An Improved Magazine Rifle.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Magazine Rifle.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of Birkbeck Bank Chambers, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention (which has been communicated to me from
abroad by John Hylard, of No. 20, Acland Street, St. Kilda, near Melbourne,
Victoria, Gentleman,) to be as follows:-
This invention has been devised in order to provide a magazine rifle which will
be much simpler in its construction and less liable to get out of order than those
at present in use and be more quickly loaded, whilst at the same time it is
capable of being used either as a single loader or as a magazine rifle when
desired.
A further object of the invention is to simplify the construction of the firing
mechanism and bolt action.
One of the essential features of this invention consists in the
other pre-
magazine which may be constructed to hold five, nine, or
ferred number of cartridges and which (like the Lee-Metford" maga-
zine) is arranged so as to project downwards from the breech body with
which it can be made integral, or, at any rate, be permanently attached thereto.
Instead of employing a spring within the magazine to bring the cartridges up
to the loading position I employ a lever which engages with a block adapted to
slide vertically in a slot in the side of the magazine, said block having on its
upper surface a carrier plate fitting within and extending from end to end of said
magazine. The rear end of this lever is connected to a spring whose tendency is
to always draw down said rear end and thus elevate the forward end carrying the
vertically sliding block above referred to. A small arm or lug is mounted so
as to project from a short pin or spindle fitted with a lever whereby said lug can
be partially rotated so as to engage with the rearwardly projecting end of the
cartridge raising lever. By this means the front end of said lever can be
depressed thereby lowering the carrier plate in the magazine and allowing said
magazine to be loaded by simply dropping in the required number of cartridges.
The bolt has a dust cover or shield made integral with or attached to it and
the firing pin is arranged longitudinally within the bolt so that its rear end pro-
jects into a recess in the rear portion of the bolt. When said bolt is unlocked
the rearwardly projecting end of said firing pin occupies a position at the side,
but when the bolt is locked it occupies a position underneath in line with the
hammer so that the latter can strike it.
The firing pin is provided with a small laterally projecting stud or lug adapted
On
to engage with an inclined groove in the wall of the side of the breech.
turning the bolt so as to unlock it said stud or lug engages with said inclined.
groove and the firing pin is thereby drawn back into the bolt where it remains
until the bolt is returned to its forward position against the rear end of the

page_text: barrel when by locking the bolt the firing pin is brought forward flush with the
forward end of the bolt ready to be operated upon by the hammer. The hammer
is operated by a flat, spring connected to an arm projecting rearwardly from it
and secured to the back frame of the rifle whilst the trigger is arranged in the
ordinary way so as to engage with a notch or detent on said hammer and is fitted
with a spring in the usual way whereby it is normally held in engagement with
said notch until released. The cocking is effected by the withdrawal of the bolt
a shoulder of which engages with the upper end of the hammer and thus draws
it back into position.
Locking or rebound lugs on the bolt engage with the wall of the breech when
the bolt is pushed home and turned over. Only a slight incline is necessary
with this action in order to ensure the cartridge being forced tightly into the
barrel and there is no necessity for such large inclines as are required with bolt
actions having spring firing pins. By this means I minimise the danger of the
bolt being unlocked with the shock of discharge. In order to prevent the bolt
from being drawn back further than required to allow a cartridge to be placed in
the breech its forward end is provided with a loose collar carrying a laterally
projecting lug which engages with a projecting rib on the breech body which
prevents it from being turned up into its raised position except when it is desired
to remove the bolt altogether as for instance for cleaning purposes. This opera-
tion is permitted by removing a small retaining pin or bolt which practically
forms an extension of said rib and is normally secured in position by a small set
Ecrew or otherwise. This laterally projecting lug also carries the extractor.
When the magazine is intended to hold a small number of cartridges, say five,
it may be made only a trifle wider than the diameter of the cartridge, but if a
larger number, say nine, are required to be placed in the magazine it is prefer-
ably made wide enough to allow the cartridges to lie in it in a zig-zag manner
whereby the two cartridges at the top will, as it were, jam slightly until the upper-
most one has been moved forward into the breech end of the barrel by the for-
ward movement of the bolt. If found desirable a
<< cut-off" may be provided for
the purpose of cutting off the magazine supply.
A thin plate is fitted over the side of the magazine to close in the slot in which
the vertically sliding block and carrier plate work, as well as to cover the lever
used for operating said block.
The trigger guard is dove-tailed into what is practically the back of the
magazine and its rear part is secured to the framing by a screw so that it can
be readily removed for the purpose of taking the magazine operating mechanism
apart for cleaning purposes.
This can be
In order to keep the barrel of the rifle cool a water jacket may be arranged
underneath the breech end so as to encircle about one-half of it.
enclosed in the wood work and will therefore not be exposed to view.
