Improvements in Magazine Firearms.
Year: 1894

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Magazine Firearms.
I HERBERT FERDINAND WOODGATE, of Cairo, Egypt, Captain in the
1st South Wales Borderers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
-
My invention chiefly relates to military rifles having magazines, but is applicable
to other magazine fire-arms, and to magazine shot guns, and comprises improvements
in mechanism for utilizing the force of recoil, and performing various operations in
working fire-arnis, such as opening the breech, extracting and ejecting the empty
cartridge cases, closing and locking the breech, and firing the gun.
In carrying out my invention, I fit to the stock of the gun a cylindrical case or
shoe, in which the barrel and breech piece are free to slide, the rear end of said
shoe being closed by a detachable tubular cap piece. In the shoe works the bolt,
which is made hollow, and has a solid head, which carries an extrector, and is bored
diagonally to receive an ejector, and centrally to receive a rocking firing pin.
Lying transversely of the bolt-head, is a flat spring, the extremities of which
engage respectively with the ejector and the firing pin, and serve to return them to
their normal position. The tubular portion of the bolt is slotted longitudinally
from the rear to near the head, to receive a locking sear somewhat less in thickness
than the breadth of the slot, to provide for a slight axial motion of the bolt while
the sear is in its locking position. This hollow bolt contains a coiled spring, one
end of which is secured to the bolt head, and the other to the cylindrical cap piece,
in which the bolt is free to slide telescopically. This coiled spring serves to absorb
The bolt head
the recoil, return the bolt, lock it to the breech, and fire the gun.
carries on its periphery two or more studs, which enter and lock into an annular
channel in the breech piece.
Projecting from one side of the bolt head, is a stem, carrying a knob, and
serving as a handle for drawing back the bolt by band. The cylindrical case or
shoe is cut away to provide for the movement of this handle. On the opposite
side of the bolt head is square stud, which projects through a longitudinal cam
slot formed in the cylinder or shoe, which slot controls the movement of the bolt,
and prevents it turning, except at the proper moment (in its advance) for locking
into the breech piece. For this purpose, the slot curves upwards, to allow of the
ascent of the squared stud, under the pressure of the propelling spring. When
the recoil action takes place, the stud is caused to descend to the straight portion
of the slot, and in doing this, the bolt is turned sufficiently to disconnect it from
the breech piece.
The barrel and bolt, although now unlocked, travel together the full length of a
cartridge case, when, the barrel being stopped by contact with the shoe, the bolt
travels on alone sufficiently far to clear the breech piece. When the bolt has
arrived at this position, it is held fast until the barrel, returning by its own spring
to its former position, automatically ejects the empty cartridge case, and frees
the bolt.
The means for effecting the holding back of the bolt and the ejection of the
cartridge, may be thus described :—
Projecting rearwards from the breech-piece, are two bars, one of which is formed
with a cam slot for receiving the pin of a slide, which works vertically in guides
formed in the shoe. When the barrel moves backwards under recoil impulse, its

page_text: slotted bar raises the slide in front of the bolt, 'and arrests its return motion. OD
the return of the barrel, a projection-on-thel second bar strikes the ejector pin in
the head of the bolt, and causes it to throw out the exploded cartridge,
simultaneously with which, the release of the bolt from the slide is effected.
A new cartridge being now pushed into position by the magazine, it is caught
by the bolt, and fed into the chamber, the said bolt being returned by its own
spring. The bolt spring, attached at its forward end to the bolt-head, and at its
rear end to the cap piece, as before mentioned, after returning the bolt, and feeding
a new cartridge into the chamber, slightly turns (by reason of the torsion put upon
the coiled spring) the sliding bolt, so as to lock it partially, in which position it is
now held by the sear lever. On the trigger being pulled, the bolt is released, and
allowed to revolve by the twisting action of its own spring, to complete the locking.
At the same time, the cartridge is fired by the inclined end of the curved firing pin
in the stem of the bolt coming in contact with a stud or projection on the shoe.
The requisite torsion of the spring is obtained by giving the cap to which it is
attached, one or more turns before securing it to the shoe, by its bayonet joint.
In order to prevent the gun firing more than one shot without releasing the
trigger, the sear lever which holds and prevents the bolt from turning, acts
independently of the trigger and its arm, and immediately after firing, re-catches
the bolt, to allow which, the arm of the trigger, after actuating this sear lever,
moves beyond its rear end, and allows it to return. freely to its former position.
