AN IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1826

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM MILLS, of Hazelhouse, in the Parish of Bisley, in the County
of Gloucester, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the
Fourth, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,
bearing date at Westminster, the Eighteenth day of October, One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-six, in the seventh year of His
reign, did, for Himself, Elis heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Mills, His especial licence that I, the said William
Mills, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Mills, my exors, adiiors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term
of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, and also in all His said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, my Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE-ARMS;" in which
said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said William
Mills, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particu-
larly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to
be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calen-
dar months next and immediately after the date of the said in part
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
the said William Mills, do declare that the nature of
my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are par
ticularly described in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the
following description thereof (that is to say):
The said improvement consists in a certain device to be affixed to the
stock of the gun to improve the art of shooting, which devise may not
improperly be called a supporter or rest for the arm, which in the act
of shooting keeps the gun firm and steady, and prevents it not only
from recoiling against the shoulder, but also from that shock which is
usual in drawing the trigger. The said supporter or rest may be made
of any kind of metal, wood, horn, bone, ivory, or any other sufficiently
strong materials, or one part may be composed of one materiál, and
another part thereof of another material. Fig. 1, represents the arm
supporter or rest detached from the gun; A, the shank of the arm sup-
porter or rest, by which it is fixed into the stock of the gun; B, the
hollow into which the arm is received. Fig. 2, represents the stock of
a gun prepared for the reception of the arm supporter or rest; C, the
hole into which the shank of the supporter or rest is received; D,
the regulating screw by which the supporter or rest is secured, and
the length regulated to suit the arm of the user. Fig. 3, represents a
gun with the arm supporter or rest attached thereto. Fig. 4, is the
arm supporter or rest, made in a different manner. A, is the hollow
into which the arm is received, which may be shifted higher
or lower
by means of screws at b, b; C, the bottom, where it is to be fastened to
the stock near the butt. Fig. 5, is a rest or supporter, which is to be
screwed into an iron bracket, which is previously to be fixed to the
stock on the right hand side near the butt. When the rest or supporter
is screwed into the bracket the round part at the bottom goes into the
stock. (a) is the hollow for the arm; b. is the pillar of stem; c, a set

page_text: nut, which, when screwed tight down against the bracket, keeps the
supporter or rest firm when set to its proper length; d, is the bracket
into which the supporter or rest is screwed. Fig. 6, is a stock with the
bracket affixed. A, is the bracket; b, is a hold, into which the bottom
part of the stem or pillar goes when the rest is screwed into the bracket.
The supporter or rest may be made in a variety of shapes, and at-
tached to the stock in various ways, or it may be made a fixture, without
departing from the principle of the said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Mills, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fourteenth day of April,
in the year of our Lord 1827, the aforesaid William Mills came before
our said Lord the King, in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Speci-
fication aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified,
a form above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped
according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Eighteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven.