Improvements in Breech-loading Firearms.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Sept., 1894-Accepted, 9th Feb., 1895
Improvements in Breech-loading Firearms.
We, THOMAS ROBERT RANEY ASHTON, of Deniliquin. in the Colony of New
South Wales, Mechanical Engineer, and EDWARD JOHN KELLY, of Terang, in
the Colony of Victoria, Mechanical Engineer, 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, that is
to say :-
The object of our invention is to provide improvements in fire-arms, the arm
containing said improvements being usable with or without a magazine, and being
well adapted to meet the requirements of modern warfare.
The utility of small arms depends upon the extent to which they possess the
following features:
Firstly, capacity for rapid recharging with a supply of cartridges, and rapid
firing off in succession of the cartridges in the magazine; secondly, fewness,
simplicity and case of the manual operations required in firing and reloading,
avoidance of strain on the hand after much firing, and avoidance of failures during
warfare to manage the fire-arm, by men of weak nerves or small intelligence,
which would occur if the operations were complicated or required close attention ;
and thirdly, durability and suitability of construction whereby the arm does not
get out of order easily, and is comfortable and safe to carry. Much attention
has been paid by inventors to these points, but room still exists for improvements.
Our magazine fire-arm contains improvements which entitle it to rank high as a
military weapon. It can be replenished with a supply of cartridges whilst held to
the shoulder, without greatly disturbing the aim; it does not require much
intelligence or careful attention from the user to prevent failures in its use; it does
not unduly tire the operator; and, in particular, the number of cartridges which
can be fired from it in a given time is, comparatively speaking, very high. Our
invention relates to the mechanism for storing, loading, firing and extracting
ammunition, and not to the stock or its accessories.
Referring now to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this
Specification, and show parts of a magazine rifle containing our improvements :-
Figure 1 is a sectional plan view on the line Y Y in Figures 2 and 8.
Figure 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, on line Z-Z in Figure 8 that is to
say with the near side of the casing and other parts removed, to show interior parts
of the arm, in the cocked position ready to fire.
Figure 3 represents the parts shown in Figure 2 but in the position they
assume when (after firing) the empty shell or cartridge case has been extracted
from the breech, and is beginning to be ejected through the side of the arm.
Figure 4 also shows the parts represented in Figure 2, but in the position they
assume when the arm has been fired by pulling the trigger.
Figure 5 is a sectional plan view from above on the line QQ in Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a plan view from above of the exterior of the body of the arm
showing a magazine in position.
Figure 7 is a perspective view of various parts of the action within the interior
of the arm.
Figure 8 represents a transverse vertical section, partly in elevation through th
line X X in Figure 2, and looking towards the breech.

page_text: Figure 9 is a perspective exterior view of that part of the arm which carries the
magazine.
In all the drawings the same letters of reference are used to denote like parts.
We do not confine ourselves to the precise relative sizes of parts or to the design of
them, which may be varied within reasonable limits without departing from the
essential features which constitute our improvements.
In these drawings, A is the body or outer case which may be in several parts,
suitably connected to allow access when required to the interior for cleaning or
other purposes. B is the breech of the barrel. E is a longitudinally sliding bolt
which opens or closes the breech, and has no turning motion. C is the firing pin or
striker, working within a chamber in E, and having a flange near the fore-end, said
striker being actuated by D the main spring, which operates in said chamber
between C and E as shown. C cannot turn in E as its rear end has plane sides
which meet the plane sides C' of the interior of E. The rear of C extends
downwards, the front of the extension having a step or notch L, and the compression
of the spring D is effected by the engagement of the sear M in front of L (see
Figure 2). F is a central lug projecting downwardly from the front of E. G is a
pin rigidly fixed transversely through the base of F. Kis the loading and
extracting handle or lever having an inner forked end, within the body of the arm,
said end being pivoted to G by an elongated slot H, the lever also being pivoted to
the pin W which passes through lugs Kunder the body, and through an elongated
slot I as shown. P is the trigger pivoted at P¹ and adapted to engage one end of
the lever O which is pivoted at O¹. The slots 21 and 22 in the body A allow the
necessary motion to the lever K and trigger P respectively. When the trigger is
pulled, the other end of lever O bears down and depresses a pin N¹ which is
transversely fixed through the base of a bar N which passes through an aperture in
a cross piece R' and is maintained in a vertical position by the cross piece R²,
having an aperture into which the top of N passes, the depression of N by the
trigger not causing said top to entirely leave said aperture. The sear M (which
can only move vertically) is fixedly connected to N, so that pulling the trigger
removes M from the front of L and allows the compressed spring D to propel
forward the striker C with sufficient force to discharge the cartridge B'. R is the
trigger spring which extends from R' to M, keeping the latter pressed upward, and
thus normally keeping the arm cocked, A flat trigger spring acting upon N or M
might be substituted for R if preferred. S S are a pair of levers (a single lever
only might be used in some cases) pivoted at their rear ends to the base of the bolt-
locking block S', and pivoted to the body at S2, and having each a fore-end
transverse projection S³ with which the transverse projections K' on K engage when
the handle of K is swung forward. The latter action raises the fore-end of S and
depresses the rear, thus drawing down the block S' free of the breech bolt E, but
normally S is kept up, (within the close fitting grooves or bearings S₁ in A)
behind the bolt E by the pressure of the spring U which is kept always vertical by
the interior pin, V the top of which passes into the hole T in S.
