IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH- LOADING SMALL-ARMS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Mathews, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Gun-action Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-
LOADING SMALL-ARMS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Mathews at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th October 1878.
JOSEPH MATHEWS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun-action
Maker. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS."
"
My Invention has reference to breech-loading small-arms of the kind called
drop-down guns," and my said Invention consists of the construction and com-
bination of parts herein-after described for cocking the internal or concealed
hammers of the said guns by the act of opening the gun, that is, by the raising of
the breech ends of the barrels from the face of the break off for reloading the
gun. The cocking mechanism may however be worked by hand as herein-after
explained.
In constructing cocking mechanism according to my Invention I make in the
middle of the break off a vertical slot which passes through the said break off, and
I make on the middle of the face of the breech ends of the barrels and near the
bottom of the said face a projection or lump. This projection or lump travels
in the vertical slot in the break off on the raising and lowering of the barrels. At
the back of the break off and opposite the said vertical slot a cranked lever is
jointed, the said lever having motion in a vertical plane; the arms of the said lever
are nearly at right angles to one another, the upper arm being vertical and the
lower arun horizontal when the gun is ready for firing; I will call this lever the
cocking lever. The horizontal arm of the cocking lever works in the vertical slot
in the break off, its end bearing upon the lump described on the face of the barrels.
The internal hammers of the gun and the lock mechanism are carried by preference
by lock plates let into the sides of the body of the gun, each hammer having

page_text: near its head a horizontal pin which crosses the back of the vertical arm of the
cocking lever.
When the breech ends of the barrels are raised from the break off for loading
the gun the lump or projection at the face of the barrels acts upon the horizontal
arm of the cocking lever, resting upon it and raises the said arm; the other and
vertical arm of the cocking lever is thereby depressed. In its motion the said
vertical arm of the cocking lever strikes against the cross pin near the head of the
hammer and raises the said hammer to full-cock, the said hammer being retained
in its cocked position by the engaging of the sear of the lock with the bent in the
tumbler of the hammer in the usual way; the hammers are thus raised to full-
cock by the act of opening the gun for recharging it. When the barrels are shut
down after charging the gun the lump on which the horizontal arm of the
cocking lever bears permits the said cocking lever to take its normal position,
leaving the hammers in their cocked positions. The cocking lever may be pressed
into its normal position on shutting down the barrels by a spring acting on its
vertical arm.
In order to enable the hammers to be cocked by hand the axis of the cocking
lever herein-before described may be continued through the body of the gun to the
outside thereof and a small lever be fixed on the protruding end of the axis.
depressing the said lever by the hand the hammers may be cocked before the barrels
are raised for opening the gun.
My improvements are applicable to single and double barrel drop-down guns.
By

page_text: $
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Joseph Mathews in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 2nd April
1879.
Joseph MATHEWS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun-action Maker.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS.'
"
My Invention has reference to breech-loading small-arms of the kind called
drop-down guns, and my said Invention consists of the construction and combi-
nation of parts herein-after described for cocking the internal or concealed
hammers of the said guns by the act of opening the gun, that is, by the raising of
the breech ends of the barrels from the face of the break off for reloading the
gun. The cocking mechanism however may be worked by hand as herein-after
explained.
In constructing cocking mechanism according to my Invention I make in the
middle of the break off a vertical slot which passes through the said break off, and
I make on the middle of the face of the breech ends of the barrels and near the
At
bottom of the said face a projection or lump. This projection or lump travels
in the vertical slot in the break off on the raising and lowering of the barrels.
the back of the break off and opposite the said vertical slot a cranked lever is
jointed, the said lever having motion in a vertical plane; the arms of the said
lever are nearly at right angles to one another, the upper arm being vertical and the
lower arm horizontal when the gun is ready for firing; I will call this lever the
cocking lever. The horizontal arm of the cocking lever works in the vertical slot
in the break off, its end bearing upon the lump described on the face of the barrels..
The internal hammers of the gun and the lock mechanism are carried by preference
by lock plates let into the sides of the body of the gun, each hammer having
near its head a horizontal pin or shoulder which crosses the back of the vertical
arın of the cocking lever.
When the breech ends of the barrels are raised from the break off for loading the
gun the lump or projection at the face of the barrels acts upon the horizontal arm of
the cocking lever resting upon it and raises the said arm, the other and vertical arm
of the cocking lever is thereby depressed. In its motion the said vertical arm of
the cocking lever strikes against the cross pin or shouldor near the head of the
hammer and raises the said hammer to full-cock, the said hammer being retained in
its cocked position by the engaging of the sear of the lock with the bent in the
tumbler of the hammer in the usual way; the hammers are thus raised to full-cock
by the act of opening the gun for recharging it.
When the barrels are shut down after charging the gun the lump on which the
horizontal arm of the cocking lever bears permits the said cocking lever to take its
normal position leaving the hammers in their cocked positions. The cocking lever
may be pressed into its normal position on shutting down the barrels by a spring
acting on its vertical arm.
In order to enable the hammers to be cocked by hand the axis of the cocking
lever herein-before described may be continued through the body of the gun to the
outside thereof and a small lever be fixed on the protruding end of the axis.
depressing the said lever by the hand the hammers may be cocked before the barrels
are raised for opening the gun.
By
My improvements are applicable to single and double barrel drop-down guns.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings the
manner in which my Invention may be performed.
Figures 1 and 2 represent partly in longitudinal section and partly in elevation
the breech end of a double-barrel drop-down gun (the stock and other parts being
omitted) containing cocking mechanism constructed according to my Invention,

