CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1825

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOSEPH MANTON, of Hanover Square, in the Parish of Saint George,
Hanover Square, in the County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the
Fourth, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,
bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of February, One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, in the sixth year of His
reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Joseph Manton, His especial licence that I, the said
Joseph Manton, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Joseph Manton, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and law-
fully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick upon Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS;" in which said Letters Patent there is
contained a proviso, obliging me, the said Joseph Manton, by an in-
strument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe

page_text: and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what mauner
the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be enrolled
in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more
fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Joseph Manton, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
particularly described and ascertained in and by the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and the following description thereof (that is to say):
My said improvements in fire-arms chiefly consist in the application
of a part which I term a revolving globular pellet carrier to the
percussion locks of fire-arms of all descriptions. In order, however, to
render this application more fully understood, I shall proceed to refer
to the various Figures contained in the Drawing, which, as aforesaid, is
annexed to this Specification, and in all of which Figures the same letters
of reference indicate the similar parts. Fig. 1, is a plan, and Fig. 2, a
side view of part of a double barrelled gun or fowling piece. A, A, the
stock; B, B, the lock plates; C, C, the plugs, screwed into the patent
breeches D, D; E, E, the pellet carriers, turning upon the plugs; F, F,
the magazines for the pellets; G, G, the conducting cylinders of the
spring discharging or inflaming punches; H, H, the lock hammers or
cocks of the gun. The plugs C, C, have collars at their shoulders near
to where they are screwed into the patent breeches upon which the
inner ends of the pellet carriers fit their outer ends, turning upon necks
provided at the outer end of each plug to receive them, a space being
thus left around and at the outer end of each plug for the escape of the
flash from the percussion prime, and which finally passes out into tho
open air through the perforations or openings made in the outer ends
of the pellet carriers for that purpo-e. In Fig. 3, the dark shadow
around the plug C, shews this space between it and the pellet carrier
E. In Fig. 1. I. 1. I. shew three of the openings or perforations in the
end of a pellet carrier, and J, the remainder of the circular hole, which
turus upon the neck K, of the plug ('; 1, is the handle or lever of the

page_text: This
pellet carrier E, an external view of which is given in Fig. 5.
handle is lodged or caught by the head of the spring catch M, the
spring of which is affixed to the inside of the lock plate, and the head
of it M, passes through a hole made in that plate. The magazines F, F,
for the pellets have dovetailed appendages N, N, one of which is shewn
endways in Fig. 6, which can be slided into dovetailed recesses made
in the tops of the patent breeches to receive them; they meet in the
middle under the elevated rib O, and are secured in their places by the
screws P, P. These magazines have each an angular or bent cylin-
drical cavity in them for the reception of the globular pellets, as shewn
in Figs. 7, and 8, and they are closed at their outer ends either by
corks or wooden plugs loosely fitted into them by caps made to slide
over them, or by plates turning upon pins as centres, or in any other
proper manner. The conducting cylinders G, G, of the spring dis-
charging or inflaming punches Q, Q, may be either formed solid with
the false breech R, or may be affixed to it, at pleasure. The punches
Q, Q, are posited at an angle which fits them, to receive the blows of
the cocks or hammers H, H, of the locks to the greatest advantage.
They are each provided with a collar S, against which the helical
springs lodged within the cylinders G, G, act so as to urge them
outwardly, and they are guided at their opposite or inner ends by holes
made in the ends of the cylinders G, G, to fit them, the outer ends of
the punches passing through other holes made in the screwed nuts
T, T, which are fitted into the cylinders G, G. The other, or inflaming
ends of the punches, are reduced in diameter, so as to suit them to the
size of the globular pellets; a hole is also made in the side of each ring
of the revolving pellet carriers of a proper size to receive a pellet within
it when brought into the position shewn in the section Fig. 7, and
upon bringing it by means of the handle L, into the other position shewn
in the section at Fig. 8, the hole with the pellet lodged within it is
carried round until it is exactly opposite to the end of the inflaming
punch Q, ready to receive the blow from the cock or hammer H, upon
the discharge of the lock, the shoulder near the end of the punch being
larger than the hole in the revolving pellet carrier E, partly closing it
and preventing the flash from entering the conducting cylinders G, G,
so as to corrode them or the parts included within them; a groove U,

