While not the oldest muzzleloader I've been able to see, this may certainly be one of the rarest. With my father and grandfather's history in building muzzleloaders, I've always had a keen interest in muzzleloading prototype and and special one off builds.

When I saw this prototype No. 1 George Schalk muzzle loader in the Rock Island Auction Company catalog, I knew I had to see it.

The neatest part of this muzzleloader is the fact that the bayonet is mounted to the underside of the barrel. Why is that interesting? Because it forces the bayonet to be mounted to the side of the stock, instead of under it.

Watch the full video to learn more.

Rock Island has this to say about this muzzleloader:

This exceptionally rare prototype George Schalk rifle-musket along with its bayonet is pictured and identified in George D. Moller's "American Military Shoulder Arms, Vol. III" on pages 570-574. Per Moller, this rifle-musket is only one of two prototypes fabricated by George Schalk, a German immigrant who settled in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in 1854 where is made fine sporting rifles along with high quality violins. Schalk made the two prototypes for Rufus A. Wilder in the summer of 1861. Both prototypes have survived and are numbered 1 and 2. This example is no. 1, and, like no. 2, is incomplete.