In this improved rifle there are very few parts and the cost of manufacture
should be small as compared to other magazine rifles. It can be used as a single
loader with a magazine full of cartridges in reserve, or it can be used as a
magazine rifle without loss of time. The loading is accomplished in a simple
manner there is no spring needed around the firing pin; the bolt consists
practically of one piece of metal, whilst the trigger and firing gear are of the
simplest possible description.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: An Improved Magazine Rifle.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of Birkbeck Bank Chambers, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, in the County of London, Chartered Patent Agent, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention (which has been communicated to me from
abroad by John Hylard, of No. 20, Acland Street, St. Kilda, near Melbourne,
Victoria, Gentleman,) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention has been devised for the purpose of simplifying and otherwise
improving the construction of magazine rifles and will be described by reference
to the accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the breech mechanism of a magazine rifle con-
structed according to this invention with the parts in position for loading except
that the bolt requires to be pulled back.
Figure 2 is a sectional view illustrating the rifle with the magazine loaded
and the bolt drawn back.
Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 2 but showing the parts at the moment
when the rifle is fired.
Figures 4 to 12 are views of various parts hereinafter referred to.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts throughout the drawings.
The magazine w is constructed so that the cartridges can be dropped into it
whilst the rifle is held in its ordinary position and said magazine can either be
made a fixture in the rifle or, if preferred, it can be made removable and be
normally retained in position by means of a spring catch or the like. The,
magazine is fitted with a vertically sliding plate upon which the cartridges rest.
The forward end of this plate is weighted as indicated at c in Figures 3 and 4,
this latter view being a vertical cross section on line A-A Figure 3.
This weight is constructed as shown in Figure 4 with one half projecting
slightly above the other the effect being to direct the first cartridge to the lower
side of the carrier plate and thus ensure the remaining cartridges taking their
proper positions in the magazine. Another effect of this weighted end is to always
keep the front end of the carrier plate depressed so that it tends towards a
horizontal position when travelling up and down in the magazine.
The upper end of the magazine may be fitted with a sliding cut-off d con-
structed like that used in the Lee-Metford magazine rifle to admit of its being used
as a single loader when desired.
The cartridge carrier plate b is supported upon the forward end of a lever e
which is pivotted at f in the frame of the breech mechanism and is acted upon
by the one limb g of a spring whose tendency is to depress the rear end of said
lever and therefore to raise the forward end,
One main object of this invention is to provide some simple contrivance where-
by this lever can be conveniently operated when it is desired to load the rifle.
This is accomplished by means of the trigger guard which is pivotted at its
rear end upon the frame of the breech and is provided with a short projecting
arm which is arranged to bear against the under side of the spring g so as to
raise it and the rear end of the lever e thus depressing the front end of the lever e
and lowering the carrier plate b in the magazine.
The forward end of the trigger guard is retained in position by means of a
small spring catch k engaging a slight depression 7 formed for the purpose in
the front end of the trigger guard.
In order that the trigger guard i may be more conveniently drawn back by
the firing finger it is formed with a projection m on the inside to be engaged with
the firing finger when removed from the trigger.

page_text: The opposite limb n of the spring forming the catch acts upon the trigger o
and tends to normally hold it in engagement with the hammer p when the hammer
is cocked as indicated in Figure 2. The notch g in the hammer with which the
front end of the trigger engages is not undercut as is generally the case but is
radial, the forward end of the trigger fitting it. This holds the hammer cocked
when it has been drawn back by the bolt 7.
The springs and h for actuating the lever e and hammer p are made in one
piece as shewn and are bent into a U shape in the middle where they are secured
by being slid on to a flanged bridge piece or support s on which they are retained
by a screw t.
In order that the bolt r may be withdrawn from the rifle for cleaning purposes
and the like without the danger of the bolt accidentally falling out a vertically
sliding filling piece (see Figures 5 and 7) is fitted in an undercut groove on
the outside of the receiver and is normally held in its raised position by a small
Hat spring bearing against its under side and retained in position by a pin w
on the filling piece which passes through a small hole near the end of the spring.
A small shoulder on the lower end of u limits its upward movement so that
its upper end is normally in line with a rib or ridge y along the side of the
receiver. A pivoted catch z projecting from the breech block on the front end
of the bolt r engages with this rib and so prevents the bolt from dropping out of
the rifle. If it is desired to remove the bolt the vertically sliding filling piece u
is forced down against the resistance of the spring until the bolt can be drawn
back when the catch passes over this filling piece and can therefore be turned
up into its vertical position to allow the bolt to be withdrawn. A small screw 2
projects from the side of the receiver and forms a stop piece for a shoulder 3 on
the side of the filling piece u so as to prevent this latter being pushed down far
enough to strain the spring v.
