IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Henry, of Edinburgh, in the County of
•
Mid Lothian, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 13th October 1865, and dated the 17th April 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Henry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th.
April 1865...
I, ALEXANDER HENRY, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, North
Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in breech-loading fire-arms,
which are more particularly applicable to central fire-guns and rifles, but also
with certain slight modifications (such as the elongation of the face of the
cock, or by using an ordinary lock for the pin cartridge alone), applicable to
the pin cartridge principle..
One feature of the present Invention consists in causing the, tumbler used
in ordinary locks to strike a piston (by means of a spring) instead of the cock
or hammer, thus producing a direct blow on the cap instead of a diagonal
This arrangement of lock also permits the piston's to lie concealed and
out of the way of being injured by dust or a damp atmosphere, owing to the

page_text: piston being contained within the lock case, and situated concentrically or
thereabouts with the barrel. The pistons can if desired be jointed to the
tumbler by a joint, in which case the hole in the breech piece must be made
taper, so as to admit of the partly radial movement of the piston, and in
which case no piston spring is necessary. That portion of the fire-arm termed
the extractor is also made on an improved plan, it being let through the solid
lump of metal at the bottom of the barrel, and is formed with a moveable,
curved, angular, or segmental face. An axle passes through the bottom of
the break off, to which levers are attached standing in such a position in front
of the cocks as to prevent the barrels being unbolted until the locks have
been raised to half cock, and, therefore, if the bolt which locks the barrels is
not fully home when fired, the breast of the cock as it moves forward striking
upon the levers completely bolts the gun before the piston reaches the cap, or
in the case of a pin cartridge before the cock reaches the pin. On the said
axle is placed an eccentric lever, which acts in a recess of and moves the
bolt which holds the breech end of the barrels and the stock together. The
sliding of this: bolt can be effected, by means of a simple lever in front of the
guard. In the fore part of the body is a solid steel piece of a segmental form,
dovetailed across, which fits into a corresponding slot in the solid steel lump
on the bottom of the barrels. This dovetailed piece is easily, removed, should
it ever be required for rejointing the breech after long and hard wearing,
when a new piece would make the joint perfect.
Another improvement consists of a breech piece with a strap or projection
for fixing it to the stock, to the face of which the barrel is screwed, and in the
centre of it is another breech-piece which moves vertically by means of a
double-jointed lever, and attached to each other by a strong swivel. There
is also a piston fitted into the vertical sliding breech-piece, which when struck
by the cock or hammer explodes a central-fire cartridge, the empty case of
which is partially removed by an extractor placed under the barrel and moved
by a prong at the fore end of the lever when drawing down the breech-piece
tó reload.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of April, in the year of our
'One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Alexander Henry, Her special license that I, the said Alexander
Henry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Alexander Henry, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at.
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alexander Henry, by an instrument in writing under.
my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature,
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters.
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alexander Henry, do hereby declare.
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-,
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to certain improvements in breech-loading fire.
arms, which improvements are particularly applicable to centre-fire guns and
rifles, and with certain slight modifications, such as the elongation of the face
of the cocks, or by using an ordinary lock applicable to the pin-cartridge
principle.
One feature of this Invention consists in using a tumbler with an elongated.
back or shoulder, which portion of the tuinbler (as the tumbler itself is moved
by the ordinary spring action of the lock) strikes against a piston, instead of
causing the cock or hammer to strike on a nipple as formerly. This motion,
communicated by the tumbler to the piston produces a direct blow on the
latter instead of a diagonal one, thus producing an advantageous effect.
The arrangement of lock used under the present Invention permits the
piston or pistons to lie concealed and out of the way of being injured by dirt
or a damp atmosphere, owing to the piston being contained within the lock
case, and situated concentrically or thereabouts with the barrel (or barrels).:
If desired, the piston may be united to the tumbler by means of a moveable,

