There are no makers markings on this late 17th Century German wheelock, except for the script initials J.C.W. on the upper left side of lock (and a number on the butt). The barrel features a dove tailed blade front and two folding leaf rear sights. The lock is engraved with a hunting scene of a man with a rifle standing among trees watching a dog chasing a deer with hills and a castle in the background. The wheel has floral border around the outer edge and trees and buildings in the center. The hammer and spring plate are decorated with floral designs. The trigger guard has three finger loops at the rear with the bow, finial and tang engraved. The full stock is elaborately decorated with scrimshawed inlaid ivory. The figures include grotesque faces, warriors heads, running deer, grotesque angels, a sea monster, a forest scene with two deer, a bird, floral, star and circle patterns. The ramrod pipes are scrimshawed with floral designs and the patch box lid has two dogs attacking a deer with floral designs to the front and rear. The ivory buttplate has a simple border and is marked "No 25". The jaw and bolt are missing from the hammer and about half of the forend cap is missing as well. The rifle is equipped with double set triggers.

Good. The swamped muzzle has a silver gray patina with some scattered minor pitting and spotting. The remaining metal surfaces have a smooth gray patina. The engraving is crisp and clear. The stock is about good with an old repaired crack on the left side near the breech, a crack and break on the left front where a piece of the bone is missing, a chip on the heel, crack and filled repair on the right front, and scattered minor dings, dents and scratches. The stock is solid. One of the wedge pins is missing. The bone, except mentioned above, remains intact and much of it has an aged patina, some darker than others. The action needs work.