Improvements in Repeating Guns.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 9th June, 1894-Accepted, 4th Aug., 1894
CUMI LEID DELCIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by WILLIS HARVEY OSTRANDER, a Director of
The Ostrander Repeating Gun Company, a Corporation of San Francisco,
State of California, one of the United States of America.]
Improvements in Repeating Guns.
I, VICTOR ISIDORE FEENY, of 60 Queen Victoria Street London in the
County of London, Patent Agent, 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 :---
This invention relates to certain improvements in repeating guns. It consists
essentially in details of construction and combinations of parts which will be
more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a longitudinal view with section of fore arm cap.
Figure 2, a sectional elevation of bridge piece mechanism and stock.
Figure 3, view shewing cartridge raising device and latch mechanism.
Figure 4, elevation of gear slides.
Figure 5 front view of pinions.
Figure 6, top view of lever post and sliding bars.
Figure 7, top or plan view of bridge piece.
Figure 8, cross section through guide on line y—y.
Figure 9 cross section through pinions.
Figure 10 section through the lock shewing position of hammer.
Figure 11 plan of rods and springs, and
Figure 12 view of sliding plates.
The object of this invention is to provide certain improvements in that class of
magazine guns or repeaters having two barrels upon a single stock like a shot
gun with magazines beneath, and mechanism whereby the supplemental cartridges
carried in these magazines may be elevated and introduced into the barrels after
the previous cartridges have been discharged therefrom.
A is the stock of the gun, B is the front extension of the stock called the fore
end within which a pair of barrels C is adapted to slide forward and back,
D is a casing within which the operating mechanism is contained, E is a standing
breech against which the rear end of the barrels abut when they are closed and
locked in position.
F is a locking latch by which the barrels are held in place when the breech is
closed.
This latch engages a groove C¹ in the web between the barrels, and is held up
by a spring G.
The latch is connected with the front end of the bell crank lever H which is
fulcrumed in the space beneath.
One arm of the bell crank lever enters a groove or channel in the latch having an
anti-friction roller on its end and when the lever is moved about its fulcrum point,
it acts to draw the latch downward until it is disengaged and allows the barrels to
be moved forward, sliding upon the fore end.
When the bell crank lever is released the latch is forced up by the spring. The
other arm of the bell crank lever enters a slot or channel I made in the sliding
rod I. This sliding rod extends back and is connected with the trigger i which is
pulled and draws the rod back, thus causing it to act upon the bell crank lever and
the bolt or latch F.
In this invention, the front end of the rod I extends beneath the locking bolt
LD 021

page_text: or latch F when the parts are in their normal position, and thus prevents the bolt.
from being moved downward to unlatch the barrels.
The slot in the rod I is of sufficient length to allow the rod to be pulled back
until it is disengaged from the latch F before the rear end of the slot engages the
bell crank lever to draw the latch down, and when the parts have been released
and the latch has been forced upward by its spring, the rod will pass beneath the
latch and thus lock it in place.
The rear upper end of the latch is bevelled off slightly so that as it is moved
upward, it acts on the wedge to lock against the rear of the groove between
the barrels and hold them firmly in place, and for the same reason, when the
latch begins to move downward, it moves away from this shoulder, so that the
latch will move freely and without binding, which would be the case if it was
perfectly straight.
The guiding tongue or rib B' upon which the barrels slide and are guided in
their sliding movements, is preferably made separate from the fore end and
attached thereto by screws or otherwise, so that it is more easily manufactured,
and easily replaced if necessary.
This part is also split longitudinally as shown at 2, and has a tapering hole made
in it for the head of a screw 3, so that by turning this screw up, the sides of the
rib are spread out or expanded, thus compensating for any wear that may have
taken place in the working of the gun, and keeping it always tight.
In this construction the vertically sliding bars 7 which carry the segments S,
are made cylindrical, and the channels or openings for them are quickly and
accurately made, by simply boring them out of a cylindrical form.
The cylindrical vertical carrier posts, have teeth made upon the rear adapted to
engage the rotary pinions P by which they are raised and depressed.
In order to disengage either of the pinions from the central horizontal recipro-
cating rack N by which they are rotated, and by which the mechanisms for raising
the cartridges from the magazine are operated, a top lever O is employed which is
turned from side to side, and acts through a vertical turning post O' to which it is
attached, and transversely sliding plates m, with lugs m' to shift the pinions to one
side or the other as may be desired.
A pin O projecting from the front of the top lever post engages either one or
the other of these plates. When moved in one direction it engages one of the
plates and moves, the pinion upon that side out of engagement with the rack bar,
leaving the other one in engagement so that the particular carrier actuated by it
may be moved while the other one remains quiescent.