page_text: , in which case the hole in the breech-piece must be made taper, so
admit of the partly radial and horizontal motion of the piston, in which
case no spring is required to keep the piston back when the gun is out
of use.
:
Another part of the improvements comprehended under this Invention
consists in passing the bar of the cartridge case extractor through a solid lump.
of metal fixed underneath the barrels, the back face of the extractor itself:
being formed with a curved face, which as the barrels are tilted moves another
piece of metal of a quadrantal form arranged in the stock, and being placed:
eccentrically with the centre, on which the barrels oscillate, causes the extractor
to be moved forward. The curved face of the extractor is formed with a
dovetail and pin parallel to each other, by both of which it is held in the pin
and capable of easy removal when required. An axle or shaft which actuates
a sliding bolt passes through the bottom of the "break-off," to which levers are
attaclied, standing in such a position in front of the cocks as to prevent the
barrels being unbolted until the cocks have been moved to "half-cock," and "
therefore if the bolt which locks the barrels is not fully forward when the
fire-arm is ready for being fired, the breast of the cock as it moves forward-
striking upon the levers completely bolts the gun before the piston reaches the
cap, and in the case of a pin cartridge before the cock or hammer reaches the
pin. An eccentric piece of metal is fixed on the axle, which acts in a recess
formed in the bolt, and as the shaft partly revolves, the bolt which holds the
breech end of the barrel is moved forward. Or instead of using a lever or
levers, to be partly acted upon by the hammer or cocks as herein-before
described, a single lever may be employed which works underneath, and when
not in use is held by a spring catch underneath the guard.
Another improvement consists in using a solid piece of steel of a circular
form fitted by dovetails across the body of the stock; this piece of steel
corresponds to a curved opening made in the solid metal beneath the barrels.
This piece of steel may be easily removed if necessary for rejointing the
breech after long wearing, when a new piece would render the joint again
perfect.
Another improvement under this Invention consists in the construction of
a breech-piece with a strap or projection for fixing it to the stock ; 'into the front
part of this piece the barrel is screwed. An opening is left between the end
of the barrel and the front of the breech piece, and through this opening the
breech proper passes, being moved vertically and held in position for firing by
means of a double-jointed lever. A piston is also fitted in the vertically sliding
breech piece, which when struck by the cock or hammer is driven forward

page_text: and explodes the cap of a central fire cartridge. A peculiar kind of extractor
is employed in connection with this latter arrangement of my Invention,
situated underneath the barrel, and consists of a prong at the back end
forming the extracting piston; this is moved forward by the breech lever as
the latter is drawn down for reloading.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood I
shall now proceed to describe the several Figures upon the explanatory
Sheet of Drawings, which I have hereunto appended for the purpose of
showing several modifications under which my said Invention may be
judiciously carried out in practice, that is to say, in the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings Figure 1 is part longitudinal section and elevation
of a breech-loading fowling piece constructed under the first head of my
said Invention; Figure 2 is a side elevation corresponding to Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of a breech-loading rifle under the second
form of my Invention; Figure 4, being a corresponding section thereof;
Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 are details, and are herein-after inore
fully referred to..
In Figures 1 and 2 the stock is marked A the "break-off" B, being made
The barrels C are
of iron, extending to a short length under the barrels.
jointed to the stock by the hinge at D, the smaller end of what would be the
stock in an ordinary muzzle-loading gun being in this instance detached from
the stock proper and held to the barrel by the bolt E, so as to form the other
half of a hinge joint at D. In the upper end of the part B the circular or
quadrantal piece of metal G is situated, upon which the corresponding end G¹
of the extractor moves as the barrels are tilted for reloading, and the cartridge
case is thus extracted when loaded, and the barrels are tilted back into the
position for firing, the face of the extractor is brought into contact with the
face of the breech, and is then with the cartridge forced fully into the barrels.
At Figure 5 is shown the position of the extractor a, relatively with the
barrels; the dotted portions show the curved end fitted into the sliding bar of
the extractor and the curved piece of metal over which the curved end slides.
In the solid piece of metal H, situated at the lower side of the barrels, a
transverse opening H is formed of a segmental shape, the centre of the curve
being the centre of the pin upon which the barrels tilt. The piece of metal 1,
Figures 1 and 2, and seen in plan in Figure 11, being that upon which the
barrels catch when they are brought into firing position; thus the whole force
of the explosion is against the breech face, and the inner edge of the piece I ;
this piece of metal I, is as herein-before referred to, dovetailed into the
body, so as to be easily removed when necessary for repairing, etc. The part

