IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Hanson, of Rashcliffe, near Huddersfield,
in the County of York, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARTRIDGES FOR
THE SAME."
Sealed the 12th April 1870, and dated the 7th February 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Hanson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th February 1870.
66
I, JOHN HANSON, of Rashcliffe, near Huddersfield, in the County of
York, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVE-
LIENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARTRIDGES
FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
My improvements in fire-arms relate to those arms which are furnished
with draw back closing bolts, and consists in on improved arrangement
of mechanism by which the arm is opened ready to receive a charge,
the empty cartridge case extracted and thrown automatically from

page_text: the arm, and the pieco placed in position for firing in ono operation. I
fit in the fore end of the closing bolt a striker formed with a button at
its back end for a coiled spring to act against to keep the point of it
flush with the face of the closer. Behind the striker is a plug or rod
which is encircled by a coiled spring held in a tube which guides its
action and prevents the coils overlapping; the tube also serves as a
guide for the closing bolt to work upon in its to-and-fro movements.
The tube is secured at the back end to the rear portion of the breech
piece which rests in the stock. The plug or rod is formed with a head
to fit the tube at one end and with a bulge at the other; this bulge
when the arm is cocked is caught by a catch and Ireld in that position
until the arm is ready for firing. The under side of the closing block
is provided with a hole, into which a pin on a double inclined lever is
free to enter when the block is entirely closed. The pin is kept bearing
against the block by means of a spring. The double lever is in con-
nection with a projecting tail of the trigger. The fore end of the
closing bolt carrics an extractor in a slot, the extractor having a certain
amount of play allowed it, so that it is free to move when the cart-
ridge is forced home in the chamber to engage itself with it. There is
a forked lever fitted in the stock, one end of which is struck by thic
extractor in its backward movement when it has travelled a certain
distance; this striking causes the other-end to come forcibly against the
empty cartridge case and eject it- through the opening in the barrel
automatically. When the rod is drawn back it is forced downwards
by means of a spring fitted at the mouth of tlic opening through which
it protrudes. A pin on the rear end of the trigger is made to take
under the bulge of the rod or plug, and on the trigger being drawn
back the pressure overcomes the action of the spring and releases the
plug, when the force of the coiled spring drives it to the front of the
closing block with sufficient force to shoot the striker pin against the
base of the cartridge to explode the cap or fulminate. I fit a lever and
disc in the top of the stock; a portion of the disc is cut away to allow
the bulged end of the plug to rise when it is required to fire the arm,
'but when it is necessary to retain the arm in a loaded and cocked
position the lever is turned partly round to bring a full part of the disc
upon the bulge. ..
My. Invention in cartridges for the above arm consists in fitting a
concave disc inside a flat disc and supporting the cap upon a raised edge
of tho concave disc. The two discs are held at their outer edges by

page_text: the burred over edge of the outer metallic tube and makes a gas-tight
scam at that part.
In some cases I fit a cupped leather or a ring of any suitable
material in the tube to rest upon the concave disc. This leather expands
under the force of the explosion and keeps the base or rim gas-tight
should by any chance the base break or open out.
I do not confine myself to fitting a cap upon the concave disc and
between the two discs, as I may form a recess in the centre of the
concave disc and fill it with the detonating composition. When I do
this I fit the inside of the outer disc with a pin, which the striker acts
against to force it into the composition, the fire passing through small
holes made for the purpose. When a cap is fitted between the discs.
it rests upon a raised edge of the concave one.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Hanson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 6th August 1870..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE, PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HANSON, of Rashcliffe, near Huddersfield, in the County of York, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Hanson, Her special licence that
I, the said John Hanson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Hanson, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel,
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-.
LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME,'
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Hanson, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
33