When the lever returns to its central position, or is moved to the opposite side,
it acts upon the other plate to move the other pinion out.
Now, in order to insure the return of either pinion after it has been thus forced
out of engagement with the rack, each of these plates is slotted, making horizontal
slots H upon opposite ends, and each plate has a corresponding pin 5 entering the
slot of the other plate.
The amount of space in each slot is sufficient to allow the plate to be moved as
far as may be necessary to disengage the pinion from the rack, but when the
movement in the opposite direction takes place, the pin will strike against the end
of the slot, thus drawing the plate in the direction in which the other plate is
moving, and this brings the pinion back into engagement with the rack bar before
the other one is thrown out of engagement.
This prevents the two pinions being thrown out of engagement at the same
time, and always ensures the bringing back of either of them after it has been
thrown out.
The vertical turning post of the top snap by which these plates are moved to one
side or the other for the purpose of disengaging either of the pinions from the
rack bar has two arms forming a ring extending backward from it, as shown at 6,
and having an open slot between the rear ends.
The spring 7 by which the post is always returned to its central position as soon

page_text: as the lever is released, is shown as formed with two parallel blades, the rear end
being secured to the upper part of the casing, within which the breech operating
mechanism is contained.
The front ends of these springs extend into the open slot at the rear of the
ring 6 and normally retain it and the post and lever in the central position.
Whenever the post is turned in either direction, the part of the ring upon the
opposite side will press upon the spring, and force it to the same side to which the
lever has been turned, and when the lever is released, the spring will return
the post as previously described.
The rod or bar I which is connected with the trigger i, and by which the locking
bolt or latch F is actuated, has its rear end engaged by a spring 8 which is
compressed when the rod is drawn back and which acts to force the rod forward
to its normal position when the trigger is released.
9 are two sliding bars fitting in the upper part of the casings and having their
rear ends engaged by springs 10 which normally force them forward.
The front ends of these bars project through the standing breech, as shown, in
such position that when the barrels are moved back and locked, they strike these
projecting points and force the sliding bars 9 back.
When the barrels are released and moved forward the springs act to force the
bars forward.
These bars project above the safety catches X in such a manner that when they
are moved forward they prevent the safety catches from being lifted by the
movement of the thumb pieces g'. These thumb pieces are slidable upon the top
and outside of the tang or the stock, and when pressed forward act to press down
the rear ends of the safety catches, thus lifting the front ends and disengaging
them from the hammers, so as to allow the hammers to fall when the triggers are
pulled.
This is the condition of the parts when the barrels are closed and locked, because
the sliding bars 9 are then pushed back by the contact of the barrels with their
front ends, far enough to allow the safety catches to be lifted by the action of the
thumb pieces.
When the barrels are moved forward, however, the sliding bars 9 are pressed
forward by their springs, and stand above the safety catches in such a manner
as to prevent their being disengaged from the hammers while the barrels are
opened. This prevents the hammers being released by the trigger pull at any time
except when the barrels are properly closed.
Between the hammers Y and the trigger plates V are fulcrumed independent
tumblers 11 having upon the upper ends the projecting hooks 12 which engage
corresponding hooks or notches on the rear ends of the hammers, and thus retain
them when they are drawn back to position of full cock.
Upon the sides of these tumblers are pins 13 which are engaged by the trigger
plates when the triggers are pulled, so as to turn the tumblers about their fulcrum
points until the hammers are released.
In Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12, a means is shown for dispensing with the top lever O,
shown in Figures 1, 2 and 7. The construction is as follows:-
The horizontally sliding rack N is connected with the sliding barrels so as to be
moved forward and back with them. It engages a central pinion P¹ and rotates
it alternately in one direction and the other.
The two pinions P P upon the same shaft with the pinion P¹ which engage and
move the vertically sliding racks q, are normally moved out of engagement with
the pinion P¹ by means of the points m' on the transversely sliding plates m (the
points m engaging grooves made around the hubs of the pinions), and a
longitudinally sliding spring-actuated pin which has its rear end made wedge-
shaped as shown at 15, Fig. 11. This end enters between the inner edges m² of the
plates m, thus forcing them apart and through the lugs or projections m', acts
These
upon the pinions to slide them outwardly against the coil springs 16.
springs force the pinions inwardly and into engagement with the feathers or clutch

page_text: members 18 of, the pinion P' whenever released by withdrawing the pin 15 from,
between the plates m m, and unlocking the plates.
The pinions P P when forced inwardly by their springs 16 will engage the.
pinion P by means of interlocking clutch devices 18, and be rotated thereby and
they also engage the vertically moving rack bars q which lift the carriers S to raise
cartridges from the magazine up to a position to enter the barrels of the guo.
