IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH ACTIONS' OF SMALL ARMS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hugh Adams Silver, of Sun Court, Cornhill, in the City
of London, Merchant and Manufacturer, and Walter Fletcher, of the same
place, Gunsmith, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED
WITH ACTIONS' OF SMALL ARMS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hugh Adams Silver and
Walter Fletcher at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the
7th November 1881.
HUGH ADAMS SILVER, of Sun Court, Cornhill, in the City of London, Merchant
and Manufacturer, and WALTER FLETCHER, of the same place, Gunsmith.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH ACTIONS' OF SMALL ARMS."
This Invention relates to certain detail construction and arrangements of
appliances in and connected with the "actions" of small arms, to enable the
bainmer or hainmers, strikers, triggers, and safety bolts, and in some cases the
barrel or barrels also, to be locked and released.
According to the first part of our Invention we make the main spring that it
may be fitted on the lock or trigger plate to act upon the front of the hammer, to
cock it on the breech being opened by the tilt or the forward motion of the barrel
or barrels, and be moved to the back portion of the hammer to act upon the tail or
back end for forcing it upon the nipple or upon the pin or striker when the barrel
or barrels is or are moved back again to close the breech according to the arm the
action so arranged may be furnished.
The movable main spring may be drawn to and fro by a pin or stud working in
a slot formed in the catch or lock piece under the barrel or barrels, or by an
intermediate limb, and be guided by a roller to reduce friction.
According to the second part of our Invention we fit a sliding bolt in the action
just above the trigger or triggers, that it may be forced back clear of them on a
plate being pushed in in gripping the arm, and be returned by a spiral or other
spring on the pressure being removed.
The bolt has a lip piece to bear upon the tops of the triggers, and its front end

page_text: for a double barrelled arm is forked to engage in the hammers, and in the action
when at full cock as a second safe guard against an accidental discharge.
The plate may project through from the underside, or at the top or from the side
or sides. A leg of the plate has an inclined plane working in the sliding hole to
draw back the bolt upon pressure of the plate.
According to the third part of our Invention we fit a pair of levers under and
to the breech strap or to the trigger plate. Each of the levers has a projection at
right angles to engage across the path of the nose of each, or into recesses or holes
in the side of the hammer or hammers, to prevent either of them falling upon the
pin or the striker, except when they are moved away by a depression of a plate
caused by gripping the arm. This plate is hinged to a projection of the strap or
the guard, and has a bent up end, the top of which is fitted loosely in an aperture
of a pull back strip, whose forward end has two inclined surfaces which act upon
the tail ends of the two above mentioned levers when drawn back to throw the
tail ends apart and the opposite ends together, or nearly so, a spring being fitted
between them for producing the reverse action when the pressure is removed. In
the backward movement a leg resting on the triggers is removed to free the
triggers for firing. Or instead of a bent up end we use two inclined planes at the
rear end of the levers to open or close the levers clear of the hammers, tumblers,
or strikers; the rear end is so formed to rest over the triggers, and the closing or
opening the levers frees the triggers also.
According to the next part of our Invention we pin a leg of a depression plate
to the strap or to the guard, and to the front end we pin another plate also pinned
to the strap, so that it may rock upon the same. The front end of this second
plate is provided-with-a-claw-for-the-top ends of the strikers.or hammers to engage
in to hold them in safety. The leg of the depression plate has an arm depending
from it to rest upon the tops of the triggers to hold then secure. This leg may bo
fixed or moveable.
The several details above mentioned under the first head are applicable by slight
modifications to all movable barrelled breech loading small arms, cither singly or
combined.
The second, third, and fourth parts are specially applicable to hammerless
guns, the object being to make such gun "actions" perfectly safe under all
conditions of ordinary uses.
Respecting locking and releasing barrel or barrels, we make the steel lump on
the barrel or barrels deeper than usual to obtain a longer slot in same, for the
purpose of working our movable main spring or otherwise, and into the additional
depth of metal we introduce a second rear bolt for further securing the barrels
when the discharge takes place. We work this bolt sometimes from the action to
the lump, and sometimes from the lump into a recess in the action made to receive
it. This bolt works by means of the spring already provided for the top bolt, or
by a spring arranged for this second rear bolt.
To hold the arm at full cock, such as is necessary for rapid firing and for pigeon
guns, we fit a slide in front or the rear of the depression plate to fix it.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Hugh Adams Silver and Walter Fletcher in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 6th May 1882.
