IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING SMALL ARMS
Year: 1884

page_text: We CHARLES PRYSE Gun Manufacturer and EDWIN JAMES CASHMORE Action
Maker both of 84 Aston Street Birmingham in the County of Warwick do hereby
declare the nature of said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING
SMALL ARMS" to be as follows:-
"
Our Invention relates particularly to rook and other rifles, fowling pieces and
pistols, and has reference to breech loading rifles and small-arms having concealed
hammers and in which the barrel or barrels turn upon a horizontal pin, so as to
raise and expose its open breech end for the introduction and extraction of the
cartridge case or shell, and our said Invention consists of the construction and
arrangement herein-after described of the parts for cocking the hammer or tumbler,
and in a safety arrangement for preventing the accidental discharge of the said
hammer when cocked.
In constructing and arranging the parts according to our Invention, we place
underneath the tang of the break off or rear action in front of the laminer, and
nearly in a line with its axis, a double armed pivot or rocking lever which cocks
the hammer or tumbler by means of a lever on the underside of the arm; that is
to say, the one arm of the rocking lever acts upon a projection or notch on the
breast of the hammer, while the other arm of the said rocking lever is acted upon
by a tooth or projection on the short arm of an underhand lever which is jointed
at the front of the guard of the arm, the arm is thereby cocked by the intervention
of the said double armed pivot or rocking lever.
The action of the hand lever for cocking, is as follows:
The hammer being in its uncocked position by turning the hand lever upon its
joint or centre, the tooth or projection on its short arm presses upon one of the
arms of the rocking lever, causing the said lever to rotate or turn upon its joint or
centre while its other arm at the same time acts upon the shoulder of the breast
of the hammer and thereby raises the said hammer into bent.
The return movement of the hand lever to the guard, leaves the rocking lever
free, which is brought into its proper position for recocking by the discharge of
the hammer.
The safety apparatus consists of a sear like lever, jointed on the trigger centre,
the nose of which falls into the bent of the hammer; the said safety is actuated
by a spring on the inside of the strap of the arm which is moved out of action
by hand.

page_text: The trigger is situated in front of the safety described, which acts both as a
sear and a trigger, that is to say, the front part of the trigger is prolonged into
a sear like nose which falls into the bent of the hammer therefore the bent in the
hammer is common to both noses or ends of the trigger and safety, that is to say,
when the arm is cocked, and at safety, both the noses of the sear and the safety
lever lie in the same bent; but when the plate on the understrap is moved in the
proper direction, the safety lever is turned upon its centre, removing its nose from
the bent in the hammer, the arm can then be discharged by the pulling of the
trigger but so long as the safety is in bent, the hammer cannot be discharged,
although the trigger may be pulled and its nose removed from the bent in the
hammer.
Or instead of the underlever described for operating on the double armed pivot
or rocking lever, the same result may be obtained by using à lever on the tang or
side of the arms.
Dated this Seventh day of February One thousand eight hundred and
We CHARLES PRYSE, Gun Manufacturer, and EDWIN JAMES CASHMORE Action
Maker both of 84 Aston Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, do hereby
declare the nature of said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING
SMALL ARMS" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our Invention relates particularly to rook and other rifles, fowling pieces and
pistols; and has reference to breech loading rifles and small arms having concealed
hammers, and in which the barrel or barrels turn upon a horizontal pin, so as to
raise and expose its open breech end, for the introduction and extraction of the
cartridge case or shell; and our said Invention consists of the construction and
arrangement, herein after described of the parts for cocking the hammer or tumbler;
and in a safety arrangement for preventing the accidental discharge of the said
hammer, when cocked. In constructing and arranging the parts according to our
Invention, we place underneath the tang of the break off or rear action in front of
the hammer, and nearly in a line with its axis, a double armed pivot or rocking
lever which cocks the hammer or tumbler by means of a lever on the underside of
the arm; that is to say, the one arm of the rocking lever acts upon a projection or
notch on the breast of the hammer, while the other arm of the said rocking lever
is acted upon by a tooth or projection on the short arm of an underhand lever,
which is jointed at the front of the guard of the arm, the arm is thereby cocked
by the intervention of the said double armed pivot or rocking lever.