The trigger being released, its arm again comes into position once more, so as to
reduce the sear lever, on the trigger being pulled again. When it is required to
actuate the bolt by hand, the stem or handle is provided, and at the rear end of
the stroke it is turned upwards to catch into a retaining notch made in the shoe.
The barrel spring is so placed under the barrel in the fore end of the gun, that
it holds itself in position, being attached at one end to the barrel, and at the other
to its case, from whence it can be easily removed.
I prefer to make, in a military arm, the barrel spring and bolt spring inter-
changeable.
Dated this 30th day of October 1894.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.
I HERBERT FERDINAND WOODGATE of Cairo, Egypt, Captain in the.
1st South Wales Borderers, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention chiefly relates to military rifles having magazines, but is applicable
to other magazine fire-arms, and to magazine shot guns, and comprises improvements
in mechanism for utilizing the force of recoil, and performing various operations in
working fire-arms, such as opening the breech, extracting and ejecting the empty
cartridge cases, closing and locking the breech, and firing the gun.
These several operations have already been automatically performed, receiving
their impulse from the recoil action of the barrel, at the last discharge, but by
the present improvements the efficiency of the action of the fire-arm is increased,
without increasing the cost of construction.
In carrying out my invention, I fit to the stock of the gun a cylindrical case or
shoe, in which the barrel and breech piece are free to slide, as in the Patent of
Griffiths Woodgate bearing date December 5th 1891, No. 21,282, the rear end of
said shoe being closed by a detachable tubular cap piece. In the shoe works the

page_text: bolt, composed of two parts. It is, in the main, hollow, and has a solid head,
which locks into the breech piece. This solid head carries an extractor, and is
bored to receive an ejector pin, and also centrally to receive a rocking firing pin.
The tubular portion of the bolt is slotted longitudinally, for the greater part of its
length, to receive a locking sear. This hollow bolt contains a coiled propelling
spring, one end of which is secured to the bolt head, and the other to the
cylindrical cap piece, in which the bolt is free to slide telescopically. This coiled
spring serves to absorb the recoil, return the bolt, lock it to the breech, and fire
the gun.
Projecting from one side of the bolt head is a stem, carrying a knob, and serving
not only as a handle for drawing back the bolt by hand, but for receiving the
rear end of the firing pin. The cylindrical case or shoe is cut away on its top side,
to provide for the movement of this handle, and also to allow the cartridges being
fed from a clip into the magazine. On the opposite side of the bolt head is a
squared stud, which projects into a longitudinal cam-shaped recess formed in the
cylinder or shoe, which recess controls the movement of the bolt, and prevents
it turning, except at the proper moment (in its advance) for locking into the breech
piece.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the right-hand side of my improved
gun, the parts being in the quiescent position at the moment of firing, but before
the commencement of the recoil action.
Fig. 2 is a similar view of the gun, but with the breech open, ready to receive a
fresh cartridge.
Fig. 3 is a plan view of the gun, partly in section, the position of the moving
parts corresponding with those in Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a cross section of the gun taken in the line 1, 2 of Fig. 1 (but on an
enlarged scale), and looking towards the rear.
In these figures, A is the barrel, and A¹ a coiled spring, external of the barrel,
and attached thereto, and to its enclosing case, which it makes fast to the stock,
the use of the spring being to take the pressure of the recoil, and return the barrel
to its normal position.
B B is the bolt, which locks into the breech of the barrel in the well-known way,
the part B indicating the head of the bolt, and the part B' a cylindrical extension
of the bolt. These parts are connected together in such a manner as to permit of
the axial motion of the part B, while the part B' remains quiescent. The
construction of this bolt is clearly shown in the detached views Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive,
where
Fig. 5 is an end view of the bolt, the parts being in the locked position.
Fig. 6 a similar view of the bolt with the parts in the unlocked position;
Fig. 7 a horizontal section on the line 3. 4 of Fig. 5;
Fig. 8 a horizontal section on the line 5. 6 of Fig. 6, with the firing pin in.
place; aud
Fig. 9 a partial sectional plan, showing the ejector pin.
The holt B B' slides freely end wise in the case or shoe, which is composed of
two parts, C and C, the parts being connected together by a bayonet joint. The
forward end C of the case is covered by a cap D. This cap, which is screwed
to the shoe, carries the "sight," and forms a stop for the return of the barrel.
The case C is firmly secured to the stock by screws in the usual manner.
