IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO BREECH LOADING FIRE ARMS
Year: 1885

page_text: :
I HENRY SCHLUND, of 31 Lichfield Road, Aston near Birmingham, in the
county of Warwick Engineer do hereby declare the nature of the said invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR APPLICABLE TO BREECH LOADING FIRE ARMS" and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in fire arms of the class known as needle
guns, and has chiefly for object the conversion of rifles (such as Chassepots and
other needle guns) so that they may be adapted for using the Mauser and such like
cartridges.
In carrying out the invention as applied to the conversion of a Chassepot rifle,
the barrel is chambered for receiving a bush adapted for the Mauser or other
cartridge and the breech mechanism altered, as hereinafter described, so as to make
the rifles practically equal to the Mauser arm. All the old parts of the 1866
Chassepot (except the firing pin) are used, only three new parts having to be
employed.
The sliding breech bolt is cut away at the head in order to receive a cylindrical
block, slotted or grooved to receive the arm of the extractor, which consists of a
dise having a hole corresponding with the end of the cylindrical block; this block
is provided with a projection to afford a better bearing on the bolt and the said
projection has a safety slot, the collar of the firing pin being adapted to fit into the
said slot so that the firing pin can only reach the cap of the cartridge when the
block and back end are in the proper position for firing. The breech bolt is pro-
vided with an incline to cock the breech end, and with an escape hole for any
powder-gas which in the event of a burst cap might enter the interior of the bolt
through the striker hole in the breech block. The rear end of the firing pin is
squared and passes through a square hole in the breech end and is fastened by
a nut.
By bringing the lever of the breech bolt to a vertical position, the spring is
compressed; the breech end rests behind the trigger; the sliding or breech bolt is
then withdrawn leaving the breech open and ejecting the spent cartridge by the
extractor (which is not done in the Mauser gun). Another cartridge is then placed
in the open breech and driven home by the bolt. The lever is turned down and
the breech end only rests behind the trigger.

page_text: In order to enable the invention to be fully understood I will describe the same
by reference to the accompanying drawing in which figure 1 is a plan view, partly
in section of the breech portion of a Chassepot rifle with my improvements applied
thereto, the parts being in the position they occupy when the rifle has been fired.
Figure 2 is a plan shewing the breech bolt partly withdrawn by the lever being
raised into a vertical position. Figure 3 is a sectional view partly in elevation, and
figure 4 is a cross section on line A, B of figure 3; figure 5 is a detached elevation
(partly in section) of part of the bolt and block. Similar letters in all the figures
represent similar parts.
a,
A represents the barrel of the rifle, which is chambered for receiving the bush B
so as to adapt it for the Mauser or other cartridge; A', is the shoe of the rifle and
is the breech bolt which slides therein as usual: a, is the lever arm on the
breech bolt a; b, is the cylindrical block which fits in the head of the breech bolt a,
which is cut away as shewn to receive it; b, is the groove in the cylindrical block b,
for receiving the arm of the extractor c, formed with a hook at its forward end
which takes over the flange on the bottom of the cartridge; c¹, is the disc at the
rear end of the extractor c, the said disc having a hole which fits over a pro-
jection 62, on the cylindrical block b; the disc c¹, is held between the said block b,
and the end of the breech bolt a; b, is the safety slot in the projection b²; a³, is
the incline on the breech bolt a, which incline serves to cock the breech end or rear
portion a³, of the breech bolt a, as hereinafter described; d, is the firing pin, the
rear end of which is squared as shewn at d, and passes through a square hole in
the breech end a³; e, is the nut for fastening the firing pin d, in the breech end;
the nut e, is milled and is formed with two or more flats to allow of its being
screwed home tight by means of a spanner, or by means of the parallel part of the
shoe; f, is the main spring, one end of which bears against a collar da, on the firing
pin d; the other end of the spring bears against a screw plug a³, in the rear end of
the breech bolt a; d³, are two flats on the collar d², adapted to enter the safety
slot 6.
The cylindrical block b, is provided with a stud or projection 63, which works in
a groove g, formed in the shoe A¹. This groove serves when the breech bolt is
moved to and fro to keep the extractor c in a line with a slot or groove h, cut in
the barrel to receive it. The shoe A¹, is formed in the shape of a cam as at i
figure 2 for the purpose hereinafter described;-j, represents the trigger bolt which
serves to hold back the breech end a³, of the breech bolt a, when cocked as herein-
after described; b, is a screw threaded stop pin for preventing the breech bolt a,
from being entirely withdrawn from the shoe A¹; the head of the said pin is
formed with a hole b³, to allow of the introduction of the point of the ram-rod, in
case (through rust or dirt) the pin should become immoveable by the fingers, kc, is the
escape hole for powder-gas-The operation of my improved rifle is as follows: the
parts being in the position represented in figure 1, that is to say, the position they
occupy when the rifle has just been discharged, in order to withdraw and eject the
spent cartridge the lever a¹, is raised into the position shewn in figures 2 and 3
and the breech bolt a, and block b, will be thereby caused to move slightly in a
backward direction by reason of the forward end of the breech bolt, as the latter
rotates riding against the cam surface i; by this movement the cartridge shell is
moved or started from its chamber in the barrel thus facilitating its subsequent
withdrawal by the sliding breech bolt a; the breech bolt in rotating as its lever is
raised will, by means of the inclined surface a³, force back the breech end a³, and
compress the spring f, when the breech end has arrived at the notch a', it will enter
the same and at the same time it will have moved over the trigger bolt i̟, which
will then rise and lock it in position (as shown in figure 3) and the arm will thus
be cocked. The sliding or breech bolt a, is then withdrawn leaving the breech or
shoe A¹ open and at the same time withdrawing and ejecting the spent cartridge
in the following manner by means of the extractor c, which is not done in the
Mauser gun. The extractor c, as the breech bolt a, is withdrawn tends to throw
the forward end of the cartridge over from the left to the right hand side by reason

page_text: of the extractor pressing the head so much that it catches or rubs against the left
side of the shoe and the friction combined with the operation of pulling back the
action throws it out. Another cartridge is then placed in the open breech or shoe A¹,
and driven home into the chamber in the barrel A, by the breech bolt a; the lever a¹,
is then turned down leaving the breech end a³, resting or pressing against the
trigger bolt j. The gun is then fired by operating the trigger in the ordinary
manner and so on.
I have described and illustrated my invention as applied to a Chassepot rifle
but its application to other needle guns will be well understood without further
description.
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 combination of parts forming the improved lock mechanism for breech
loading fire arms substantially as herein before described and represented in the
accompanying drawing.
2. The combination with parts of a Chassepot or other similar rifle altered as
herein described for use with Mauser and other like cartridges, of a slotted or
grooved cylindrical block such as b, disc or ring such as c¹, firing pin such as d, and
extractor c, when arranged and operating substantially as herein before described
and represented in the accompanying drawing.
G. F. REDFERN,
Agent for the Applicant