IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Middleditch Scott, of the Firm of W. and C.
Scott and Son, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manu-
facturers, and Thomas Baker, of Aston, near Birmingham aforesaid, Gun
Action Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING
SMALL-ARMS"
Sealed the 19th July 1878, and dated the 23rd February 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Middleditch Scott
and Thomas Baker at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 23rd
February 1878.
WILLIAM MIDDLEDITCH SCOTT, of the Firm of W. and C. Scott and Son, of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturers, and THOMAS BAKER,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN
of Aston, near Birmingham aforesaid, Gun Action Maker.
BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS."
Our Invention relates to breech-loading small-arms of the kind commonly called
drop-down guns, and consists of the mechanism herein-after described, by the action
of which the cocking of the gun is effected by the act of lifting the breech ends of
the barrels and opening the breech for charging the gun.
In double barrel guns the cocking mechanism constituting our Invention is
employed in duplicate, the cocking of the hammer of each barrel being effected by
independent mechanism.
We will describe our Invention in connection with mechanism for cocking the
hammer of one of the barrels.
In the body of the gun is a recess extending from the joint on which the barrels
turn to the break-off. In this recess a rod slides, a strong coiled spring around the
said rod urging it towards the break-off. The front end of the said rod, or that
end near the joint of the gun, is provided with a lug on its upper side. The said
On the under side of the
lug extends upwards to the under side of the barrel.
barrel a pin or projection is fixed, which bears against the inner side of the lug,
that is, the side turned towards the break-off. When the breech ends of the barrels

page_text: are raised for opening the breech the pin or projection described on the barrel
performs a curvilinear motion around the joint, and pushes before it the lug on the
sliding rod. The said rod is thereby made to slide from the break-off towards the
joint of the gun, and its coiled spring is compressed.
By means of a connecting link the lower short arm of the hammer is connected
to the rear end of the said rod, and by the motion of the said rod in the direction
described the hammer is raised and thrown back into its cocked position, in which
position it is retained by the sear of the trigger engaging, with the bent of the said
hammer in the usual way, so that on shutting down the barrels the hammer is left
in its cocked position. When, by pressure on the trigger, the sear is released from
the bent the action of the compressed coiled spring urges the sliding rod towards
the break-off, thereby causing the hammer to fall upon the striker and discharge
the gun.
In the arrangement described the ordinary mainspring is dispensed with, the
coiled spring described effecting the discharge of the gun. We do not however
limit ourselves to this arrangement as an ordinary mainspring may be employed,
in which case the coiled spring described may be dispensed with, or both the
ordinary mainspring and a weak coiled spring may be employed; or the hammer
actuated by an ordinary mainspring may not be directly connected with the sliding
rod described, the said rod being jointed to a nearly vertical lever in front of the
hammer, an antifriction roller on the top of the said lever bearing against the
breast or front of the hammer.
On the lifting of the breech ends of the barrels the sliding rod causes the said
lever to push back the hammer into its cocked position; or the lever last described
may be made to operate upon a striker having a sliding motion instead of upon a
hammer; but we do not confine ourselves to any particular kind of lock mechanism,
the essence of our Invention consisting in making a pin or projection on the under
side of the barrel give the motion described to a sliding rod on the raising of the
breech ends of the barrels, by which motion of the sliding rod the cocking of the
gun is effected.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Middleditch Scott and Thomas Baker in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th August 1878.
WILLIAM MIDDLEDITCH SCOTT, of the Firm of W. and C. Scott and Son, of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturers, and THOMAS BAKER,
of Aston, near Birmingham aforesaid, Gun Action Maker. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS."
Our Invention relates to breech-loading small-arms of the kind commonly called
drop-down guns, and consists of the mechanism herein-after described, by the action
of which the cocking of the gun is effected by the act of lifting the breech ends of
the barrels and opening the breech for charging the gun.
In double barrel guns the cocking mechanism constituting our Invention is
employed in duplicate, the cocking of the hammer of each barrel being effected by
independent mechanism.
We will describe our Invention in connection with mechanism for cocking the
hammer of one of the barrels.
In the body of the gun is a recess extending from the joint on which the barrels
turn to the break-off. In this recess a rod slides, a strong coiled spring around the
said rod urging it towards the break-off. The front end of the said rod, or that
end near the joint of the gun, is provided with a lug on its upper side. The said
lug extends upwards to the under side of the barrel. On the under side of the
barrel a pin or projection is fixed, which bears against the inner side of the lug,
that is, the side turned towards the break-off. When the breech ends of the barrels
are raised for opening the breech the pin or projection described on the barrel
performs a curvilinear motion about the joint, and pushes before it the lug on the
sliding rod. The said rod is thereby made to slide from the break-off towards the
joint of the gun, and its coiled spring is compressed.
