AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS." OR IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Prosper Saville, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Gun Maker, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT
OR IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
OR IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
"
Sealed the 29th November 1864, and dated the 22nd June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Prosper Saville
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd June 1864.
I, THOMAS PROSPER SAVILLE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Gun Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"AN IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention has reference to breech-loading fire-arms of the kind called
drop-down guns, or guns in which the barrels turn in a vertical plane upon a
joint on the fore part of the body, the open breech ends of the barrels being
held firmly against the face of the break-off during discharge, and raised from
the said break-off for charging.
My Invention consists of the improvement or improvements, herein-after
described in locking down the barrels against the face of the break-off for
discharge, and in releasing the said barrels for charging.

page_text: I effect the locking down and releasing of the barrels by means of a trans-
verse horizontal flat bolt situated and working in the body of the break-off,
and near the face of the said break-off; the said bolt works in an opening
made across the body of the break-off. One end of the bolt projects from the
side of the gun, and is expanded into a head or finger plate by which the
bolt can be pressed by the finger. At about the middle of one side of the bolt
a recess is made, the width of the said recess being about equal to the width
of the opening in the body into which the lump on the under side of the
breech ends of the barrels enters when the barrels are shut down. The bolt
is forced from the body by means of an arm or lever at the side of the body
acted upon by a spring inside the body, the said arm or lever being jointed
to the side of the bolt. The notch or recess in the lump is situated at that
side of the lump most distant from the head of the bolt. The under side of
the lump is bevilled or inclined, and that edge of the recess in the bolt most
distant from the head of the said bolt is also bevilled on its upper side. When
the barrels have been raised for loading the bolt is pressed outwards by its
spring lever, and that portion of the bolt which fastens down the barrels is
thereby brought into the opening in the body into which the lump fits. On
shutting down the barrels, the bevilled under side of the lump strikes against
the bevilled edge of the recess in the bolt, and forces back the said bolt until
the opening in the body is cleared of the said bolt, and the notch in the lump
brought opposite the bevilled edge of the bolt when the said bolt is pressed
outwards by its spring arm, and made to snap or engage with the notch in
the lump, and thereby lock down the barrels. To unlock the barrels for
charging, the bolt is pressed towards the body of the gun; the acting part of
the bolt is thereby removed from out of the notch in the lump, and the recess
in the bolt made to coincide with the opening in the body. The lump can
now be raised through the said recess in the bolt, and the breech ends of the
barrels lifted from the face of the break-off for charging. After the barrels
have been lifted from the face of the break-off the finger is removed from the
head of the bolt, when the bolt is pressed outwards by its spring arm, and the
acting and bevilled part of the said bolt again occupies the opening in the body
ready to be forced back by and to engage with the lump when the barrels are
shut down.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Prosper Saville in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 22nd December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
PROSPER SAVILLE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Prosper Saville, Her special license that I, the said Thomas
Prosper Saville, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Thomas Prosper Saville, my executors, administrators, 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 "AN
IMPROVEMENT OR IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Prosper Saville, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 YE, that I, the said Thomas Prosper Saville, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
66
My Invention has reference to breech-loading fire-arms of the kind called
drop-down guns," or guns in which the barrels turn in a vertical plane upon
a joint on the fore part of the body, the open breech ends of the barrels being
held firmly against the face of the break-off during discharge, and raised from
the said break-off for charging.
My Invention consists of the improvement or improvements shewn in the
accompanying Drawing, and herein-after described, for locking down the
barrels against the face of the break-off for discharge and in releasing the said
barrels for charging.

page_text: The locking down of the barrels I effect by means of a transverse sliding
bolt or snap catch which works in the body of the break-off, and snaps into a
notched lump on the under side of the hinged barrel or barrels, and is
instantly released by the pressure of the finger upon the head of the bolt.
In the Drawing I have shewn my Invention as applied to a double-barrel
sporting gun, Fig. 1 representing the gun in side view with the barrels turned
down in the position for loading, and Fig. 2 the break-off piece in plan with
the barrels removed; Fig. 3 is a view of the rear end of the barrels.
A, A, are the barrels jointed at B to the break-off piece C¹, which is formed
in one with the fixed breech as usual. The break-off piece is slotted trans-
versely to receive the sliding bolt D, which is shewn detached at Figs. 4, and
projects completely through the slot. In the break-off piece a slot c is also
formed to receive the notched lump E of the barrels when these are required
to be locked in the position for firing; this slot c communicates with the
transverse slot which receives the sliding bolt. The bolt D is formed with
two notches d and d¹ on its forward edge, the larger of which d is made of
sufficient size to allow the notched lump E on the barrels to pass down into
the slot c.
One end of this slot is also chamfered to form an incline for
receiving the pressure of a corresponding incline or chamfer on the lump, and
yield under that pressure like the catch of a door lock, so as to present no
obstruction to the depression of the lump into the recess c of the break-off
piece. In the off side of the break-off piece a longitudinal slot or recess c¹ is
made to receive a spring F, shewn detached at Figs. 5. One end of this
spring is formed with pin which takes into a pin hole in the recess c¹ to
keep the spring steady while the other end enters the notch d¹ in the sliding
bolt. A cap piece or cover G closes the recess c³, and confines the spring F
therein. The bolt is formed of such thickness as will enable it to slide freely
in the notch of the lump E, and it is provided with a flattened head to receive
the pressure of the sportsman's finger when it is desired to drop the barrels
out of contact with the fixed breech for the purpose of charging the gun.
To prevent the bolt from falling from the gun, I form a longitudinal slot d³
therein to receive a screw pin which projects down through the break-off
piece and through the slot, and is secured in a tapped hole in the lower face
of the recess of the break-off piece. It will now be understood that the
tendency of the bolt spring F is to draw the solid part of the bolt across the
notch in the lump E, and thus to lock the barrels in position; this it will
effectually do so long as the spring is allowed to act, but immediately sufficient
pressure is put on the bolt to overcome the action of the spring the notch of
the bolt is brought into coincidence with the lump E, and the barrels are

page_text: free to fall to the position shewn at Fig. 1. In order to close the joint after
charging the gun, it is only necessary to throw up the barrels, when by reason
of the configuration of the contact surfaces of the lump and bolt, the latter
will yield or give place to the lump E, but directly the barrels are brought
into position the bolt will, by the propelling action of the spring, be thrust
forward, and caused to engage the lump E, and hold the barrels firmly in
position as before.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of an improvement or
improvements in breech-loading fire-arms, and explained the manner of carry-
ing the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that, under the above in
part recited Letters Patent I claim, the application to "drop-down guns" of
the transverse sliding bolt or snap catch for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Prosper Saville, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
THOMAS PROSPER SAVILLE. (L.S.)