page_text: In
of the extractor which is considered new in this arrangement is the mode of
attaching the curved piece G', as shown in detail in Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10.
On again referring to Figure 1, the piston K is kept out of contact with the
'cartridge previous to the gun being fired by a small spiral spring, and as soon
as it is desired to discharge the gun the trigger is pulled as usual, when the
tumbler is released and its extended part c strikes the inner end of the piston,
as shown by the red lines in Figure 1; this brings the outer end of the pistón
in contact with the cartridge cap, and the charge is immediately fired.. One
great object gained by this method of igniting the cartridge cap is that the
extended portion of the tumbler does not strike the piston until the. former
has attained its higbest velocity; therefore the piston does not commence
to move until the tumbler has nearly reached the limit of its movement;
by this means the cap is struck with the highest possible velocity of the
piston, and thus its ignition by percussion is rendered more certain.
Figures 1 and 2 is also shown the arrangement by which barrels are locked in
firing position. Extending through the lower part of the body is the shaft M,
at either end of which a lever N is fitted, and at its central part another short
lever is situated, the end of which fits into an opening made in the bolt O, by
drawing the lever N back the bolt O is also withdrawn, when the barrels are
left free for being tilted; a spring e at the back sends the bolt forward, when
the levers N are released. On referring to Figure 2 it is obvious that the
barrels cannot be unbolted until the hammers P are brought to half-cock, for
the reason that the lever N, if slightly moved back, abuts against the neck of
the cock, and it is further evident that unless the barrels are brought into the
true firing position an explosion of the charge cannot take place, for in the
event of the trigger being drawn the cocks would strike against the lever N,
which could not be driven forward unless the barrels are in position, that the
bolt O may slide into its proper receptacle; for the same reason the barrels
cannot be discharged unless the gun is fully bolted, for should it occur
through any casualty that the bolt O was not fully driven forward previous
to firing, the action of the cock striking on the lever N must fully bolt the
gun before the explosion can take place. Instead of using levers N on either
side of the gun; a single central lever N¹ may be used, as shown in blue lines
in Figure 2, and which is kept in position in being attached by the spring
catch d in the shield, on releasing which the lever may be brought "down"
and the bolt O withdrawn, ready to allow of the tilting of the barrels ;
"Lefacheaux". levers can also be employed for the same purpose of locking
the barrels.
.
Another very important feature in connection. with my said Invention

page_text: consists in the adoption of an indicator for showing to the sportsman, rifleman;
or other person using the weapon whether it is loaded or not, thus removing
the chief objection generally raised against central-fire guns, viz., "that when
they are loaded there is no indication of such being the case." The mechanism
by which the indication is effected may be arranged in various ways under one
modification, as that shown at Figure 14, it merely consists of a little bolt a
placed towards the outer side of the "break off;" this bolt, when the gun is
unloaded remains flush with the exterior or back side of the "break-off;" but
when a cartridge is inserted this then presses against the inner end of the bolt
and thus causes its outer end to protrude beyond the." break-off." The bolt
may be made of any bright and distinguishable material so that it may
quickly attract the eye of the person in whose hands the weapon may
happen to be.
Another arrangement of indicator, as shown attached to Fig. 1, consists of
two bars or bolts c and d, the inner ends of which are bevilled off to an angle
of 45°, or thereabouts, by means of these bolts when the cartridge presses
against the horizontal one the vertical one is pushed upwards when the
weapon is loaded. It is obvious that there are many positions in which the
vertical bolt.d may be placed relatively with the horizontal one c, besides that
shown at Figure 1.
An arrangement similar to the last foregoing may also be employed for
igniting the cartridge, and when so used the piston previously referred to is
dispensed with, as well as the piece added to the tumbler, in which case the
ordinary cock is caused to strike on the end of the upright bolt; this being
thus forced downwards, causes the horizontal bolt to impinge upon the central-
fire cartridge. Instead of using a long under lever for working the barrels,
as shown at Figure 2, a much shorter lever may be employed, shown at i,
Figure 1, and in transverse section at Figure 15, the action of the spring by
which the bolt for locking the barrles is kept forward causes the lever i to be
maintained close against the trigger guard. When the barrels have to be
unloaded the lever i is simply pressed downwards. By means of this last arrange-
ment, pin cartridge guns may easily be converted into central-fire guns.
I now proceed to describe my second arrangement, which is more parti-
calarly applicable to single-barrel guns and rifles, as shown at Figures 3, 4,
12, and. 18. The breech piece A in these Figures is formed with a long'
strap A', by means of which it is united to the rifle stock; the barrel B is
screwed into the breech piece, as more particularly seen at Figure 3, but the
breech piece and barrel can be made of one solid piece when required for
low-priced guns. The after part of the breech piece A. being hollowed-out so