E is the extractor, articulated about midway of its length to the front solid part
of bolt E, said bolt having a recess E2 behind said articulation. The channel E
above the top of bolt E and in the case A, is such that E' (the hook) must remain
down while the bolt is closed as in Figures 2 and 4, and also whilst said extractor
is being withdrawn or advanced, except that when in discharging a cartridge case
or shell E3 (Figure 3) the bolt E is brought to about its extreme rear position, the
hook E' of the extractor rises, and frees the shell which then rolls out of the arm.
When the tail of extractor E' meets the inclined plane E' said tail is automatically
depressed causing E' to rise. When a new cartridge has taken the place of E³ in
Figure 3 and the bolt E is carried forward, the inclined plane E (which forms the
roof of the rearward extension of slot E) depresses as in Figure 2.
hook E' might be so placed as to grasp the rim or other gripping place of the.
cartridge at the moment of firing so that the drawing rearward of bolt E will
immediately begin to extract the cartridge case shell. But by having E' (in the
T'he

page_text: position of Figures 2 and 4) slightly forward of the rim or other gripping place,
E will (in opening the action) be drawn back slightly from the shell, leaving space
between them, before E' begins to extract shell. The purpose of this is explained
subsequently.
A¹ (see Figure 8) is a laterally inclined table having a central longitudinal
slot A and two other longitudinal slots A³ and A', one at each side. A has
passing through it the lug F on bolt E and allows said lug to travel forward or
back. A3 and A' are to allow two dogs or limbs 3, 4 (described hereafter) to rise
or descend through them.
When after firing a cartridge (see Figure 4) the lever K is grasped by the
handle, and swung round on its axis W to the position in Figure 3, and then
brought home as in Figure 2, that action causes the fire arm to be unlocked, opened,
emptied of the cartridge case or shell, reloaded, closed, cocked and locked again
ready for firing,-provided that at the time of moving K there is another cartridge
as B2 (Figures 1 and 8) in the magazine box B³.
We shall now describe our improvements relating to reloading. 2 is a lever
pivoted at 6 to one side of the body A, having its rear end normally kept up as in
Figures 2 and 4 by a spring 7. Its fore-end is pivoted to the lower part of dog 4
the foot of the latter being also pivoted to one end of a transverse rocking lever (or
pair of levers) 9, which is (or are) centrally pivoted at 10 as shown, and pivoted
at the other end to the foot of the dog 3. Normally the end 8 remains depressed,
so that 4 is depressed, whilst 3 is raised through the slot A³. No movement in
these parts takes place until the lever K is actuated to extract the cartridge case or
shell E (Figure 3) but when the lever K is in the position there shown the
projection K2 strikes and depresses the rear extremity 5 of the lever 2, thus raising
the end 8, and with it the dog 4, and consequently lowering the dog 3. This allows
the cartridge case or shell E³ to roll out, and prevents the new cartridge B' rolling
in. On returning the lever K to its normal position, the first part of its motion
carries K upward, until that end of slot H at which K2 is placed bears against the
pin G. Simultaneously with this motion, spring 7 presses the end 5 up, thus
drawing down 4 and raising 3 again, and consequently the next cartridge B
immediately rolls down the incline on to the table A' in front of the bolt E, being
prevented from falling out of the arm by the dog 3.
The pins 11 projecting from the body through a vertical slot in 3, 4, serve to
prevent the latter sagging.
In the position of Figure 3 the action is fully open and the springs R and U are
compressed. The opening is accomplished, first by drawing down the locking
block S¹ (Figure 4) and then sliding back the bolt E (which carries with it the
striker C). The front of slot C' is marked C² and is bevelled so as to prevent
obstruction by or to the sear M. It has been explained that S' is depressed clear
of E by the levers S S which are actuated by KK. In moving K to effect this,
the lower end of slot H is first brought against pin G and the further motion of K
carries E back. This is easily effected, since the length of K outside the axis W
is much greater than its length inside, so that a powerful leverage is gained.
