IMPROVEMENTS IN T Ana
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Nokes, Metal Roller and Tube Maker, of
Chester Street, Aston, Birmingham, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
T
Ana"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Nokes at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 31st May 1881.
WILLIAM NOKES, Metal Roller and Tube Maker, of Chester Street, Aston,
Birmingham. " IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ARMS."
1. I claim as the results of my Invention absolute safety from accidental
discharge while using the gun.
3. In the safety gun discharge cannot be effected unless the hand is grasping the
stock to pull the trigger, or the gun is against the shoulder for the purpose of
taking aim.
4. In the double safety gun it is necessary for the hand to be grasping the stock
to pull the trigger, and the gun to be against the shoulder before discharge can be
effected.
5. I obtain these results by machinery which is acted upon by the user of the
gun in the act of firing. And this machinery requires no special attention to it
either before or after discharge. It must act, and it cannot act wrong. With this
machinery to it a double barrelled. gun, loaded and at full cock, may be drawn any
number of times through a hedge, or thrown as often over, but discharge by the
fall of the hammer is impossible, while a man in the dark picking this gun up
without any special action on the machinery, and unconscious that such machinery
was in the gun, might raise the piece to his shoulder, and at will discharge either
or both barrels.
6. Uncertain as to the technical or trade names of all parts of the lock, I must
describe some parts of it before my Invention can be understood. I take the lock
as now generally in use.
7. The outside plate through which the. hammer spindle works I call the lock
plate.
8. The hammer spindle which passes through the lock plate passes also through

page_text: a plate at the back of the lock plate. This smaller plate at the back covers that
part of the lock to which on one side the main spring is attached, and on the other
Eide are the notches which keep the gun at full or at half cock. This small plate.
has pillars or legs to it, and screws pass through these pillars or legs to fasten it
securely to the lock plate. This inner plate I call the bridle plate.
9. Between the lock plate and the bridle plate there is a space about three
sixteenths of an inch deep, and through this space the hammer spindle works.
The parts attached to the hammer spindle, except where they pass through the lock
plate and the bridle plate, are of an irregular form. They project more or less from
the centre of the spindle. To one of these projections on one side the main spring
is attached; on the other side are the notches which keep the gun at half or at full
cock. This irregular shaped part working between the lock plate and the bridle
plate I call the tumbler, and on this structure of the lock I make my improvements
in the following manner :-
10. In the present arrangements the tumbler works between the two plates.
There is nothing to stop its action until the spring has spent its force, the hammer
strikes the nipple of the gun, or a part of the tumbler reaches one of the legs of
the bridle plate. But I alter the form of the tumbler and also of the bridle plate.
I enlarge the bridle plate and make a circular appeture or slot in it of the
required width and length, say one eighth of an inch wide and five eighths of an
inch, more or less, long; and I make one part of the tumbler as high as the top,
or outside of the bridle plate, to work in this slot. This upstanding part of the
tumbler which works in the slot I call the tumbler hammer, and it is so fixed that
when the nipple hammer reaches the cap it is about one twentieth of an inch from
the end of the slot in the bridle plate. This end of the slot I raise a little higher
than the level of the bridle plate, and I call this raised end the tumbler block.
The lock, now, for efficiency, is exactly as before. The alterations so far made do
not in the least interfere with its movements, and without inside inspection it would
be impossible to tell that any alterations had been made.
11. After these alterations have been made, when the hammer is on the nipple
of the gun, the tumbler hammer is about one twentieth of an inch from the tumbler
block; but when the nipple hammer is raised to half cock the tumbler hammer is
about three eighths of an inch from the tumbler block. When the hammer is
raised to full cock the distance between the tumbler hammer and block will be
still greater. If a bar, say one quarter of an inch wide, is now placed between
the tumbler hammer and block, and the trigger is pulled, or the nipple hammer
falls by accident, it cannot reach the nipple; it will fall a little way below half
cock, and lower it cannot fall until the bar is reinoved. This bar, which works
between the tumbler hammer and block, I call the interceptor, and I move it by
means which may be called self acting, and have no connection with the trigger or
other parts of the lock further than is necessary to prevent accidental discharge.
