Improvements in and connected with Small Locks for Breech- loading Bolt Guns.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Nov., 1895 - Accepted, 25th Jan., 1896
CUBLI LEIM DI PIVATION.
Improvements in and connected with Small Locks for Breech-
loading Bolt Guns.
We, WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER and PAUL MAUSER, both of Oberndorf on the
Neckar, in the Kingdom of Wurttemberg, and Empire of Germany, Manufacturers,
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:
The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Fig. 1 is a left hand side view of the breech parts of a breech-loading bolt gun
with the bolt and the locking mechanism and safety device in position II, that is,
in their middle position.
Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a plan of the bolt withdrawn, showing its parts and the catching device
in position I.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal horizontal section on the line II, Fig. 7, of the rear end
of the same.
Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section through the bolt and its parts drawn on
the line 1-11 of Fig. 7.
Fig. 6 is a cross section drawn on the line III-III of Fig. 5, as seen from the
front...
Fig. 7 is a rear end view of the bolt and. its parts in position 1.
Fig. 8 is an underside, view of the bolt and its parts in position I.
Fig. 9 is an underside view and Fig. 94 is a rear view of the rear end of the bolt
alone.
Figs. 10 to 13 are, respectively, an underside view, a plan, a front end. view, and a
rear end view, of the small lock only.
Fig. 14 is a side view. and Fig. 144 is a plan of the firing pin nut D. with its
cocking nose d, and
Fig. 15 is a front view and Fig. 154 is a side-view, of the catch pin H. with its
spring.
The object of the invention is to provide, means, for catching or arresting the
small lock when the bolt is withdrawn out of the receiverior.breech case.
The catch for the small lock has for its object to simplify the parts with which it
is connected and, without increasing their number, to increase the functions of the
safety locking arrangements, whereby the, securing and release, of such parts is
obtained, while at the same time the small lock, when in its middle position, is
prevented from accidentally moving or falling when the breech bolt is unlocked,
and secure means are provided for not only facilitating the dismounting of the parts
but to ensure the correct remounting thereof in the prescribed manner..
The last mentioned advantage.is. of the, greatest importance as it sometimes
happened with the arrangements hitherto in use that the.. small; lock was not
completely, screwed home into the bolt, and when screwed even a single thread.less
into its place than it should be, the point. of the firing pin could not project far
enough through the bolt head, thereby producing,a miss-fire the cause of which
could not in most cases be properly explained or.ascertained.

page_text: Further advantages resulting from the adoption of the improved safety arrange-
ment are:-
1. The cocking surface b at the rear end of the breech bolt B is considerably
enlarged on account of the removal of the second cocking notch, while at the same
time the angle of the cocking surface is reduced from about 60° to 40°, which in
its turn facilitates the opening operations of the lock.
2. The special form of the front end e of the small lock E enables it to serve as
a shield to guard against the rearward escape of the gases of explosion, and
3. Through the rearward extension d' of the cocking projection d' on the nut of
the firing pin, said nut is not only more securely guided but the introduction of
sand or the like into the guiding groove is prevented.
The special functions required of the improved lock catch are effected at three
different positions of the same, and of the thumb picce or handle of the safety
device, with respect to the gun,
First or initial position; the safety handle is turned over to the left, the bolt is
in its locked position, and the firing pin unlocked, see Figs. 3, 6, 7. In this
position the improved catch of the small lock, consequent on its position relatively
to the breech bolt, will, at the moment of unlocking the gun, automatically secure
the small lock against accidentally unscrewing to the left or falling by coupling it.
with the rear end of the breech bolt in such a manner as to prevent any alteration
in the relative positions of these two parts until after the catch has been withdrawn
through the forward movement of the breech bolt and the latter has again assumed
its fixed or locked position in the barrel, when the coupling of the small lock with
the breech bolt is automatically severed through the release of the catch, which
latter can now be freely turned round or locked independently of the now fixed
small lock.
Position II, or middle position; the safety thumb piece. is turned round through
an angle of 90°, so as to stand vertically with the axis of the breech casing, and
thereby locks the cocked firing pin, see Figs. 1. and 2. This is the position the
safety thumb piece is required to occupy when it is desired to take the lock of the
gun to pieces, in which case it is necessary first to cock the gun, when, after
turning the safety thumb piece into its required position, the latter is caused to
engage the firing-pin nut in ench a manner as to prevent the forward movement of
the latter with its firing pin and the extensiou of its spring.
"
When the coupling between the small lock and the breech bolt described in
respect to position I is disconnected, the small lock may be at once unscrewed
from the breech bolt and taken to pieces. The lock is remounted in the reverse
order, but it will not now be necessary to make the coupling between the small lock
and the breech bolt as it is automatically produced at the end of the screwing
movement, just at the moment when a projection at the front of the small lock
comes into contact with the foot or. base of the operating handle, which thus
prevents any further movement of the small lock.
It may be mentioned that the completion of the screwing movement, and
consequently the proper position of these parts, may be ascertained not only by the
touch, but also at the same time by the ear, as the catch which forms the coupling
between the small lock and the breech bolt, snaps with a characteristic sound into
the recess on the breech bult and thus distinctly indicates that the lock and the bolt
bave been correctly fitted together.
In this position the small lock cannot be turned either forward or backward, and
order to do so it will be necessary to first break the coupling between the small
lock and the breech bolt, so that in the present arrangement it will be at once clear
whether or not the parts have been properly connected together.
Position III; the thumb piece of the safety device is turned through an angle
of 180° from its initial position into the horizontal position at the right hand side
of the gun. This position and its effects on the lock mechanism are well known. 5
The firing-pin C is prevented from moving forward and the breech bolt from
turning in the breech casing without requiring the before mentioned catch to