In order to load, close and lock the arm, all that is necessary is to pull home the
handle of K. The first part of the motion of K merely causes the end in which the
slot H, is formed to move forward, and causes the cartridge case or shell E³ to be
ejected and a new cartridge to take its place. The entrance and exit apertures for
cartridges in the sides of A are marked 13 and 14 respectively. The further
motion of K carries the bolt E forward until the new cartridge is home. The
part M pressing on the underside of E rises as the slot C₁ passes over it, and
catching against the notch L the forward motion of C is arrested, and M at the
same time cocks the trigger. As E is moved forward the spring D is necessarily
compressed. When E closes the breech, the block S¹ is thrown up close behind É
by the compressed spring U and the parts are then ready for firing. The rifleman
has only two parts to operate namely the lever K and the trigger P, and their
relative position in our invention, enables these parts to be repeatedly operated

page_text: with great rapidity without disturbing the general aim. As an indicator as to
whether the trigger is cocked or not, either the pin N' (or a separate pin on the
bar N) may extend to the exterior of the body through a slot N2 in one side of A
so that the outer end (N³) is visible to the rifleman, its position indicating the state
of the trigger action (see Figure 6). If it be desired to have the spring D eased,
whilst an unfired cartridge is in the breech all that is necessary when drawing
rearward the handle of K is to keep M down by pressure on the trigger P. This
will allow L to pass M thus taking the position shown in Figure 4.
If an unfired cartridge is to be extracted, the lever K is operated without first
pulling the trigger. As soon as the block St (Figure 2) is lowered, the spring D
will expand either rapidly or otherwise according to the speed with which K is
being moved. This causes E to be retracted, either rapidly or otherwise, and
causes the point of C to be protruded through the fore end of E; it also causes the
hook E' to extract the cartridge, but leaving sufficient space between the latter and
the end of E so that the striker cannot cause an explosion. As the extractor gets
into motion before the hook begins to pull out the cartridge there is also momentum
gained by which the extraction of the cartridge is facilitated.
We will now describe our magazine receiver more particularly shown by B³ in
Figures 6, 8 & 9. This receptacle is a box situated on the upper right side of the
body just behind the breech.
This box rises up on 3 sides above the body, and has the front open to enable a
magazine to be pushed into or out of it.
There are two longitudinal interior grooves marked 15 one in each side, to receive
the lips of the magazines.
A spring 16 and a locking bolt 17 are provided in the respective sides as shown,
for the purpose of locking the magazine in place when the latter has been
inserted.
Instead of a spring and a bolt there might be two springs only, or two bolts, or
other obvious modification. The spring is designed to be automatic in its action
that is to say, whilst ordinarily holding the magazine B₁ in place, as by its fore-end
pressing in front of a shoulder 18 it will retract when the magazine deliberately
and with force pushed forward from the rear and thus allow the magazine to be
removed, and it will also retract by the pressure of a new magazine sufficiently to
allow the latter to be slipped on. The bolt 17 has its fore-end 20 and rear end 19
turned up at right angles to its length and is actuated by the rifleman from the
rear. When the end 19 is horizontal, the fore-end 20 locks against the magazine
in front of the shoulder thereof, shown, and when the end 19 is turned to point
vertically, the end 20 also points vertically unlocking the magazine. The advantage
of this is that the bolt lock can be used or not as required, and that in all cases it
can be seen by inspection whether the said lock is on or not. Obviously for the fastest
firing the bolt would not be put on, the spring Jock being sufficient where the firing
is approximately horizontal.
It will thus be seen that our magazine receptacle, with its parts, firmly supports
the magazine in an upright position and prevents its displacement in
any
direction.
Owing to the support it gives, the magazine itself may be made of very thin
inexpensive sheet metal without liability to injury from recoil.
In the Complete Specification of another application for a Patent made by us
we have described and claimed certain improvements in magazines for fire-arms in
which magazines one element is that the lid of the magazine forms its bottom and
is adapted to slip off as the magazine is being inserted on the arm. Our magazine
receptacle B³ as herein described is adapted to receive such magazines. When a
magazine as B is in place it is evident that the cartridge will fall down until_the
lower one meets the base of the receptacle B³. This support forms a curved or
sloping upward continuation of the table A', and continues into the sides of the
receptacle.
It will be evident that our fire-arm can be used as a single loader, without the
employment of any magazine by simply dropping a cartridge into the box B³ so

page_text: that by making the sides of B³ high enough space will exist for any required stock
of cartridges. Such an arrangement would work usefully in combination with the
other improvements we have described.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. The combination in a fire-arm of a breech bolt having at its fore-end a
downwardly projecting lug, a pin projecting transversely therefrom and an
operating lever having an angler slotted end engaging said pin and having a slotted
connection with its pivot pin, substantially as described.