12. When the mechanism hereafter explained is complète as soon as the hammer
is raised from the nipple of the gun, and before it reaches half cock, the interceptor,
acted upon by springs, slides in between the tumbler hammer and block, and the gun
now cannot be discharged until these springs are pushed in. Pressing the gun to
the shoulder or grasping the stock to pull the trigger will push in these springs,
withdraw the interceptor, and the gun may be discharged. Lowering the gun
from the shoulder or relaxing the grasp of the stock the interceptor slides into its
place again, and the gun is perfectly safe from accidental discharge.
13. I act on the interceptor in various ways. When it is moved by shoulder
action I connect it with a moveable heel plate or with a projection which passes
through a slot in a fixed heel plate, and stands out any required distance above the
other parts of the plate. With this projection I connect the interceptor, and force
it through the heel plate by a spring in the stock. While this projection remains
out of the heel plate the interceptor is between the tumbler hammer and block,
and in no case can the gun be discharged until the projection is pushed in. When
the gun is raised to the shoulder and pressed against it for the purpose of firing

page_text: the interceptor is withdrawn and the gun may be discharged.
Drawings show how I produce these results.
I will now by
14. Drawing A shows the tumbler hammer after the gun has been discharged.
The hammer of the gun is now upon the nipple, and the interceptor is waiting for
the hammer to be raised.
15. Drawing B shows the position of the interceptor when the gun is at half
cock. Raising the nipple hammer to full cock will remove the tumbler hammer a
little further from the interceptor.
16. Drawing C shows the position of the tumbler hammer and interceptor if the
trigger is pulled by accident. The nipple hammer is now a little way below half
cock.
17. Drawing D shows how I move the interceptor by shoulder action. I take
a plate, say two inches long and one inch deep, or any other more convenient size,
also a bar or beam, say one and three quarter inches long, or any more suitable
length. This bar I work on a pin or axle in any desired part. One end of the
beam I connect with a jointed pin into the heel plate, the other end of the bean I
connect with a joint to the interceptor. Moving the heel plate little more than
one eighth of an inch will therefore remove the interceptor, and the gun may be
discharged.
18. Or to move the interceptor the whole of the heel plate with or without a
portion of the stock may be moved. It may be hinged from the top of the 'but
and work downwards, or it may be hinged to the bottom of the but and work
upwards. Or it may be moved straight up from the but the required distance.
I call the top of the but that part of the stock which is nearest the face of the
sportsman when he is taking aim, and the bottom of the but I call that part which
is then nearest the ground.
19. When the whole of the heel plate is moved I cover the aperture with an
elastic band or with a metallic rim fixed either to the stock or the heel plate; or I
insert between the stock and heel plate any elastic, springy, and flexible substance
that will fill up the space, and yet allow the stock and heel plate to meet when the
gun is pressed against the shoulder in the act of firing.
20. Or I move the interceptor by the grip of the hand when the stock is grasped
to pull the trigger. The interceptor in this case runs only to the end of the lock,
or so far along it as is found to be convenient. Here in the inside of the lock
plate I fix a crank. One arm of this crank falls nearly flat to the lock plate, the
other arm rises up nearly perpendicular from it. This crank works on a pin in
the angle where the arms meet. To the low arm I connect a jointed peg which
passes about a quarter of an inch through the lock plate. At the end of this
jointed peg outside the lock plate I put a button. The upstanding arm I connect
with a joint to the interceptor. This crank is kept in its place by a spring. When
the peg outside the lock plate is pushed in by the hand as it grasps the stock to
pull the trigger the interceptor is withdrawn, and the gun may be discharged.
21. If the peg which unites the outstanding button with the crank is in two
parts, and so arranged that when the button part is removed the part attached to
the crank will be flush with the outside of the lock plate, then removing the button
part will be to lock the gun, which cannot by accident or even by design without
much difficulty be discharged.
22. I work the interceptor for the necessary distance below the tumbler hammer
between guide plates so bevelled that while they keep the rod in its place sideways
they allow free movement backwards and forwards. In the double safety gun|
when two interceptors are used, they work side by side, secured on the outer edge
by guide plates, and in the middle by a screw with its under side bevelled. This
screw is placed between the two interceptors, which are so slotted and bevelled
that it keeps both interceptors to their work, and yet allows free action in the way
required Other guides for the interceptor are fixed at the end of the lock nearest
the heel plate, and in any other place where it is required.
23. My Invention, alike applicable to single and double barrelled guns and

page_text: rifles, consists in making fire arms, while using, safe from accidental discharge,
and by means which are quite independant of and have no connection with the
trigger. This may be done in various ways, and I claim the right to do it any
way I think fit. I shall now describe another way in which the same results may
be obtained. I take two pieces of steel of the required thickness and length.
