CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1849

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
HENRY NEEDHAM, of Vine Street, Piccadilly, in the City of Westminster,
Gun Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS 1er present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster,
the Twentieth day of January, One thousand eight hundred and forty-
nine; in the twelfth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Needham, my exors,
admors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that I, the said Henry Needham, my exors, adñiors, and assigns,
and such others as I, the said Henry Needham, my exors, adñiors, 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, excrcise, and vend, within England, Wales
and the Town of. Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of " CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS," in which said Letters Patent is contained

page_text: •
a proviso that I, the said Henry Needham, should cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the sanic, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW "KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Henry Needham, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, are
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following description
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that
is to say:
My improvements in fire-arms consist, firstly, of certain additions to
the stock and lock of muskets, rifles, and fowling pieces, whereby every
time the fire-arm is loaded and the hammer pulled back to full cock,
preparatory to firing, a percussion cap is taken from a reserve or mag-
azine formed in the stock, and placed upon the nipple of the lock, and
the necessity of performing tha toperation by hand is thus avoided.-
Figure 1, is a part side elevation of a double barrelled fowling piece,
fitted with these additions; and Figure 2, is a plan of the same. A, is the
stock. B, B, are the barrels. C, is the plate of the lock. D, the hammer
or cock. E, is a cap charger which is affixed to the plate of the lock;
and nioves backwards and forwards within a recess e, made for it in the
plate. On the inside of the cock there is a small projecting pin a, which
takes into a cleft b, in the lower end of the charger E, but has no action
upon, it till the hammer is drawn back from half cock to full cock, when
the action of the pin causes the charger to move forward to the position
in which it is represented in the Drawing, Figure 1, namely, immediately
over the nipple. F, F, are channels in the stock (one to each barrel)
which form the reserves or magazines for the percussion caps. (Only one
of these channels is seen in Figure 1.) These channels may be either
cut out of the wood or formed by inserting small metal pipes into the
wood, and in either case they should be a very little larger than the
diameter of the percussion caps, so that while the caps have perfect

page_text: freedom to pass along the channels they shall not be able to turn in it
end over end.
..
Figure 3, is à plan of that part of the stock where the channels F, F,
terminate towards the muzzle of the piece. G, G, are rectangular
openings by which the caps are introduced into the channels F, F; and
c, c, smiall guide pins which project obliquely into these openings, and
render it impossible to put the caps in any other than the proper way
into the channels. The number of caps contained in these channels
or reserves will vary with the length of the stock, but guns with the
ordinary length of stock will contain more than is sufficient for a single
day's shooting. I, II, are spring covers to the openings G, G.
When the charge is being inserted into the piece the position in
which it is held causes the caps in the channels to gravitate towards the
lock, and as the channel terminates at the upper edge of the plate of
the lock, just before the mouth of the cap charger, the last or lowest
of the series of caps drops into the charger. The hammer is supposed
to be down upon the nipple at this instant, but the charge having been
put into the barrel, the hammer is then brought to half cock; in which
position it retains the cap in the place in the charger into which it had
dropped. When the piece is to be fired off the drawing up of the
hamier causes the charger to move forward, and put a cap upon the
nipple, yet without pressing it down so far as to cause an explosion to
take place. On drawing the trigger the cap charger instantly recedes
back into its place under the hammer ready to take up and supply
another cap, when the piece is again charged.
From the description which has been thus given it will be obvious
that the charger, instead of being placed outside of the plate of the lock,
might be placed inside, but this is an arrangement which I do not
recommend, as it would cause openings to be left in the interior of the
lock, through which it might very soon become foul. The charger,
instead also of being put in motion from the hammer, might be directly
connected with the tumbler, or might be acted upon by the ramrod of
the gun, so that when the ramrod was inserted into its place it should
cause the charger to bring a cap over upon the nipple. I mention these
plans to shew how the charger may be acted upon, so as to perform the

page_text: office it is intend to fulfil, but I consider them less efficient than the
method first herein-before described.
The lever C is
Secondly, my Invention has for its object the.rendering of fire-arms
more safe while being handled, and consists of a safety lock, the parts
peculiar, to which are represented in red lines in Figure 1. A', is a
lever which is joined by a hinge joint to the butt of the stock at B32, and
towards the lock is sunk in a recess in the stock. The free end of the
lever A', rebuts against a pin g, projecting from another short lever C
which has its axis fixed upon the plate of the lock.
kept pressing up against the tumbler T by means of a
by taking into the first vent fof the tumbler, prevents the hammer froin
coming down upon the percussion cap. In grasping the piece by the
hand to fire it off the hand necessarily presses upon the lever A¹, and
allows the hammer to come freely down upon the nipple. Consequently
the gun or piece cannot be fired unless both the lever A', and the
trigger are acted upon, and this done at one and the same time.
spring D², and,
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that the in-
provements which I claim as constituting my said Invention are as
follows:-
First, I claim the combination of the hammer with a percussion cap
charger in the manner before described, whereby every time the hammer
is drawn back to full cock the charger moves forwards and puts a
percussion cap upon the nipple.
Second, I claim the forming of channels in the fore part of the stock
for holding percussion caps having rectangular openings and guide pins,
as before lescribed.
And third, I claim the safety lock before described, in so far as
regards the parts indicated in red lines in the Drawing thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Needham, have hereunto set
my band and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.
HENRY (L.s.) NEEDHAM.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twentieth day of July,
in the year of our Lord 1849, the aforesaid Henry Needham came
before our said Lady the Queen, in Her Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
aud specified, in form above written. And also the Specification afore-
said was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that
Durpose.
Enrolled the Twentieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-nine.