By means of a connecting link the lower short arm of the hammer is connected
to the rear end of the said rod, and by the motion of the said rod in the direction
described the hammer is raised and thrown back into its cocked position, in which
position it is retained by the sear of the trigger engaging with the bent of the said
hammer in the usual way, so that on shutting down the barrels the hammer is left
in its cocked position. When, by pressure on the trigger, the sear is released from
the bent, the action of the compressed coiled spring urges the sliding rod towards
the break-off, thereby causing the hammer to fall upon the striker and discharge
the gun.
In the arrangement described the ordinary mainspring is dispensed with, the
coiled spring described effecting the discharge of the gun. We do not however
limit ourselves to this arrangement, as an ordinary mainspring may be employed,
in which case the coiled spring described may be dispensed with; or the ordinary
mainspring and a weak coiled spring may be employed; or the hammer actuated
by an ordinary mainspring may not be directly connected with the sliding rod
described, the said rod being jointed to a nearly vertical lever in front of the
bammer, an antifriction roller on the top of the said lever bearing against the
breast or front of the haminer.
On the lifting of the breech ends of the barrels the sliding rod causes the said
lever to push back the hammer into its cocked position; or the lever last described
may be made to operate upon a striker having a sliding motion instead of upon a
hammer; but we do not confine ourselves to any particular kind of lock mechanism,
the essence of our Invention consisting in making a pin or projection on the under
side of the barrel give the motion described to a sliding rod on the raising of the .
breech ends of the barrels, by which motion of the sliding rod the cocking of the
gun is effected.
We will now describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner
n which our Invention may be performed.

page_text: Figures 1 and 2 represent longitudinal sections of the breech ends of a double
barrel drop-down gun containing cocking mechanism constructed according to our
Invention, Figure 1 representing the hammers cocked and the gun ready for dis-
charge; and Figure 2 the same after the gun has been discharged; Figure 3 is an
end elevation (partly in section) of the same; Figure 4 is a plan of the under side
of the breech ends of the barrels; and Figure 5 represents one of the cocks or
hammers separately.
As the cocking mechanism for each of the barrels of the gun is of the same con-
struction we will only describe the mechanism situated on one side of the body for
cocking the hammer of one of the barrels.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4,
and 5.
a are the barrels turning on the joint bon the body as usual; c is a sliding rod
situated and working in a recess in the side of the body d. Around the said rod c
is a strong coiled spring e for urging the said rod when at liberty to move towards
the break-off. The said spring e takes its abutment at one end against a collar at
f on the rear end of the rod c, and at the other end against a shoulder f2 in the
body d. On the upper side of the said rod c and near its front end is. a lug g of
the form represented, the said lug extending upwards to the under side of the
barrel. On the under side of the barrel is a pin or projection h with an inclined
face for operating in the manner herein-after described upon the lug g of the
sliding rod c. i is the hammer of the gun turning on the centre and working in
bearings in the body d of the gun. The tail end of the said bammer i is connected
by the link to the rear end of the sliding rod c.. When the rear end of the
barrel a is raised for opening the breech end after the discharge of the gun the pin
or projection h on the under side of the barrel performs a curvilinear motion
around the joint b, and by acting on the lug g on the sliding rod c pushes the said
lug before it, and consequently gives a sliding motion to the said rod towards the
joint end 6 of the body, and compresses the coiled spring e. As the rod c moves
in the direction described it operates through the link upon the hammer i, and
throws back the said hammer into its cocked position, in which position it is
retained by the sear p of the trigger mechanism engaging with the bent in the
said hammer, as illustrated in Figure 1. The hammer is thereby cocked by the
raising of the breech end of the barrel for loading, the said hammer on the shutting
down of the barrel being left in its cocked position for discharge.
When the trigger is pulled to discharge the gun the sear p is released from its
bent, and by the action of the compressed coiled spring e the sliding rod c is urged
towards the break-off, thereby causing the hammer i to fall upon the striker q and
discharge the gun, as illustrated in Figure 2.
It will be understood that on the raising of the breech ends of the double barrel
gun represented the sliding rods c, c, at the sides of the body operate simultaneously
upon their respective hammers, and raise the said hammers to full-cock for dis-
charge in the manner described with respect to one only of the said hammers.