The breech block 1 is provided with a projecting sleeve 4 which is screwed into
the forward end of the bolt . The rear end of this sleeve is bevelled off or
inclined (as shewn at 5 in Figures 8 and 9) so that the correspondingly inclined
shoulder 6 on the firing pin 7 may engage therewith when the bolt is turned
round, the effect being to draw the front or pointed end of the firing pin back
into the breech block where it will be retained as illustrated in Figure 8 until
after the bolt has been slid or forced forwards against the cartridge in the barrel,
and turned down into its locked position when the pin is free to be driven for-
ward into the position shown in Figure 9 by the action of the hammer striking
its rear end.
In this way all danger of premature firing by closing the breech block is
avoided as the firing pin is held in its retracted position until the breech is closed
and locked. The rear end 8 of the firing pin is square and is fitted in a corre-
sponding recess or hole in the bolt r. This ensures the firing pin being turned
for the purpose above described when the bolt is rotated to lock and unlock.it.
When the rifle is fired the upper end of the hammer p passes along a groove or
slot 9 formed on the under side of the bolt r and acts as a brake upon the bolt
tending to prevent the rotation and thus acts as a safeguard against the handle
or lever 10 of the bolt being knocked up accidentally or flying up at the instant
of discharge. This braking action is produced by forming the under side of the
bolt with an inclined groove 11 which engages with the upper end of the
hammer and which forces the hammer back against the resistance of the spring h
when the bolt r is turned towards its unlocked position, that is the position when
it is released by the usual locking lugs 12 with which it is provided.
This forcing back of the hammer p when the bolt is turned round
also to
a certain extent caused by the partial withdrawal of the bolt by reason of the
lug 12 travelling back along its inclined recess and by the shoulder 13 on the
rear end of the bolt bearing against the corresponding incline 14 on the back end
of the receiver.
In loading a rifle constructed as above described all the cartridges except the

page_text: last one can simply be dropped into the magazine, the carrier plate 6 having pre-
viously been lowered to near the bottom of the magazine by drawing back the
trigger guard as illustrated in Figure 1 after which the last cartridge can be
placed in the magazine but must be pressed down against the resistance of the
spring g the effect of which will be to hold the cartridges firmly in position in
the magazine thus preventing them rattling or falling out of the rifle in the event
of its being turned upside down.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. A magazine rifle consisting of the various parts constructed combined and
operating substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained
and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
2. In a magazine rifle a magazine projecting downwards from the breech body
combined with means arranged externally of the magazine to elevate the cart-
ridges therein substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained
and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In a magazine rifle a magazine projecting downwards from the breech body
and fitted with a carrier plate in combination with a lever connected at one end
with said plate and at the other with a spring substantially as and for the pur-
poses herein described and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
4. In a magazine rifle a magazine projecting downwardly from the breech
body, a lever arranged externally of said magazine to raise the cartridges there-
in combined with an arm or lever to keep said lever in its lowest position sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and as illus-
trated in the accompanying drawings.
5. In a magazine rifle a carrier plate within the magazine mounted upon the
forward end of a lever fulcrummed upon the frame of the rifle and acted upon
by a spring whose tendency is to keep the front end of said lever raised; in
combination with a pivotted trigger-guard having a projecting lug or arm acting
either upon the rear end of said lever or upon the spring attached thereto sub-
stantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and as illus-
trated in the accompanying drawings.
6. In a magazine rifle a pivotted trigger-guard connected to and operating a
carrier plate in the magazine and provided with a projection or lug on the inside
for the firing finger to engage with substantially as and for the purposes herein
described and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
7. In a magazine rifle a carrier plate in the magazine weighted at its forward
end substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
8. In a magazine rifle a spring (as 9 h) for operating the hammer as well as
the cartridge raising lever said spring being formed in one piece and bent into
a U shape at the centre where it is fitted on to a support and is retained there-
upon by a set screw substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
9. In a magazine rifle a spring (such as n) acting against the trigger at one end
and formed with a catch for the trigger guard at the other end substantially as
and for the purposes herein described and explained and as illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
10. In a magazine rifle a vertically sliding filling piece adapted to be raised
into position to correspond with a rib or projection along the upper edge of the
receiver, substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and
as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
11. In a magazine rifle a bolt formed with an inclined groove (as 11) on its
under side to engage with the upper end of the hammer when the latter is fired

page_text: substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and ‘as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
12. In a magazine rifle a firing pin having an inclined shoulder at its forward
end in combination with a breech block having an inclined or bevelled surface
at its rear end substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained
and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. ·
Dated this Sixth day of July One thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.