IMPROVE- MENTS, IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Plaister Harriss at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 27th
September 1864.
I, JAMES PLAISTER: HARRISS, of Stanley Hall, in the County of York,
Esquire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS, IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in cutting the barrel of a gun into two parts at
a sufficient distance from the breech end to form a chamber large enough for
any cartridges of the usual and necessary length. The barrel is cut in an
oblique direction from top to bottom towards the breech end. If inner steel
bands are used as herein-after described, the oblique cutting from the top
ends at the axis of the barrel, a horizontal line is cut for a quarter of an inch,
and then the cutting is continued to the bottom in a parallel direction to the
cutting from the top. The chamber turns upon a screw bolt as a hinge,
passing transversely through the stock, and the tail piece behind the breech
end. At the point of cutting the barrel is provided with a cap or band, which
presses a felt band upon the lines of division. The upper portion of the cap
rises with the chamber. At a point about one quarter or one-fifth of the
distance from the hinge to the opening of the chamber is an expanding ring,
which assists in holding a piece of metal fixed to the under part of the barrel.
This metal piece has an opening through which a bolt passes to hold the
chamber firmly down. It has also a rounded surface at the base, which by

page_text: running up an inclined plane pushed against it raises the chamber to the
required height. The bolt and inclined plane are carried on a small block which
travels from the left side to the right side of the stock and back again. This
block is kept in its place by the bed of the barrel and by the ramrod, or a
bolt which passes through it. The block is pushed from left to right by the
end of a lever acting from a fulcrum placed about an inch and a half farther
off towards the muzzle, and acted upon by a button on the left side of the
stock at a point about one-fifth of the distance from the fulcrum to the end
that pushes the block, the block returns. to the left side by the action of a
spring, and by the pressure of the chamber, and the chamber returns to its
horizontal position by its weight and the action of a spring. The buttou
projects only about three-tenths of an inch, and can be easily protected by a
guard. For loading, the left hand is brought down to just in front of the
trigger guard, it slides easily to this position after the gun is fired, and the
thumb presses the button, thus unbolting the chamber, and raising it whilst
the right hand has only to charge the chamber. When the pressure ceases,
.the gun is ready to fire. The hammer may remain on the nipple, or at half
cock during the loading. The only differences in the outward appearance of
the gun are the screw head of the hinge and the button in the stock, and
the cap and ring on the barrel. To prevent the escape of gas the joining ends
of the two parts of the barrel are cut to fit accurately, and are furnished
either with inner steel bands overlying those joinings, the upper half of them
remaining with the barrel, and the lower half being raised with the chamber,
and with an external band pressing a felt band over the joinings, the upper
half of which is raised with the chamber, and the lower half remains in the
bed beneath the barrel, or with external bands of métal and felt only, or-with
an external band of metal only. Muzzle-loading guns can be converted into
breech-loaders by this Invention.
:
There are two or three modifications of the mechanism which I will
describe :-
:
1st, the bolt and inclined plane may be carried on separate blocks connected
by a lever, the fulcrum of which is so placed that the bolt block travels four
times or so as fast as the, incline plane block. This arrangement has. the
advantage-of-not-taking up quite as much space in the stock of the gun as
the one already described:
2nd, the bolt and inclined plane blocks are not only separate, but are also
acted upon separately by the button which first presses and acts upon the
lever moving the bolt block, and so withdraws the bolt, and then presses and
acts upon the lever moving the inclined plane so as to raise the chamber.

page_text: 3rd, there are no blocks to carry the bolt, and inclined plane, and the bolt
may travel transversely or longitudinally, the other arrangements being the
same as in No. 2.-
:
4tb, a lever on a travelling fulcrum is used to raise the chamber, and the
power is transmitted to it by a lever, which is depressed by the left thumb
drawing downwards a projecting button or handle. This button first acts upon
an independant lever so as to release the bolt.
My Invention consists further in dividing the barrel perpendicularly at a
similar point-to the foregoing, in separating the chamber from the breech.end,
in making the chamber turn on a hinge on the barrel at the forward division,
and in raising the chamber by the use of similar mechanism to that described
in the foregoing. In this arrangement the cartridge is inserted from the rear,
and the escape of gas is prevented at the forward division by a continuous
inner steel band with bevelled edge, and at the breech end by tight fitting,
and the strong enlarged end of the cartridge, the gas all going forward.
My Invention consists also in an improved breech loader with improved
apparatus for firing. In this arrangement the breech end is movable, and is
moved to the left side (to allow of the insertion of a cartridge) on a slide
acted upon by a lever fixed upon a fulcrum under the barrel, to which the
power is applied by pressure on
an external button similarly shaped and
situated to those in the foregoing description. This and a somewhat similar
button for firing, and a somewhat similar one as a safety stop, are the only
external projections of the fire-arm, there being no such projections as nipple,
hammer, or trigger. The cartridge case carries the cap on a spring at the
bottom. Cartridge cases that carry caps at the centre may be used if the pin
berein-after described is arranged so as to strike the centre and not the bottom
of the cartridge case. I also make for this fire-arm cartridge cases that instead
of a cap have a fulminate fixed in such a position at or near the centre that
it can be struck by the said pin so as to ignite the powder,, and that it is
protected by a small slide for packing until use, so as to prevent accidental
explosion.
The breech end of sufficient strength according to the uses of the gun
carries with it a length of wooden continuation sufficient to allow of the
approach of the cartridges to the chamber, the slide on which it is fixed is
firmly set in the stock so as not to allow of any accidental blowing back. In
the breech end is a pin at the centre or bottom as the case may be, held by a
spring, which allowing it to strike the cap or fulminate withdraws it from
the cartridge case. This pin is struck by a bolt propelled suddenly forward
by a mainspring on being released by the pressure of the right-hand thumb

page_text: acting upon a button on the upper side of the butt end so as to raise a small
clever. When the right hand clasps the gun for aiming, the first finger by its
act of clasping presses upon a button on the under side so as to release the
lever of the upper button. The action of the lower button corresponds to the
raising of a hammer to full cock, and the action of the upper button to pulling
the trigger. The breech-end piece carries with it an inclined plane lying
horizontally, which as the breech end slides out for loading pushes the main-
spring bolt back to its place for firing. This arrangement for firing can be
,adapted to the other breech-loaders described, and also to any kind of gun.