William G. Shreckengost (1818-1894) of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, was active from the late 1830s until the 1880s. He is definitely one of those Pennsylvania gunmakers that had his own style. The family's gunmaking tradition dates at least to his grandfather, a veteran of the American Revolution. The engraving around the bone blade front sight, around the "W Shreckengost" signature behind the notch rear sight (he often put his customer's name instead), and on the patent breech section matches the style seen on other known Shreckengost rifles as does the general design and the fancy side plate. One less common attribute is the lack of one of Shreckengost's distinctive patch boxes. The rifle has a solid rib with three ramrod ferrules, a two piece forend cap (likely a later replacement for a pewter cap), double set triggers, unmarked lock, and an attractively flame figured maple stock with checkered wrist, small cheekpiece, and a distinctive slender butt. The long, engraved upper tang helps stabilize the slender wrist.

Fair. The iron has dark reddish-brown patina throughout, mostly mild oxidation and pitting, and some marks. There is what appears to be a 1 1/2 crack 13 1/2 inches back from the muzzle. The brass has aged patina throughout. There is a crack in the front of the trigger guard. The stock is fair with several cracks, breaks in the wrist stabilized by distinctive brass plates and screws as well as a few pins, some chips out of the forearm, a break in the toe, mostly smoothed checkering, and some scattered dings and scratches. The lock functions fine if the triggers are set first as is the case on many rifles equipped with double set triggers from the period.