These I call beams, and I work each of these beams on a spindle or shaft as closely
as possible to the bridle plate. The two beams work in a line, but in the middle
they pass each other, say three eighths of an inch. In one of these beams, about
a quarter of an inch from the end, I put a round peg, and in the end of the other
beam I cut a slot for this round peg to work in. When these two beams are on
their spindles or shafts, and the peg is in the slot, the two beams will make a
double beam, and the extreme ends of this double beam must work up or down at
the same time. At the end of this double beam nearest the breach of the gun I
work a jointed peg at a right angle at the end of the bridle plate through the lock.
plate into a slot cut in the nipple hammer. This jointed peg I call the interceptor. At
the other end of this double beam I work a jointed peg through the lock plate, and
in such a place as the hand when grasping the stock to pull the trigger will push
this peg in. I bring this peg through the lock plate about a quarter of an inch,
put a button on the end of it, and call it the button peg. A spring under a part
of the double beam will at the same time push the interceptor into the slot in the
hammer, and the button peg a quarter of an. inch from the lock plate. When the
hand grasps the stock to pull the trigger it will push the button peg in, withdraw
the interceptor from the slot in the hammer, and allow it to fall upon the nipple ;
but unless the button peg is pushed in when the trigger is pulled the hammer
cannot reach the nipple of the gun; it will fall a little way below half cock. See
Drawing E.
24. When this arrangement is worked by shoulder action I put a crank under
the end of the beam nearest the heel plate, and unite the beam and the crank with
a joint. This crank I work on a spindle through its angle. I then bring a straight
rod from the projection in the heel plate, and joint it to the bottom arm of the
crank. Pushing in the projection in the heel plate will push in one arm of the
crank, lift the other arm up, raise one end of the double beam, withdraw the inter-
ceptor, and the gun may then be discharged. The slot in the hammer may have a
thin ornamental covering over it, or it may work open to inspection, that absolute
immunity from accidental discharge may at a glance be seen.
25. Or the interceptor, instead of passing through the lock plate into a slot in
the nipple hammer, may pass only through the bridle plate into the tumbler; this
will obtain the same results, for the gun cannot be discharged until the interceptor
is withdrawn.
26. Or the same results may be obtained by another arrangement. Take one
beam only of the required length and work it on a spindle in the most convenient
part. Joint one end of this beam to the interceptor which passes through the lock
plate into the slot in the hammer. At the other end of this beam work a crank
on a spindle in the angle where the arms meet. Unite one of the arms of the
crank with the beam which raises the interceptor, and the other part with the rod
which comes from the heel plate. Pushing in the projection in the heel plate will
act on this crank, and draw the interceptor from the slot in the hammer. See
Drawing F. Or this arrangement may be worked by the action of the hand in
grasping the stock, as described in paragraph 23.
27. When the interceptor works through the lock into the hammer, or through
the bridle plate into the tumbler, the beam raising the interceptor requires too
much of the stock to be cut away in a part where it is weak, and where strength
is required. This is an objection, and to meet it I make the stock shorter than
usual, and fill up the space between the breach of the barrels, and the stock with a
metal frame. This frame I call the uniter, and make it in the following manner:-
Take two metal plates of the required form and thickness, place them opposite
each other in a perpendicular, and in the required position. Unite these two pieces

page_text: of metal in the middle by another piece of metal placed also in an upright position;
this will divide the uniter into two equal sides or parts. One end of this uniter I
fasten to the stock, and the other end to the breaches of the barrels.
In this uniter
the lock on either side of the gun works, and it is fastened to the plates which form
the ends of the uniter. I have now room in double barrelled guns to lift the
interceptor more than the required distance, and I strengthen what at present is
the weakest part of the stock. The spaces in the uniter under and over the lock I
fill up or cover with a portion of the stock or any other material.
28. As accidental discharge is quite impossible while using the safety gun, half
cock is useless and may be dispensed with; but half cock in no way interferes
with the means used to prevent accidental discharge; it may therefore be still
retained. It may however be urged by huntsmen that there is a possibility, in
very special circumstances, that the means used to prevent accidental discharge
might prevent also intended discharge. This is possible when the means of safety
are moved by the heel plate, but to meet this objection I put a small spring bolt
in the but near the heel plate. After this bolt has been moved the heel plate
when pushed in cannot rise again until the bolt is drawn back; or if the means of
safety are acted on by the grip of the stock, then by removing the button peg and
putting another button in its place, the gun becomes exactly what it would be if
no means of preventing accidental discharge were in it.