page_text: or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent.
..
NOW KNOW ŸE, that I, the said John Hanson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to bo particularly described and ascertained in and. by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say
=
My improvements in fire-arms relate to those arms which are furnished
with drawback closing bolts such as were patented on the 2nd November
1841 by myself and William Golden, and consist in an improved arrange-
ment of mechanism by which the arm is opened ready to receive a
charge, the empty cartridge case extracted and thrown automatically
from the arm, and the piece placed in position for firing in one operation.
The Invention will be well understood by referring to the accom-
panying Drawings, of which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a gun
with the parts in the position they occupy after the explosion of a
charge; and Figure 2 a similar view with the parts in the position when
the insertion of a cartridge takes place and the striker set at full-cock.
g
I fit in the fore end of the closing bolt a a striker & formed with a
button c at its back end for a coiled spring a to act against to keep the
point of it flush with the face of the closer a. Behind the striker is a
bolt or rode which is encircled by a coiled spring ƒ held in a tube to
direct its action and prevent the coils overlapping, the tube y also serves
as a guide for the closing bolt a to work upon in its to-and-fro movements.
The tube is secured at the back end to the rear portion of the breech
piece which rests in the stock A. The bolt or rod e is formed with two
heads to fit the tube g at one end, and the smaller head which rides
inside the coiled spring fat the other. This smaller head when the arm
is cocked is caught by a catch j and held in that position until the arm
'is ready for firing. The under side of the closing block or bolt is provided
with a holo k into which a safety pin on a double inclined lever B is
free to enter when the bolt a is entirely closed. The lever B with the
pinis kept balanced by means of a spring m. In consequence of this
safety pin having no hole to enter into except the one on the sliding
balta the gun is locked fast and cannot be discharged either by accident.

page_text: or intention until the closing bolt a is placed home in position for firing,
then the pin can enter the hole and the gun may be discharged. If
the closing bolt is moved but one-eighth of an inch from that position
the gun again becomes locked. This gun-offers-great-facility for
examining and cleaning as tho barrel is open at both ends. The double
lever B is in connection with a' projecting.tail n of the trigger: C...The.
fore end of the closing bolt a carries an extractor p in a slot, the
extractor having a certain amount of play allowed it so that it is free to
move when the cartridge is forced home in the chamber to engage itself
with it. There is a bent lever D fitted in the stock, one end 7 of which
is struck by the extractor p. in its backward movement when it has
travelled a certain distance; this striking causes the other end r of the
forked lever to come forcibly against the empty cartridge case and eject it
through the opening in the barrel automatically. When the rod is
drawn back the smaller head is forced downwards by means of a spring s
fitted at the mouth of the opening through which it protrudes. A pin t
on the rear end of the trigger C is made to take under the small head i
of the rod or bolt e, and on the trigger C being drawn back the pressure
overcomes the action of the springs and the catch j, and releases the
plug when the force of the coiled spring d drives it to the front of the
closing bolt a with sufficient force to shoot the striker pin 6-against
the base of the cartridge to explode the cap or fulminate. I fit a lever
and disc E in the top of the stock A; a portion of the disc is cut away
at u, as seen in the detached view Figure 3, to allow the small head i of
the bolt e to rise when it is required to fire the arm, but when it is
necessary to retain the arm in a loaded and cocked position the lever is
turned partly round to bring a full part of the disc upon the small
head of bolt e.
•
In some cases it is essential that the extractor should be so made that
it shall be caused to act as an ejector as well as an extractor, and this
is accomplished by fitting a tail picce w on the under sido of it, as shown
in the sectional view Figure 4, which is similar to Figure 2 in all other
respects. This combined extractor and ejector is acted upon by the stop
or end of the slot in which it is engaged to draw the cartridge case clear
5.of the bare-after-cach-discharge,-and-when-it has travelled a certain
distance the tail piece.to.comcs-against-the-fixed-stop and causes it to
tilt upon its pin, as shown in the Figure. The degree-of-force-or-speed
with which it is necessary to eject the case will of course depend upon