Figures 6 and 7 represent longitudinal sections of another double barrel gun
containing our cocking mechanism, Figure 6 representing the parts in the positions
which they respectively occupy after the gun has been discharged, and Figure 7
the same after the barrels have been raised from the break-off for reloading and the
hammers cocked.
Figure 8 represents a portion of the under side of the barrels; and Figure 9
represents a plan of the upper side of the body of the gun.
Figure 10 represents in elevation one of the locks of the gun detached; and
Figure 11 represents a plan of one of the sliding rods and parts connected with it.
In this arrangement the hammer i and the lock mechanism instead of being
carried by the body of the gun as before described are carried by a lock plate r
which is fixed to the side of the said body. One of these separable lock plates
carrying the lock mechanism is represented detached in Figure 10.
The sliding rod and other parts of the cocking mechanism situated in the recess

page_text: at the side of the body d are the same as corresponding parts of the cocking
mechanism of the gun represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and the same letters
of reference indicate the same parts, and the description of the action of the cocking
mechanism of the gun, Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, applies equally to that of the
cocking mechanism of the gun, Figures 6 and 7.
Figure 12 represents in longitudinal section a gun containing cocking mechanism
constructed according to our Invention, in which the hammer is actuated by an
ordinary mainspring instead of by a coiled spring around the sliding rod.
In this arrangement the hammer and lock mechanism are carried by a lock
plate ; as before described, the hammer i being actuated by the mainspring 8.
Instead of linking the tail end of the hammer to the sliding rod c as before
described, in this arrangement a nearly vertical levert is situated in front of the
hammer. The end of the upper arm of the levert carries an, antifriction roller,
which bears against the breast or front of the hammer, as represented. The lower
arm of the said lever t is jointed to the rear end of the sliding rod c. When the
sliding rod c is pushed back towards the joint end of the gun on the lifting of the
barrels for loading the said rod turns the lever t on its centre, and causes its upper
arm to act upon the hammer and raise it to full-cock. In this arrangement the
cocking mechanism is wholly detached from the hammer and lock mechanism.
Instead of a hammer, as represented in Figure 12, a striker may be substituted
therefor, and be actuated by the sliding rod c and lever t on the lifting of the
breech ends of the barrels for loading.
Figure 13 represents a modification of our Invention.
In this modification the sliding rod c instead of being moved by the lifting of
the barrels towards the joint, as before described, is moved towards the break-off
of the gun. This is effected by making the projection u on the under side of the
barrel with an acting face inclined in the direction represented, the said inclined
face of the projection u bearing against a roller on the front end of the sliding
rod c.
The back end of the sliding rod c in the arrangement, Figure 13, is linked
to the lever above the joint on which it turns, and the upper end of the said
lever bears upon the breast of the hammer i.
When the barrels a are lifted from the break-off for loading the inclined pro-
jection u on the under side of the barrels forces the sliding rod c in the direction
indicated by the arrow, and the said rod acting through the lever pushes back
and lifts the hammer i to full-cock.
Figure 14 represents the cocking arrangement, Figure 13, applied to the cocking
of a striker.
In this case the upper end of the lever vacts upon the arm won the striker x,
and forces back the said striker, the latter being retained in its withdrawn position
by a sear in the ordinary way.
The other arrangements represented may also be arranged to actuate a striker.
Instead of forcing the sliding rod c in the direction of the break-off by an
inclined projection on the under side of the barrels the same result may be obtained
by making an inclined projection on the lump on the under side of the barrels act
upon the said sliding rod when the barrels are lifted for charging. This modifi-
cation is represented in Figure 15, where the inclined projection on the lump
which acts upon the sliding rod c to cock the hammer is marked y.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our
Invention,―
The improvements in the cocking mechanism of breech-loading small-arms of the
kind called drop-down guns herein-before described, and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say, cocking mechanism in which the cocking of the
gun is effected by the act of lifting the breech ends of the barrels from the break-off
for opening the breech, consisting essentially of a sliding rod made to slide either
owards the muzzle end or breech end of the gun by the action of a projection on
he under side of the barrel, or on the lump on the under side of the barrel upon

page_text: a shoulder, or lug, or roller on the front end of the sliding rod, the said sliding rod
acting upon and cocking the hammer directly or through the intervention of a
lever, the several parts being constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as
described and illustrated.
Also the actuating or cocking of a striker instead of a hammer by the arrange-
ments of cocking mechanism represented.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Middleditch Scott, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW.
WILLIAM MIDDLEDITCH SCOTT. (L.S.)