Of this the gunner by
moving the hammer may in a moment assure himself.

page_text: the
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Nokes in the Great Seal Patent Office on
24th November 1881.
WILLIAM NOKES, Metal Roller and Tube Maker, of Chester Street, Aston,
Birmingham. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ARMS."
1. My Invention consists in such an alteration in the structure of the lock and
stock of the gun as shall render accidental discharge while using it impossible, and
I obtain these results by machinery which is acted upon by the user of the gun
in the act of firing. And this machinery requires no special attention to it either
before or after discharge. It is acted upon by pressing the gun against the
shoulder, or pressing the hand upon the stock in the act of taking aim and firing
the gun.
2. Uncertain as to the technical or trade names of all parts of the lock I must
describe some parts of it before my Invention can be understood. I take the lock
as now generally in use.
3. The outside plate through which the hammer spindle works I call the lock
plate.
4. The hammer spindle which passes through the lock plate passes also through
a plate at the back of the lock plate. This smaller plate at the back covers that
part of the lock to which on one side the main spring is attached, and on the other
side are the notches which keep the gun at full or at half cock. This small plate
has pillars or legs to it, and screws pass through these pillars or legs to fasten it
securely to the lock plate. This inner plate I call the bridle plate.
5. Between the lock plate and the bridle plate there is a space about three
sixteenths of an inch deep, and through this space the hammer spindle works.
The parts attached to the hammer spindle, except where they pass through the
lock plate and the bridle plate, are of an irregular form. They project more or
less from the centre of the spindle. To one of these projections on one side the
main spring is attached; on the other side are the notches which keep the gun at
half or at full cock. This irregular shaped part working between the lock plate
and the bridle plate I call the tumbler, and on this structure of the lock I muke
my improvements in the following manner :-
6. In the present arrangements the tumbler works between the two plates. There
is nothing to stop its action until the spring has spent its force, the hammer
strikes the nipple of the gun, or a part of the tumbler reaches one of the legs of
the bridle plate. But I alter the form of the tumbler and also of the bridle
plate. I enlarge the bridle plate and make a circular aperture or slot in it of the
required width and length. And I make one part of the tumbler as high as the
top or outside of the bridle plate to work in the slot. This upstanding part of
the tumbler which works in the slot I call the tumbler hammer, and it is so fixed
that when the nipple hammer reaches the cap it is about one twentieth of an inch
from the end of the slot in the bridle plate. This end of the slot I raise a little
higher than the level of the bridle plate, and I call this raised end the tumbler
block. The lock now for efficiency is exactly as before. The alterations so far
made do not in the least interfere with its movements, and without inside
inspection it would be impossible to tell that any alterations had been made.
7. After these alterations have been made, when the hammer is on the nipple of
the gun the tumbler hammer is about one twentieth of an inch from the tumbler
block. But when the nipple hain mer is raised to half cock the tumbler hammer is
about three eighths of an inch from the tumbler block. When the hammer is
raised to full cock the distance between the tumbler hammer and block will be

page_text: still greater. If a bar, say one quarter of an inch wide, is now placed between the
tumbler hammer and block, and the trigger is pulled, or the nipple hammer falls by
accident, it cannot reach the nipple, it will fall a little way below half cock, and
lower it cannot fall until the bar is removed. This bar which works between the
tumbler hammer and block I call the interceptor, and I move it by means which
may be called self acting, and have no connection with the trigger or other parts
of the lock further than is necessary to prevent accidental discharge.
8. When the mechanism hereafter explained is complete, as soon as the hammer
is raised from the nipple of the gun and before it reaches half cock, the interceptor
acted upon by springs slides in between the tumbler hammer and block, and the
gun cannot be discharged until these springs are pushed in. Pressing the gun to
the shoulder or grasping the stock to pull the trigger will push in these springs,
withdraw the interceptor, and the gun may be discharged. Lowering the gun
from the shoulder or relaxing the grasp of the stock the interceptor slides into its
place again and the gun is perfectly safe from accidental discharge.