HUGH ADAMS SILVER, of Sun Court, Cornhill, in the City of London, Merchant
and Manufacturer, and WALTER FLETCHER, of the same place, Gunsmith.
IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH ACTIONS' OF SMALL ARMS."
"
This Invention relates to certain detail construction and arrangements of
appliances in and connected with the "actions" of small arms to enable the
hammer or hammers or strikers to be cocked, and the hammer or hammers,
strikers, triggers, and safety bolts, and in some cases the barrel or barrels also, to
be locked and released.
According to the first part of our Invention, which is clearly represented in the
annexed Drawings, we make the main spring A, Figures 1 and 2, that it may be
fitted loosely in the lock or on the trigger plate B, to act upon the front of the
hammer C, to cock it on the breech being opened by the tilt or the forward motion
of the barrel or barrels D, or by a movement of the locking bolt, and be moved to
the back portion of the hammer C by a sliding motion to act upon the tail or back
end, for forcing it upon the nipple or upon the pin or striker E, when the barrel or
barrels or locking bolts is or are moved back again to close the breech The
moveable main spring A may be drawn to and fro by a pin or stud F working in
a slot G formed in the catch or lock piece H under the barrel or barrels, or by an
intermediate limb, and be guided by a roller I to reduce friction.
We make the steel lump H¹ on the barrel or barrels deeper than usual to obtain
a longer slot in same, for the purpose of working our moveable main spring or
otherwise, and into the additional depth of metal we form an extra notchi I', into
which we introduce a second rear bolt for further securing or locking the barrels
in a closed condition. We work this bolt sometimes from the action to the "lump,"
and sometimes from the "lump into a recess in the action made to receive it.
This bolt works by means of the spring already provided for it, or by a spring
arranged for this second rear bolt.
"
According to the second part of our Invention, which is illustrated at Figure 3,
we fit a sliding bolt J in the "action" just above the trigger or triggers K, that it,
i.c., the bolt, may be forced back clear of them on the plate L being pushed in in
gripping the small portion of the stock, and be returned by a spiral or other
spring M on the pressure being removed. The bolt J has a lip piece N to bear
upon the tops of the triggers K, and its front end for a double barrelled arm is
forked, as shown at Figure 4, to engage in a recess P in each of the hammers C,
and in the action when at full cock, as a second safe guard against an accidental
discharge.
The plate L may project through from the underside, Figure 3, or at the top, as
at Figure 5, or from the side or sides.
A leg of the plate L has an inclined plane working in the sliding bolt J to
push back the bolt upon pressure being put upon the plate L.
By the modification shown at Figures 6 and 7 we suspend the plate L by the
leg R and pin a, on which it can rise on pressure being applied to the plate L,
which rising action causes the inclined faces shown by dotted lines to rub against
each other, and the bolt J to be pushed backwards, the spring M, Figures 3 and 5,
returning the sliding bolt J and causing the plate L to fall on pressure from the
plate being removed.

page_text: object being to make such gun "actions" perfectly safe under all conditions of
ordinary uses.
To hold the arm at full cock, such as is necessary for rapid firing and for
pigeon guns, we fit a slide h in front or in rear of the depression plate L to fix it
when down.
The bolt used in the second part of our Invention may, in addition to fastening
triggers and hammers, also secure the sears by resting over them as over the
triggers.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, we declare that we claim,-
A moveable main spring capable of being shifted by the opening of the breech
to cock the hammer and reshifted to its first position for firing purposes by the
closing of the breech, substantially as described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.
Secondly. The sliding bolt J and plate Lacted upon in one direction by pressure
to release the hammer, sear, or trigger, and the spring M to lock the haminer and
sear or trigger to hold the arm at safety, as described with reference to Figures 3
to 14 inclusive of the annexed Drawings.
Thirdly. The various arrangements of appliances shown in the annexed Drawings
in which the hammers, sears, or triggers of arms are held or fixed at safety
automatically, and released only on pressure being applied to the plate L or its
equivalent, as set forth.
Fourthly. The projection b on the hammer of a gun for the nose piece of a
moveable lever to ride over and lock the hammer in an absolute safety condition
whether the triggers be acted upon accidentally or not.
In witness whereof, we, the said Hugh Adams Silver and Walter Fletcher,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifth day of May in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
HUGH A. SILVER.
(L.S.)
WALTER FLETCHER (L.S.)