2. In a fire-arm, a breech block, a locking block therefor, a pivoted lever S
connected at one end to the bolt locking block, an operating lever K and means for
operating lever S through said lever K, substantially as described.
3. In a fire-arm, a breech block, a locking block therefor, a pivoted lever S
hinged rearwardly to the breech bolt locking block, a projecting lug at the fore-end
of said lever and an operating lever K for actuating said lug, substantially as
described.
4. In a fire-arm, an operating lever K, the lug K' at the base thereof, a breech
block, a locking block therefor, a lever S operating said locking block and a lug on
said lever, substantially as described.
5. In combination with the breech block, a locking block S₁ adapted to slide
vertically and having an aperture T, a pin V situated partly within and partly
beneath said aperture, substantially as described.
6. The combination with a breech block, a locking block therefor adapted to
slide vertically in grooves and having an aperture T, of a fixed pin V, and a
spring U whereby the depression of the said block compresses said spring and
whereby the spring is adapted to raise and support the block in position behind the
breech bolt substantially as described.
7. The combination, with a casing of a fire-arm, a breech block, au extractor
pivoted to said breech block and inclined planes E5 and E+ formed in said casing
whereby the said extractor is tilted on its pivot, substantially as described.
8. The combination with a breech block, of an extractor E', a depression E³ in
the block, a slot E and a rearward extension of the latter provided with inclined
planes as E and E'; substantially as described.
9. In a fire-arm, a body having side entry and exit openings, the former higher
than the other, said openings being connected at their base by a laterally inclined
table, substantially as described.
10. In a fire-arm, a body having side entry and exit openings, an inclined table
between the openings and dogs controlling the entry and exit of the cartridge,
substantially as described.
11. In a fire-arm, a pivoted lever 2, a cut off dog 4 and operating connections
between the lever and dog and between the lever 2 and the operating lever K,
substantially as described.
12. The combination with a transverse rocking lever 9, of dogs 4 and 3, pivoted
to the said lever, an operating lever K and connections thereto from said rocking
lever whereby the dogs are to raised and lowered the same, substantially as
described.
13. The combination with cut off dogs as 4 and 3, a pivoted lever 2 connected
thereto, and a pivoted lever K having a transverse projection K² on its upper inner
end, said projection being adapted to bear down upon and depress the rear of
lever 2, when the lever handle is operated, substantially as described.
14. In combination, an operating lever K slotted at I, pivoted at W, lugs K¹
and K, a pin G, a slotted connection therewith, a lever S, a breech block lock
operated thereby, a lever 2, and cut off dogs operated thereby, the lug K operating
the lever S, and the lug K, the lever 2, substantially as described.
15. In combination with a laterally inclined table A', a dog 3 adapted to be

page_text: lowered when an empty shell or cartridge has been retracted so as to allow same
to leave the arm, and a dog 4 adapted to be raised whilst 3 is lowered, said dog 4
being adapted to be again lowered and dog 3 raised so as to allow a new
cartridge to enter the arm in front of the retracted breech bolt, substantially as
described.
16. In combination with the body of a fire-arm A, a magazine receiver as B³ at
the upper right side of said body, said receiver having three vertical sides and an
open front and a sloping base, substantially as described.
17. In a fire-arm, in combination with a magazine receiver, a magazine having a
shoulder 18 and a spring 16 adapted to automatically hold in place said magazine
when the latter has been inserted, whilst allowing easy insertion and withdrawal of
the same, substantially as described.
18. In a fire-arm, in combination with a magazine receiver, a magazine having
shoulders and a bolt 17 having fore and rear ends 20 and 19 respectively,
substantially as described.
19. In a fire-arm having a magazine receiver, a magazine having shoulders 18, a
spring 16 at one side thereof, and a bolt 17 at the other side, substantially as
described.
20. The combination with a fire-arm body having apertures 13 and 14, of a
sloping table, and a magazine or cartridge receiver having a sloping base of
which the said table A is a downward lateral continuation, substantially as
described.
21. The improved mechanism for locking, unlocking and actuating the breech
bolt or block combined, arranged and operating substantially as described.
22. The improved mechanism for extracting the empty cartridge case combined,
arranged and operating substantially as described.
23. The improved mechanism for releasing the empty cartridge case and for
admitting into and retaining in the fire-arm a fresh cartridge from the magazine
receiver combined, arranged and operating substantially as described.
Dated this 4th day of September 1894.