9. I act on the interceptor in various ways. When it is moved by shoulder
action I connect it with a moveable heel plate, or with a projection which passes
through a slot in a fixed heel plate and stands out any required distance above
the other parts of the plate. With this projection I connect the interceptor and
force it through the heel plate by a spring in the stock. While this projection
remains out of the heel plate the interceptor is between the tumbler hammer and
block, and in no case can the gun be discharged until the projection is pushed in.
When the gun is raised to the shoulder and pressed against it for the purpose of
firing, the interceptor is withdrawn and the gun may be discharged. I will now
by Drawings show how I produce these results.
10. Drawing A shows the tumbler hammer after the gun has been discharged.
The hammer of the gun is now upon the nipple and the interceptor is waiting for
the haminer to be raised.
11. Drawing B shows the position of the interceptor when the gun is at half
cock. Raising the nipple hammer to full cock will remove the tumbler hammer a
little further from the interceptor.
cock.
12. Drawing C shows the position of the tumbler hammer and interceptor if the
trigger is pulled by accident. The nipple haminer is now a little way below half
13. Drawing D shows how I move the interceptor by shoulder action. I take a
plate, say, two inches long and one inch deep, or any other more convenient size;
also a bar or beam, say, one and three quarter inches long, or any more suitable.
length. This bar I work on a pin or axle in any desired part. One end of the beam I
connect with a jointed pin into the heel plate; the other end of the beam I connect
with a joint to the interceptor. Moving the heel plate little more than one
eighth of an inch will therefore remove the interceptor and the gun may be
discharged.
I
14. Or to move the interceptor the whole of the heel plate with or without a
portion of the stock may be moved. It may be hinged from the top of the but
and work downwards, or it may be hinged to the bottom of the but and work
upwards; or it may be moved straight up from the but the required distance.
call the top of the but that part of the stock which is nearest the face of the
sportsman when he is taking aim and the bottom of the but I call that part which
is then nearest the ground.
15. When the whole of the heel plate is moved I cover the aperture with an
elastic band or with a metallic rim fixed either to the stock or the heel plate, or
I insert between the stock and heel plate any elastic, springy, and flexible
substance that will fill up the space and yet allow the stock and heel plate to meet
when the gun is pressed against the shoulder in the act of firing.
16. Or I move the interceptor by the grip of the hand when the stock is
grasped to pull the trigger. The interceptor in this case runs only to the end of
the lock, or so far along it as is found to be convenient. Here in the inside of the

page_text: lock plate I fix a crank. One arm of this crank falls nearly flat to the lock plate,
the other arm rises up nearly perpendicular from it. This crank works on a pin
in the angle where the arms meet. To the low arm I connect a jointed peg, which
passes about a quarter of an inch through the lock plate. At the end of this
jointed peg outside the lock plate I put a button. The upstanding arm I connect
with a joint to the interceptor. This crank is kept in its place by a spring. When
the peg outside the lock plate is pushed in by the hand as it grasps the stock to
pull the trigger the interceptor is withdrawn and the gun may be discharged.
17. If the peg which unites the outstanding button with the crank is in two
parts and so arranged that when the button part is removed the part attached to
the crank will be flush with the outside of the lock plate, then removing the
button part will be to lock the gun, which cannot then by accident or even by
design without much difficulty be discharged.
18. I work the interceptor for the necessary distance below the tumbler hammer
between guide plates so bevelled that while they keep the rod in its place sideways
they allow free movement backwards and forwards. When two interceptors are
used in the same lock they work side by side secured on the outer edge by guide
plates and in the middle by a screw with its under side bevelled. This screw is
placed between the two interceptors, which are so slotted and bevelled that it keeps
both interceptors to their work and yet allows free action in the way required.
Other guides for the interceptor are fixed at the end of the lock nearest the heel
plate and in any other place where it is required.
19. My Invention, alike applicable to single and double barrelled guns and rifles,
consists in making fire arms while using safe from accidental discharge and by
means which are quite independant of and have no connection with the trigger.
This may be done in various ways, and I claim the right to do it any way I think
fit. I shall now describe another way in which the same results may be obtained.
I take two pieces of steel of the required thickness and length. These I call
beams, and I work each of these beams on a spindle or shaft as closely as possible
to the bridle plate. The two beams work in a line, but in the middle they pass
each other, say, three eighths of an inch. In one of these beams, about a quarter
of an inch from the end, I put a round peg, and in the end of the other beam I
cut a slot for this round peg to work in. When these two beams are on their
spindles or shafts and the peg is in the slot the two beams will make a double
beam, and the extreme ends of this double beam must work up or down at the
same time.