page_text: The action of the hand lever for cocking, is as follows; the hammer being in its
uncocked position by turning the hand lever upon its joint or centre, the tooth or
projection on its short arm presses upon one of the arms of the rocking lever,
causing the said lever to rotate or turn upon its joint or centre, while its other arm
at the same time acts upon the shoulder of the breast of the hammer, and thereby
raises the said hammer into bent.
The return movement of the hand lever to the guard, leaves the rocking lever
free, which is brought into its proper position for, recocking, by the discharge of
the hammer. The safety apparatus consists of a sear like lever, jointed on the
trigger centre, the nose of which falls into the bent of the hammer; the said safety
is actuated by a spring on the inside of the strap of the arm, which is moved out of
action by hand.
The trigger is situated in front of the safety described, which acts both as a sear
and trigger, that is to say, the front part of the trigger is prolonged into a sear
like nose, which falls into the bent of the hammer, therefore the bent in the
hammer is common to both noses or ends of the trigger and safety; that is to say,
when the arm is cocked, and at safety, both the noses of the sear and safety lever
lie in the same bent; but when the plate on the understrap is moved in the proper
direction, the safety lever is turned upon its centre, removing its nose from the
bent in the hammer, the arm can then be discharged by the pulling of the trigger,
but so long as the safety is in bent, the hammer cannot be discharged, although the
trigger may be pulled and its nose removed from the bent in the hammer. Or
instead of the underlever described for operating on the double armed pivot or
rocking lever, the same result may be obtained by using a lever on the tang or side.
of the arm.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, we will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in which our Invention
is to be performed.
Figures 1 and 2 represent in longitudinal vertical section, the breech end of a.
rook rifle, containing cocking, discharging and safety mechanism constructed
according to our Invention. In Figure 1 the arm is represented discharged, and
Figure 2 represents the same view as Figure 1, with the hammer raised and put
into bent both with the trigger sear and safety sear by the movement of the under
lever. This sectional view Figure 2 shows the arm cocked and at safety, just
before the barrel falls; Figure 3 represents a like section as Figure 2, showing the
barrels open, and the cartridge case ejected by the spring extractor. Figures 4, 5,
6, 7 and 8 represent the principal parts separately, while Figure 9 represents the
underside of the barrel, and Figure 10 shows a plan of the arın.
a is the hammer, working under the tang of the arm, and a² is a projection or
arm on the lower part of the said hammer, 6 is a double armed pivot or rocking
lever interposed between the acting short arm c² of the jointed under lever c. which
cocks the hammer by the intervention of rocking lever b. d is a sear trigger, the
nose or forward part of which, acts as a sear, and takes into the bent in the
hammer a,, e is a safety for preventing the accidental discharge of the arm,
consisting of a lever or sear jointed and turning on the same centre as the sear
trigger; f is a spring which acts both upon the sear trigger d, and sear safety e,
for putting them into bent on the cocking of the arm.
When the arm has been discharged as represented in Figure 1, the lever c is
turned upon its joint or centre c³, and thereby pressing the shoulder c on the short
arm c², acts upon the arm 62 of the rocking lever b, and thereby turning the said
rocking lever upon its joint or centre; and by so doing, raising the arın 63 and
with it the projection a³ on the breast of the hammer a, cocking and putting the
said hammer into bent with the combined sear noses d² e², thereby cocking the arm,
so that the lever c raises the hammer a, compresses the main spring h, puts the
hammer into double bent, and at safety, by the intervention of the rocking arm b,
which is the recipient of the motion of the handlever c, as represented in Figure 2,
with the arm cocked and at safety.

page_text: เ
By now liberating the hand lever c it resumes its normal position under the
trigger guard of the arm, by the spring 7. and on closing again of the barrel as
represented at Figure 1, the arm is again ready for firing by raising the safety
pummel é into the position as represented in Figure 1. by the nose e of the
safety being taken from the bent of the hammer. By now pulling the trigger
its sear like nose is removed from the bent, which allows the hammer to fall and
thereby discharges the arm, the parts taking their respective positions as represented
the said Figure 1.
'
Our improvements are equally applicable to single as well as to double barrelled
guns, rifles, and pistols.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be perfornied, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our
Invention of improvements in breech loading small arms of the kind called drop
down guns, rifles, and pistols.
' ** ;
First. The arrangement or combination of the rocking lever marked b repre-
sented in Figures 1, 2, 3 and 3A for actuating or raising the hammer by the turning
of the short of the underlever; that is to say, raising or cocking the hammer of
small arms through the intervention of a double armed pivot or rocking lever,
which is actuated on the on the one side by the short arm of an under-lever which
turns the rocking lever, and so cocks the arm by working and acting in the way
substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The combination of an under safety with a secondary sear which
takes into the same bent as the sear trigger and prevents the accidental discharge
of the arm, so long as the sear nose remains within the hammer bent, as described
and illustrated.
$84.
CHARLES PRYSE.
EDWIN JAMES CASHMORE:
By Henry Skerrett,
6, Livery Street, Birmingham,
Agent to the Applicants.