrel, Bone-Inlaid Stock & Set Trigger

Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is an exceptionally beautiful and mechanically intriguing German longarm, barrel-engraved “Jos. Reisinges in Wels” Joseph (Ios./Ioseph) Reisinger of Wels — a highest-quality early 19th-century target/Schützen-style rifle with exceptional decorative and mechanical attributes. The rifle features a heavy octagonal barrel measuring 32.5" with an approximate .56 bore and pronounced eight-groove rifling, expertly cut for accuracy. The barrel bears the maker’s engraving and terminates in rich ornamental work; mounted on the top is a unique peep sight clearly intended for precision target shooting, suggesting this piece was used as a fine parlor or Schützen-style target rifle rather than as a field hunting arm.

At the beginning of the 19th century European gunmakers tried to manufacture priming systems based on mercury fulminate or similar chemical primary explosives. Apart from the well-known guns manufactured in England with the Forsythe system that ultimately spread all over the world, there were numerous gunmakers particularly in Austria that used similar but non identical chemical priming systems. Among them also Joseph Reisinger of Wels, who in about 1810 made this rifle with chemical lock whelllock system (presumably using mercury fulminate). 

The stock is superb, made from finely figured walnut and fitted with intricate bone inlays and an integrated patch box, showing the level of cabinetmaking reserved for the finest sporting arms of the period. The lock appears to be a chemical-lock (possible early wheellock/chemical hybrid) with a set (adjustable) trigger — a rare and interesting ignition arrangement that places this rifle among the experimental and deluxe systems developed in Central Europe in the early 1800s. The furniture and fittings are of the highest quality workmanship and the overall aesthetic — from the bone work to the deeply cut rifling and peep sight — points to a gun intended for serious target work and for an owner of refined taste.

Lock appears to be functional but the firing system is intricate and the wheel needs to be wound for tension and movement, as it lays we could not get it to fully operate but that could be from operator error vs mechanical issue. 

Measured and described: Barrel: 32.5" heavy octagonal, approx. .56 bore with 8-groove rifling; Action: chemical-lock / possible wheellock hybrid with set trigger (non-fired, display condition recommended); Stock: full walnut, bone inlays, patch box; Sights: precision peep sight for target shooting; Overall length 44 inches.

Offered in very good condition original finish and ornament preserved, mechanical parts present and intact, with no modern alterations noted. Comparable pieces with the Reisinger/Reisinges signature and rare ignition systems have appeared in specialist European auctions and have realized prices in excess of €15,000, underscoring both rarity and desirability among collectors.

This rifle is offered by International Military Antiques (IMA-USA) as an antique collector’s item. It is not sold as a firing piece, and any functional testing or restoration should only be performed by a qualified gunsmith.

Specifications -
Year of Manufacture: 1800-1820
Caliber: .56"
Cartridge Type: Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 32.5 Inches
Overall Length: 44 Inches
Action type: Chemical/Wheellock
Feed System: Muzzle Loading 

A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name is from its rotating steel wheel to provide ignition. Developed in Europe around 1500, it was used alongside the matchlock and was later superseded by the snaplock (1540s), the snaphance (1560s) and the flintlock (c. 1610s).

The wheellock works by spinning a spring-loaded steel wheel against a piece of pyrite to generate intense sparks, which ignite gunpowder in a pan, which flashes through a small touchhole to ignite the main charge in the firearm's barrel. The pyrite is clamped in vise jaws on a spring-loaded arm (or 'dog'), which rests on the pan cover. When the trigger is pulled, the pan cover is opened, and the wheel is rotated, with the pyrite pressed into contact.

A close modern analogy of the wheellock mechanism is the operation of a lighter, where a toothed steel wheel is spun in contact with a piece of sparking material to ignite the liquid or gaseous fuel.

A wheellock firearm had the advantage that it can be instantly readied and fired even with one hand, in contrast to the then-common matchlock firearms, which must have a burning cord of slow match ready if the gun might be needed and demanded the operator's full attention and two hands to operate. On the other hand, wheellock mechanisms were complex to make, making them relatively costly.

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