At the end of this double beam nearest the breach of the gun I work
a jointed peg at a right angle at the end of the bridle plate through the lock plate
into a slot cut in the nipple hammer. This jointed peg I call the interceptor. At
the other end of this double beam I work a jointed peg through the lock plate,
and in such a place as the band when grasping the stock to pull the trigger will
push this peg in. I bring this peg through the lock plate about a quarter of an
inch, put a button on the end of it and call it the button peg. A spring under a
part of the double beam will at the same time push the interceptor into the slot in
the hammer, and the button peg, say, a quarter of an inch from the lock plate.
When the hand grasps the stock to pull the trigger it will push the button peg in,
withdraw the interceptor from the slot in the hammer, and allow it to fall upon
the nipple. But unless the button peg is pushed in when the trigger is pulled the
hammer cannot reach the nipple of the gun; it will fall a little way below half
cock. See Drawing E.
20. When this arrangement is worked by shoulder action I put a crank under the
end of the beam nearest the heel plate, and unite the beam and the crank with a
joint. This crank I work on a spindle through its angle. I then bring a straight
rod from the projection in the heel plate, and joint it to the bottom arm of the
crank. Pushing in the projection in the heel plate will push in one arm of the
crank, lift the other arm up, raise one end of the double beam, withdraw
the interceptor, and the gun may then be discharged. The slot in the hammer

page_text: may have a thin ornamental covering over it, or it may work open to inspection,
that absolute immunity from accidental discharge may at a glance be seen.
21. Or the interceptor instead of passing through the lock plate into a slot in
the nipple hammer may pass only through the bridle plate into the tumbler. This
will obtain the same results, for the gun cannot be discharged until the interceptor
is withdrawn.
22. Or the same results may be obtained by another arrangement. Take one
beam only of the required length and work it on a spindle in the most convenient
part. Joint one end of this beam to the interceptor which passes through the lock
plate into the slot in the hammer. At the other end of this beam work a crank
on a spindle in the angle where the arms meet. Unite one of the arms of the crank
with the beam which raises the interceptor and the other part with the rod which
comes from the heel plate. Pushing in the projection in the heel plate will act on
this crank, and draw the interceptor from the slot in the hammer, see Drawing F.
Or this arrangement may be worked by the action of the hand in grasping the
stock as described in paragraph 19.
23. When the interceptor works through the lock into the hammer or through
the bridle plate into the tumbler the beam raising the interceptor requires too
much of the stock to be cut away in a part where it is weak, and where strength
is required. This is an objection, and to meet it I make the stock shorter than
usual, and fill up the space between the breach of the barrels and the stock with a
metal frame. This frame I call the uniter, and make it in the following manner :—
Take two metal plates of the required form and thickness, place them opposite each
other in a perpendicular, and in the required position. Unite these two pieces of
metal in the middle by another piece of metal placed also in an upright position ;
this will divide the uniter into two equal sides or parts. One end of this uniter I
fasten to the stock, and the other end to the breaches of the barrels. In this uniter
the lock on either side of the gun works, and it is fastened to the plates which
form the ends of the uniter. I have now room in double barrelled guns to lift
the interceptor more than the required distance, and I strengthen what at present
is the weakest part of the stock. The spaces in the uniter under and over the
lock I fill up or cover with a portion of the stock or any other material.
24. As accidental discharge is quite impossible while using this gun half cock is
useless and may be dispensed with. But half cock in no way interferes with the
means used to prevent accidental discharge, it may therefore be still retained.
It may however be urged by huntsmen that there is a possibility in very
special circumstances that the means used to prevent accidental discharge might
prevent also intended discharge. This is possible when the means of safety are
moved by the heel plate. But to meet this objection I put a small spring bolt in
the but near the heel plate. After this bolt has been moved by the hand the heel
plate when pushed in cannot rise again until the bolt is drawn back. Or if the
means of safety are acted on by the grip of the stock, then by removing the button
peg, and putting another button in its place the gun becomes exactly what it
would be if no means of preventing accidental discharge were in it. Of this the
gunner by moving the hammer may in a moment assure himself.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Nokes, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this 23rd day of November, in the year of our Lord 1881.