page_text: is made partly around the outside of each revolving pellet carrier into
which a stud affixed at the end of a spring V, enters and secures it in
its place upon the plug C. The two springs are secured to the pellet
magazines F, F, by means of screws; one of these springs is shown in
Figure 9, which is an under view of one of the magazines F. W,
Figs. 6, and 9, is a raised circular portion of one of the magazines
around the hole through which the pellets pass into the carrier. This
raised part nicely fits the external cylindrical surface of the carrier so
as to accurately close the entrance to the magazine and prevent the
explosion of their pellets within it from the flash of the percussion
reaching them. Another method of preventing the revolving pellet
carriages E, E, from coming off the plugs C, C, is shewn in Fig. 10;
X, is a circular recess made in the inner and under side of one of the
magazines F. Into this recess a projection Y, from the bottom of the
carrier E, shewn in Fig. 4, enters. In this case the carrier E, must
be first placed upon the plug C, and then the magazine F, be slided
into its place to prevent it from coming off. The magazine being also
secured in its place by the screw P, a still different method of effecting
the same purpose is shewn in Fig. 11, in which a projecting ledge or
border Z, is formed on the outside of the magazine F, which overhangs
or projects before a part of the flat end of the revolving carrier E, and
thus prevents it from coming off the plug C. The action or motion of
the revolving carrier E, is limited by the projection a, Fig. 4, coming
into contact with the angle b, of the magazine F, shown in Figs. 2, 6, 9.
10, and 11. Fig. 12, is an inside view and Fig. 18, an edge view of
one of the cocks or hammers H; c, is a recess or cavity made in
the cock or hammer to allow a greater length of stroke to be made by
it, and yet to confine it in a small compass, the blow upon the head of
the percussion or inflaming punch Q, being made by the part a; at the
back of the recess c. Q, Fig. 14 is a section of another percussion
punch, having a spare or separate inflaming piece e, screwed into its
end, and which again is also plugged with a platina screw f. In case of
applying my said Invention to a single barrelled gun. pistol, &c. it will
be necessary to round off the end of the dovetailed appendage F, to
the form of the breech; in other respects no difference need he made.
Having thus described the several parts, I shall next proceed to show

page_text: their action. In loading the fire-arms the percussion globular pellets
with which the magazines must be filled will of their own accord
descend to the lower part of the bent cylindrical cavities in the
magazines, as shewn in Figures 7, and 8. In Figure 7, the pellet
carrier is shewn as brought by means of its lever L, (shewn by dotted
lines) into a proper position to receive one of the pellets into the hole
made in the revolving carrier for that purpose. The carrier is then to
be turned into the position shewn in Figure 8, by means of its lever L,
(shewn by the dotted lines), and is lodged upon the spring catch M,
the pellet being brought thereby opposite to the inflaming punch Q
and the touch hole in the plug C, ready to be inflamed by the blow of
the cock or hammer H, on the discharge of the piece. In order to
reprime the carrier the spring catch M, is to pressed inwards by the
forefinger of either hand, (according to the lock to be primed), and the
lever L, will then be disengaged and may be turned by applying
the thumb and forefinger to that lever into the position shewn in
Figure 7, after which it is instantly to be brought back to its first
position and retained therein by the spring catch M, as above-men-
tioned. I do not mean or intend hereby to claim as my Invention
any of the several parts of which my said apparatus is composed that
may already be known or in use. I do, however, hereby claim the
Invention of the revolving percussion pellet carrier, and the methods of
fitting it and securing it upon the plug of the gun or other fire-arm
so as to allow of the free escape of the excess of the flash or gases
produced by the percussion, and from the exploding of the gunpowder
in the charge. I also claim as my Invention the new fixed position of
the conducting cylinder G, of the inflaming punch H, and the shoulder
at its inflaming end; and, lastly, I also claim the new fixed position of
the pellet magazine F, and the manner of preventing the explosion of
the pellets in the magazines by means of the raised circular portion W,
around the hole through which the pellets pass into the carrier.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Manton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of August, in the
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.
JOSEPH (L.B.) MANTON.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED that on the Twenty-sixth day of
August, in the year of our Lord 1825, the aforesaid Joseph Manton
before our said Lord the King, in His Chancery, and acknowledged
the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained
and specified, in form above written. And also the Specification was
stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Twenty-sixth day of August in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred twenty-five.