page_text: the speed and power with which the closing bolt is drawn back; that is;
to say, the greater the speed and sharpness of action in opening the
breech the more certainty of action in expelling the empty case is
obtained, this remark not only applics, to, this last-mentioned arrangement
but to the first-mentioned one as well. The disc before referred to is
centred upon a pin or stud y let into the top of the stock, and it is.
free to be turned by the pressure of the thumb. against the projecting.
head, as seen in the plan view Figure 5.; Figure 6 represents. the back;
end of the breech with the catch and the spring s fitted thereto.
My Invention in cartridges, for the above arm consists. in fitting a
concave disc & inside a flat disc b, and supporting the cap c upon a raised:
edge or burr of the concave.disc, as.clearly shown in Figure 7, which is:
a section of a cartridge casc in its complete form. The two discs. arc
held at their outer edges by the burred over edge d of; the outer metallic
tube and makes a gas-tight scam or joint at that part..
С
In some cases I fit a cupped leather, Figure S, or a ring of any suitable
material in the tube to rest upon the concave disc. This leather expands.
under the force of the explosion and keeps the base or rim gas-tight,.
should by any chance the base break or open out.
I do not confine myself to fitting a cap upon the concave disc and
between the two dises, as I may form a recess in the centre of the con-
cave disc and fill it with the detonating composition. When I do this I
fit the inside of the outer disc with a pin as shown in the view, Figure 9,
which the striker acts against to force it into the composition, the fire
passing through small holes made for the purpose.
This Figure 7 represents a concave dise of metal or other hard sub-
stance with the projecting edges of the central hole upon the concave
side for the reception of a cap as before spoken of, and Figure 10 shows
the cartridge with the bullet complete. When a cap is fitted between
the discs it rests upon the raised edge in the centre of the concave one.
Figure 11 is a front view of the perforated disc; Figure 12, a per-
cussion cap of the shape I prefer.
When it is desired that the empty cases should be recharged, and
this is an important feature in my cartridge, as from the construction of
the tube and the base proper being as it were hermetically closed and
firmly held together by the burring over of the edge or rim it is capable
of being reloaded and fired a number of times (say, from 10 to 12)
without indicating any important deterioration, and to enable this to

page_text: be done it is only necessary to remove the inner concave disc, which in
this case is a loose one by a withdrawing instrument, and fitting another
one in with the cap on it. The disc in this case has a small portion_
of its edge-removed, or it is pierced with a hole near its edge as in
Figure 13-so-that-the--point-or claw-of-the-instrument-can-be-inserted
into it and draw it out; it is a loose disc and somewhat larger than the
small end of the cartridge case, so that it cannot be discharged from
the case in the act of firing. This loose disc. requires nothing more to
support it against the concussion of the striker than the powder and
the bullet. The cartridge is applicable to all descriptions of central-
fire breech-loading; guns.
3.
Figure 14 is a detached view of the case e with rim flange before
being burred over upon the disc b. The cup leathers or rings may be
employed or not with these discs.
•
And having now described the nature of my said Invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my
improvements in fire-arms, the construction and employment of a
plug or rod with two heads within a tube, to be acted upon in the
manner and for the purposes herein-before described and shewn in the
accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. I claim the construction and employment of a tube for
containing the coiled spring, and to serve as a guide for the closing bolt
to slide upon in the manner herein-before described and shewn in the
Drawings.
Thirdly. The employment of the double lever provided with a pin
and acted upon by a trigger in the manner and for the purposes herein-
before described and shown.
Fourthly. The employment of a forked lever caused to act in the
manner hercin-before described for automatically ejecting the empty
O cartridge case on opening the breech, as herein-before described and
shown in the Drawings.
Fifthly. The employment of a disc with a projecting thumb piece,
and with a portion of the edge cut away for retaining the arm at full-
cock or for freeing it ready for the discharge, as herein before described

page_text: Sixthly. The general construction and arrangements of the several
parts and their mode of application for the making of breech-loading
fire-arms in the manner and for the purposes herein-before described and
shown.
Seventhly. The employment of concave dises for carrying the cap or 5
detonating composition in cartridges in the manner and for the purposes
herein-before described.
Eighthly. The employment of a plain disc at the base of the cart-
ridges, which is retained in position by the burred over end of the tube
in the manner and for the purposes hercin-before described.
1
And, Ninthly, I claim the construction of cartridge cases in the
manner licrein-before described and represented in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Ianson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of August One thousand
eight hundred and seventy.
1
TATY
YAA-T