page_text: Figure 1 representing the parts in the positions which they respectively occupy
when the gun has been discharged, and Figure 2 the same after the gun has been
opened for recharging and the hammers cocked; Figure 3 represents a plan partly
in horizontal section the cocking and discharging parts of the gun, the barrels and
body being omitted; Figure 4 represents in section the extreme breech end of the
barrels; Figure 5 represents the cocking lever detached; and Figure 6 represents
one of the lock plates and the mechanism carried by it.
The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; a, b, is
the cocking lever turning on the horizontal axis c, behind the break off d, a being
the vertical arm, and b, the horizontal arm, of the cocking lever. The said arm b
of the cocking lever works in a vertical slot e, passing through the middle of the
break off and between the barrels; and the arm a is situated at the back of the
break off; ff, are the lock plates carrying the internal or concealed hammers g, g,
of the gun, their mainsprings h, h, the scars i, i, and sear springs k, k, the said lock
plates being let into the sides of the body 1 of the gun. Each of the said hammers
turns loosely on the axis c of the cocking lever, and the head of the hammer is
furnished with a shoulder m, against which the cross head of the vertical arm a of
the cocking lever bears to cock the hammer. Below the middle of the face of the
breech ends of the barrels is a lump p, on the rear part of which is a projection or
seat n, the top acting face of which seat is formed by a spring sliding rod working
in the lump p in the manner best seen in Figure 4, the said projection or seat being
capable of being pushed back when required as herein-after explained. The spring r
tends to press the rod or seat n outwards when at liberty to move. The extreme end of
the horizontal arm b of the cocking lever bears upon the projection or seat n when the
breech ends of the barrels are in the positions represented in Figures 1 and 2.
When the breech ends of the barrels q are raised from the break off for loading the
gun, the projection or seat n at the face of the barrels, on which the extreme end
of the cocking lever arm 6 rests, acts upon and raises the said arm b, depressing the
other and vertical arm a. In its motion, the cross head of the vertical arm a bears
against the shoulders m, m, of the hammers g, g, and raises the said hammers to full
cock, the said hammers being retained in their cocked positions by the sears i, i,
engaging with the bents in the tumblers of the hammers, the several parts occupying
the respective positions represented in Figure 2. As the barrels q are fully opened
the seat or projection n escapes from the end of the arm b, and the cooking lever
falls by its own weight or is brought by the falling barrel into the position
represented in Figure 1, leaving the hammers in their cocked positions ready
for the discharge of the gun. On shutting down the barrels after loading, the
projection or seat n strikes against the rounded upper side of the end of the arm b;
the said projection or seat n is thereby pushed back so as to permit it to pass the
end of the arm b, and when the barrels have fully seated themselves on the body,
the seat or rod n is pressed outwards by its spring and engages on the under side of
the end of the arm b, as represented in Figure 1, ready on the opening of the
gun to act upon the said arin b, and cause the cocking lever to cock the hammers
as herein-before described. As the sliding seat n escapes from the end of the arm
b during the opening of the gun the said sent is held stationary by its inner end
taking an abutment against that part of the body against which the curved face
เ
of the lump p bears, as will be understood by an examination of Figure 2.
By the use of the sliding seat or projection n, the necessity for a joint at the
extreme end of the arm b to permit the projection or seat at the face of the barrels
to pass it, on the descent of the said barrels, is avoided.
Instead of causing the projection' on the breech ends of the barrels to act directly
on the cocking lever, the said projection on the barrels may act upon a rotating
cylindrical block and the latter upon the horizontal arm of the cocking lever.
This modification of my Invention is illustrated in longitudinal section in Figure
7, and a part separately in Figure 8; 8 is a cylindrical block in the break off d, the