An opening on the underside of the case C permits of a sear F, operated by the
trigger, to enter the case, and project into a longitudinal slot cut in the cylindrical
extension B' of the bolt B, see Fig. 1^, which is a cross section of the gun taken in
the line 7, 8, of Fig. 1, and looking towards the rear.
B is a coiled spring connected to the bolt B, and extending rearwards to the
closed end of the part C₁ of the casing or shoe. To this closed end, the spring B*
is attached, and in putting together the parts C and C¹, a torsion is put upon the
spring B, which torsion is secured by means of the bayonet joint attachment of
1

page_text: the parts C C. Extending rearwards from the breech, are two bars
Figs. 10 and 11, where
Fig. 10 is a plan view, and
Fig. 11 an end view, of the breech piece..
a¹, see
These bars play in parallel recesses cut in the lower part of the shoe C C' (see
Fig. 4), and are grooved longitudinally to receive two short feathers carried by the
cylinder B', and they thus form guides for the traverse of the bolt in its end way
movements. A projection on the side of the bar a serves to strike the ejector pin,
hereafter more particularly referred to; and effect the ejection of the spent
cartridge.
On the other bar at a rounded projection is formed, for tripping the sear before
mentioned, and releasing the bolt, as will be hereafter explained. The portion B
of the bolt is provided with a rear or tail extension b, which, through the tendency
given to the bolt to turn on its axis, is brought into contact with the side of the
sear F pirotted on the trigger plate, for the purpose of arresting the further axial
motion of the bolt, until the trigger is pulled, to fire the gun, as will hereafter be
more particularly referred to.
From the side of the bolt head projects laterally a squared stud b', which runs in
a guiding recess c, formed in the left-hand side of the case or shoe C.
This recess
is straight for some three-fourths of its length, and, while the stud is in contact
therewith, serves to restrain the bolt head from moving axially. At its forward
eud, the recess is cam-shaped, to allow of the stud rising and offering no obstruction
to the axial movement of the holt head (under the torsion of its propelling spring),
to commence the locking together of the bolt and barrel. is a firing pin, taking
a bent or cranked form (see Figs. 4 and 8), the forward end of which passes
through a central hole in the bolt head, while its hinder-end enters the hollow stem
of the handle B³, projecting laterally from the bolt head.
The rear end of this pin is wedge-shaped, and it lies opposite the notch formed
in the stem of the handle, to receive, at the right moment, a blow from an upwardly
projecting finger c', extending from the side of the shoe C. The firing pin is held
back by a coiled spring, which yields as the pin is struck by the finger c', to project
it forward into contact with the primer of the cartridge.
3 is the extractor carried by the bolt head, and acting on the spent cartridge,
to release it from the breech at the moment that the barrel commences its return
motion (after the recoil).
is the ejector pin (see Fig. 9), which plays freely through the bolt-head, and
is provided with a retaining spring for drawing it back out of action. This ejector
pin is thrust forward into contact with the spent cartridge, while still held by the
extractor, to discharge it from the gun by means of the projection on the bar a
striking it as the barrel recovers its normal position, the bolt being at the same
time held back in the position shewn at Fig. 2.
Besides these fittings, the bolt head is furnished with locking wings, which enter
the breech, and, as the bolt is turned, lock the two parts together.
The handle B³, it should be remarked, is intended to withdraw the bolt from
the barrel by hand, when it is desired to replenish the magazine. It also serves
to withdraw the bolt from the gun, but to facilitate this operation, the recess c is
opened at its rear end, and takes a zig-zag shape, which allows of the stud 61
being turned up, to clear the projection on the arm a, as the bolt is being
withdrawn.
An automatic momentary locking back of the bolt, while the fire-arm. is in use,
is effected by the sear F, which, as the bolt is thrust back by the recoil action of
the barrel, is caught by the sear, as shown at Fig. 2, to provide for the discharge
of the spent cartridge, and its replacement by another from the magazine. It is
for the purpose of releasing the bolt from the sear, and allowing it to complete
its return motion, that the projection on the bar a' of the barrel is provided, to
trip the sear.