page_text: as to allow of the cartridge being passed into the barrel, the
space between
the end of the barrel B and the front of the breech piece is hollowed out, and
a moveable breech C slides therein, in such manner as to close over the
cartridge. This moveable breech C is jointed by means of the link D to the
lever E, which, on being released from the trigger guard and pulled down, at
the same time draws down the breech piece into the position shown in blue
lines in Figure 3. When the breech is thus pulled down the barrel is ready
for being reloaded. At the same time that the breech piece is drawn down,
the inner end of the lever E presses against the cartridge case extractor F,
and presses it outwards, thus freeing the barrel of that portion of the cartridge
remaining therein after firing. The piston G, by which the cartridge is
ignited, is contained within the breech piece C, and driven forward by the
end of the hammer or cock H; and in order that too severe an impulse may
not be imparted to the piston G, a portion of the hammer is left projecting at
the side, which catches against the side of the breech piece. With this
arrangement of breech either a bar lock may be used, as shown in red lines in
Figures 3 and 4, or an ordinary lock may be used, as shown in black outline in
Figure 4. Figure 12 shows the opening in the breech piece for the reception
of the moveable breech; and Figure 13 shows the breech C with the piston G
placed therein.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into practical effect, I would observe in conclusion, that what I consider to be
novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by.the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the general arrangement, construction, and combination of parts of
fire-arms, as herein-before described and shown in the annexed Sheet of
Drawings, or any mere modification thereof.
Second, the addition to the barrels of a piece of solid metal, with cavities
therein for carrying the bar of the, extractor, and with a segmental slot therein
into which the steel cross bar fits, for receiving the force of the explosion as
herein-before described, or any mere modification thereof.
Third, the fixing of a piece of steel or other metal into the stock, of a
segmental form, for receiving the force of the explosion, as herein-before
described and shown at Figure 11 of the annexed Sheet of Drawings, or any
mere modification thereof.
Fourth, the extension of the tumbler of the lock in combination with an
ordinary back action or bar action lock, for the purpose of striking the piston,
substantially as herein-before described.

page_text: Fifth, the construction of the curved face of the extractor with a dovetail
and pin for fixing it to the extractor bar, substantially as herein-before de-
scribed and shown in the Figures of the annexed Sheet of Drawings, which
have reference to the first modification of my said Invention.
Sixth, the moveable bolt for working the barrels, and the mode of actuating
the same by means of levers, substantially as herein-before described.
Seventh, the use and construction of apparatus of the kind herein-before
described, for indicating whether the weapon is loaded or not, and the use of
the same apparatus for the conversion of pin cartridge guns into central-
fire guns.
Eighth, the use and construction of a breech piece, into which the barrel is
screwed in fowling pieces or rifles, and with an opening therein for receiving
the moveable breech, as herein-before described and shown at Figures 3, 4,
12, and 13, of the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, or any mere modification
thereof.
Ninth, the mode of opening or closing the breech by means of a lever, and
the combination therewith of an extractor, as shown at Figure 3 of the
annexed Sheet of Drawings or any mere modification thereof.
Tenth, the arrangement of extractors which may be fitted to either single
or double guns, and moved by a lever at the bottom, top, or sides of the
barrel or barrels as shown in the accompanying Drawings, or any mere
modification thereof.
Eleventh, the use of all these arrangements, either in combination with
bar or ordinary locks..
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Henry, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-five.
ALEXANDER HENRY. (L.S.)