page_text: said block being capable of motion on a central axis a³ in the said break off.. In
the said blocks are two helical or screw-like slots t and u. In the slot t, which is
open at top and bottom, the projection w on the barrels q works, and in the other
slot u, a stud on the extreme end of the horizontal arm 6 of the cocking lever works,
when the breech ends of the barrels are raised to open the gun for charging the
projection w, working in the helical slot t, gives a motion through about a quadrant
to the cylindrical block 8. By this partial rotation of the blocks the end of the
arm b of the cocking lever, engaged in the other helical slot u, is made to rise in
the said slot u, so as to depress the nearly vertical arm a of the said cocking lever
and cause the said arm a to cock the hammers g, g, in the manner herein-before
described.
By this arrangement a vertical slot in the face of the break off is avoided, and
hence there is no escape of gas through the break off into the lock mechanism should
a defective cartridge be used.
Figures 9 and 10 represent longitudinal sections of a drop-down gun, in which
the hammers are cocked by hand.
In this arrangement the nearly horizontal arm of the cocking lever is omitted and
the vertical arm a only used, the said arm being rigidly fixed on the axis c, which
is prolonged at one side through the body of the gun to the outside thereof. On
the said prolonged axis c, and external to the body is a small band lever c², by
which the cocking lever a is worked. The hammers g turn loosely on the axis c of
the hand lever c³, as represented. In Figure 9 the cocking lever a is represented in
its normal position and the hammer g in its discharged position, and in Figure 10
the hand lever c² on the axis c of the cocking lever a is represented in its deprossed
position, and the hammer c cocked by the action of the upper end of the cocking
lever upon the shoulder m on the said hammer. When the hammer has been
cocked the lever c² is raised into the normal position represented in Figure 9. The
cocked hammer is thereby left in its cocked position and maintained there by the
scar ready for the disharge of the gun. The lock mechanism is carried by a lock
plate as before described and the parts of the said lock mechanism are marked with
the same letters of reference as corresponding parts in the other Figures.
The cocking lever may be made to operate the locking bolt v. For this
purpose the outer end of the said bolt u is cranked, and carries a stud which works
in an inclined slot a³ in the said cocking lever. When the cocking lever a is
depressed to cock the hammers the same motion withdraws the locking bolt and
releases the barrels. I do not limit myself to this arrangement for withdrawing
the locking bolts of guns containing the hand cocking mechanism represented in
Figures 9 and 10, as other arrangements may be used.
The cocking mechanisms represented in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 may be
combined with any desired mechanisms for bolting down the barrels.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim as my Invention of
improvements in breech-loading small-arms of the kind called drop-down guns,—
First. The combination or arrangement of parts herein-before described, and
illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the accompanying Drawings, for cocking
the internal or concealed hammers of the said guns by the act of opening the guns
for charging, that is to say, by means of the cocking lever marked a, b, the end of
the horizontal arm of the said lever bearing upon and being operated by a projection
or seat n, at the face of and between the breech ends of the barrels and the head
of the vertical arm of the cocking lever bearing upon the upper ends of the hammers
to cock them, substantially as described and illustrated.
Secondly. The modification herein-before described, and illustrated in Figures 7
and 8 of the accompanying Drawings, in which the breech ends of the barrels
operate upon a rotating cylindrical block, having inclined or helical slots, and the
said block operates upon one of the arms of the cocking lever.
'

page_text: Lastly. The arrangement of the parts herein-before described, and represented in
Figures 9 and 10 of the accompanying Drawings for cocking the hammers by
hand.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Mathews, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
JOSEPH MATHEWS. (L.S.)