page_text: operate in the manner stated with respect to positions I and II; the catch operates
only when the breech bolt is unlocked, when it is required to prevent the small
lock from falling over and damaging the stock of the gun in the relocking of the
bolt.
The safety arrangement, shown at Figs. 1 and 2 in its second or middle position,
is not new and, although preventing the firing pin from moving forward, it has no
influence on the movement of the breech bolt in relation to the small lock. If, in
that position, the previously turned breech boit were taken out of the breech casing,
it was possible with the arrangement hitherto in use to merely unscrew the small
lock from the breech bolt and to remove it, together with the firing-pin C and.
nut D, from the gun. Moreover it was possible in that position for the small
lock to tumble over through a blow or shock and thus give rise to the inconveniences
bereinbefore mentioned. This is obviated by the catch in connection with the
small lock, consisting, as shown in Figs. 15 and 15, of the catch pin H with
stud h and the spring, guided in a cylindrical bore e³ on the small lock in such
manner as to enable it to slide under the pressure of the spring with its stud hin
the slot without the possibility of falling out of the small lock when the latter is
being removed.
The catch pin H is taken out of the small lock in the following manner:- -by-
pressing it with the finger so far back into the small lock itself that the stud h
comes against the side outlet or opening in the alot et; the pin H is then turned.
round towards the interior of the small lock, when the stud h passes through the
outlet into the position shown at Fig. 12, when it can be pulled out of the
cylindrical bore in the small lock.
The catch pin H, under the pressure of the spring h!, has a constant tendency to
advance into its most outward position from the small lock, and to enable it to do.
80 its rearward cylindrical part must necessarily enter the recess 6' at the rear of
the breech bolt and thus couple the latter with the small lock in such a manner as
to prevent any twisting movement of the two parts in relation to each other. The
above advancing movement of the catch pin is impossible, first, when it and the
small lock are not in a straight line with the recess 6' in the rear end of the breech,
bolt, see Figs. 3, 4 and 8; secondly, when the breech bolt in the locking position
has entered so far into the breech casing that the catch pin comes into contact with.
the rear part of the latter and is thereby pushed back far enough to allow its
cylindrical part to leave the recess b' and thus to break the coupling between the
small lock and the breech bolt. This latter position of the catch is always the
case when the breech bolt is in its locked position, but the first instance cannot
happen accidentally when the bolt is unlocked, as previous to pulling the latter
back, both the breech bolt and the small lock are brought into such a relative
position as to bring the recess b¹ into the axial line of the catch pin H so that the
latter can enter it and thereby prevent the accidental tumbling over of the small
lock.
If it is intended to remove the small lock from the unlocked breech bolt, care.
must be taken that the safety thumb piece is in position II; it is then only
necessary to press the catch pin H far enough back to force its cylindrical part out
of the recess b', when the small lock can be unscrewed without difficulty. When,.
on the contrary, it is desired to remount the small lock on the breech bolt, it can
only be screwed till the shouldor e on the annular part el at the front of the small.
lock abuts against the foot of the handle B', at which moment the catch pin H is.
caused by the spring to soap into the recess on the breech bolt with a loud
sound, as previously stated; by this means the unscrewing of the small lock is.
prevented unless the catch pin is pressed back as hereinbefore explained; the
above mentioned sound constitutes an unfailing indication that the parts have been
correctly mounted in relation to each other.
It remains to be mentioned that the operations before described for securing the
lock against accidental unlocking, as well as for preventing the small lock from
accidentally tumbling over, are effected by aid of the recess 6', which prevents the

page_text: accidental unlocking of the breech bolt by the pin of the safety device F entering
the recess.!.
When however the breech bolt is unlocked and away from the barrel, the catch
pin H enters the same recess b', whereby the small lock is coupled to and held by
the breech bolt and is thus prevented from accidentally tumbling over..
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what,
we claim ia :-
1. The combination with safety devices for breech-loading bolt guns, of a small
lock E provided with a catch pin H and a shield plate e, said catch pin serving to
prevent the small lock from turning accidentally, whilst the shield plate e forms a
tight joint at the grooves and openings in the breech casing to prevent the rearward
escape of the gases of explosion, substautially as herein shown and described.
2. The combination with the described small lock, of a catching device which
prevents the small lock from. tumbling over accidentally when the breech is
unlocked, which simplifies the dismounting and remounting of the parts of the lock
mechanism, and which gives an unfailing signal when the parts have been correctly
remounted, said catching device consisting of a spring actuated catch pin H which
engages in a recess 6' in the rear end of the breech bolt B when the latter is with-
drawn, so that the relative position of the breech bolt and small lock cannot be
accidentally altered, whilst said catch pin, when the breech bolt is pushed forward for
locking the breech, abuts against the rear surface of the breech casing and is thus
disengaged, thereby enabling the breech bolt to be turned into its locking position
independently of the small lock, substantially as herein shown and described.
3. The combination with the described small lock, of a shield plate e which
prevents the rearward escape of the gases of explosion by closing tightly all grooves
in the rear of the breech casing, and which also limits the screwing in of the small
lock by a projection on the annular projection e' abutting against the foot of the
bolt handle B', whereby the small lock is prevented from being screwed in too far,
substantially as herein shown and described.
4. The improvements in and connected with the small locks of breech-loading
bolt guns substantially as herein shown and described and for the purpose stated.
Dated this 13th day of November 1895.
HARRIS & MILLS,
23 Southampton Buildings,, London, W.C., Agents.