The construction of the sear F is best shewn at Figs, 1, 1ª, and 2. It is mounted

page_text: ou the pivot pin of the trigger G, and is operated thereby at the moment of firing:
the gun for the purpose to be presently explained. The end of the sear is forked;
thus, one prong enters the slot in the cylindrical portion B' of the bolt, whilst the..
other prong of the fork is outside the cylinder, and is situate in the line of motion
of the projection formed on the bar a', standing out in rear of the barrel. By this
arrangement, the barrel, as it completes its return movement, brings the rounded
projection on the bar al into contact with the sear, and tips it into the dotted
position of Fig. 2, thereby releasing the bolt from the scar. Following up this
action, the released bolt will now complete its return motion, and, bringing its
stud into the cam portion of the recess c. will release it from the constraini.g
pressure put upon it by the straight portion of the recess c. The torsion of the
spring B² will now bring the tail piece & from the drawn position shewn in Fig. 9,
to the dotted position, or in contact with the sear, which will arrest the axial
motion of the bolt, leaving the locking of the bolt to the barrel as yet incomplete.
The tail of the sear F overlies an arm g, loosely pivotted to the trigger G, as
described in the Specification of a Patent granted to me in conjunction with
William Griffiths, and bearing date 19th September 1892 No. 16730.
On pulling the trigger to fire the gun, the sear F is depressed, and the tail b of
the bolt being now free, the bolt will, under the action of the propelling spring,
complete the locking, the tail b being then in the position shown at Fig. 7. At.
the same moment, the handle B3 will bring the firing pin 6 sharply into contact
with the finger c', drive that pin forward, and fire the gun.
To ensure this result, I prefer to reinforce the torsion action of the propelling
spring B by a leaf spring fitted to the shoe C, and so situate as to enter the
forward end of the recess c, and to impart an upward impulse to the stud b₁ at the
end of its forward travel. This is best shown at Fig. 12, which is a left-hand
view of the gun, shewing the spring in place, a portion of the case being cut
away to bring it into view. This spring is controlled by a catch c³, pivotted below
the recess c, and so formed as to embrace the two extremities of the leaf spring.
The head of this catch, standing up in the end of the recess c, is struck by the
advancing stud 61, and the spring is thereby released, to allow of its acting upon
the stud. The impulse imparted to the stud by the leaf spring will alone, or in
combination with the propelling spring, drive round the bolt, so as to ensure both
the locking of that bolt, and the forward propulsion of the firing pin.
When the firing has taken place, the recoil consequent on the discharge will
drive back the barrel, and with it the bolt, which latter will be unlocked by the
action of the cam-shaped portion of the recess e bearing down the stud ₁ to the
level of the straight portion of the recess. Before, however, the bolt is free to
turn on its axis and commence its disengagement from the breech, the sear F
must be depressed. This is effected either by the rounded edge of the tail piece b
striking the rounded end of the sear, or by the projection on the bar a¹ of the
barrel coming in contact with the outer prong of the forked sear, forcing it
out of the way of the tail of the bolt, and allowing the latter to pass over
the sear.
So soon as the barrel is checked in its back motion by coming in contact with
the shoe at the point *, Figs. 1 and 2, the bolt will be caught by the sear F, as.
shewn in Fig. 2, at which time the parting between the bolt and the barrel will
be effected by the barrel moving forward under the pressure of its spring, thereby
opening a space between them sufficient to allow of the discharge of the spent
cartridge which has been drawn out by the extractor 3, fitted to the bolt head.
The return of the barrel to its normal position will bring the projection on its
bar a iuto sudden contact with the ejector pin 6, forcing it into the dotted position
of Fig. 3, and thereby cause the spent cartridge to be thrown out of the gun.
Simultaneously with this action, a fresh cartridge from the magazine is raised up
into a position to enter the breech. Immediately following this rise of the fresh
cartridge, is the action of the projection on the bar a¹ on the sear F, as mentioned
when first describing its operation on the sear. The effect of this return movement.

page_text: of the projection over the sear, is to release the bolt from its locked position, and
leave it free to advance, to thrust the cartridge into place. The bolt is then
partially locked to the barrel, and the parts are again in position ready for
repeating the discharge of the gun.
In manufacturing military arms, I prefer to make the barrel springs A¹ and the
bolt-propelling springs B' interchangeable, so that if an arm is disabled by the
breaking of one or other of the springs, no difficulty will be experienced in
selecting the spring to replace it.
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. The construction of automatic magazine firearms as above described, and
illustrated at Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, wherein the return of the bolt to
close the breech, the locking of the bolt thereto, and the propulsion of the firing
pin, are effected by the use of one propelling spring.
2. The combination of the guiding recess and stud with the sear and tail piece
for controlling the axial motion of the bolt.
3. The means described for locking back the bolt by the sear, and depressing
the sear through the traverse movements of the barrel, for the purpose set
forth.
4. The means described for operating the firing pin, on the tripping of the sear
by the trigger.
Dated this 30th day of August 1895.
NEWTON & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.