When moved outwardly upon their shafts, these pinions P P are disengaged from
the pinion P' and do not actuate the carriers. The horizontally sliding pin 15 is
moved backward between the sliding plates m, and is retained in this position
against the action of its spring, whenever the barrels are closed, and when the
sliding plates m are thus separated, they are locked by sliding spurs 17, which are
actuated by springs so that the spurs enter corresponding holes in the outer edges of
the plates m.
While the plates m are locked, the barrels may be disengaged and moved
forward, thus allowing the pin 15 to be moved forward by its spring and disengaged
from the plates m, without allowing the plates to approach each other, and the
pinions P P will thus continue to remain out of contact with the pinion P'. When,
however, either of the hammers Y falls to discharge a cartridge in the corre-
sponding barrel of the gun, it will strike the pin 17 upon that side, and thus unlock
the corresponding plate m. As soon as the barrels are released and caused to
slide forward, the spring 16 acting upon the pinion P upon that side, forces it
inwardly, carrying with it its sliding plate m, and the clutch member will engage
that of the pinion P1 and be actuated by it, and through its connection with
the vertical rack and the carrier S, it will raise a cartridge from the magazine,
and deposit it in the barrel from which the discharged cartridge has been ejected.
The hammer upon this side is again drawn back into position for firing by the
action of the upper rack bar N and thus releases the locking pin 17 which,
actuated by its spring, is pressed against the plate m, and as soon as the pin 15 is
pressed back between the plates m by the closing of the barrels against the breech,
the plate m will be forced outwardly to its normal position, and the locking pin 17
will engage the hole in the plate and hold it and its pinion again out of engagement
with the rack bar.
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-
1st. In a magazine gun, the vertically movable locking bolt or latch with
inclined contact locking faces, a horizontally slidable bar, the front end of which
extends beneath the latch when the barrels are closed and locked, a bell crank
lever fulcrumed behind the latch having one arm extending forwardly to engage
the latch and the other arm extending downwardly into a channel in the sliding
bar, the length of which allows the bar to be drawn backward until it releases the
locking latch before the sliding bar commences to act upon the bell crank lever
whereby the latch is depressed.
2nd. The rack and pinion mechanism and the link or bar extending to the front
and having the up-turned end adapted to be engaged so as to actuate the cartridge
carrying mechanism when the barrels are moved forward, and a hinged latch
adapted to hold said link in place or to disengage it for the removal of the barrels.
as described.
3rd. In a gun having the barrels slidable upon the fore end, a detachable guiding
rib upon which they travel, said rib made in separable parts, and a screw whereby
the parts are adjusted to compensate for wear.
4th. Plates slidable transversely and adapted to move the pinions correspondingly
so as to disengage either pinion from the rack bar to allow one mechanism to be
actuated independently, and having slots made in them, and pins projecting
respectively from the opposing plates into these slots, so that either pinion will be

page_text: returned into engagement with the rack, by the movement of the other plate, to
disengage the other pinion.
5th. Bars slidable in the upper part of the lock casing having stops to engage-
the safety catches and prevent their being lifted when the barrels are unlocked and
moved forward, projections from the front end of said bars to be engaged by the
barrels when the latter are closed and locked, whereby the sliding bars are moved
backwardly to release the safety catches and allow them to be raised by the thumb.
pieces.
6th. Rearwardly extending arms or an open ring on the top lever post, a spring
or springs having the rear end attached to the casing, and the front end extending
between said arms to return the post and lever to a central position after it has been.
turned to either side.
7th. Independent tumblers fulerumed between the hammers and trigger plates,.
and adapted to engage the hammers when they are drawn back and retain thein at
full cock, and pins upon the sides of the tumblers against which the trigger plates.
act to disengage the tumblers from the hammers as described.
8th. A central revolving pinion actuated by a longitudinally sliding rack bar
connected with the slidable barrels of a gun, loose pinions mounted upon the same
shaft adapted to raise and depress the cartridge carriers and movable into engage-
ment with the central pinion by springs pressing upon the outer sides of their hubs,.
transversely sliding plates with lugs engaging grooves in the hubs, a longitudinally
sliding pin adapted to enter between the plates and press them apart when the
barrels are closed against the breech, spring-actuated locking pins engaging holes
in said plates to retain them in their separated positions and the pinions out of
engagement when the hammers are drawn back, either of said pins being released
to allow its plate to move inwardly and the corresponding pinion to be forced into-
engagement by its actuating spring whenever the hammer is down, and the pin.
which separates the plates moved out of engagement with it.
Dated this Ninth day of June 1894.