Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 12th Oct., 1889
Fig. 5, is a plan in part section.
Fig. 6, is a perspective view of the case.
Fig. 7, is an inverted plan view of the case.
The barrel A is open at the breech and is closed by means of a sliding breech
block B, and the cartridge is exploded by a firing pin a, these parts being
mounted upon the stock I, and constructed and operated in any suitable or usual
manner.
In arms of this class it has been common to arrange the cartridge chamber, magazine
or casing directly below or at one side of the breech opening a, so that it is necessary
in such arms in order to secure sufficient storage space to provide the arm with a case
like extension projecting below or laterally from the stock or frame, injuring the
symmetry of the outline of the piece and, what is more important, extending the
exposed area of the piece and increasing the liability to injury inasmuch as slight
blows upon the exposed magazine will disable the arm and sometimes explode the
cartridge in the magazine.
All these objections are obviated and many advantages secured by extending the
magazine or cartridge chamber Y within and substantially in line with the line of
the stock at a normal angle to the axis of the barrel, and by constructing it in such
manner and by so arranging the follower or carrier that the cartridges will at all
times be substantially parallel with the line of the barrel but may extend one beyond
the other.
As illustrated in the drawing, the chamber Y communicates at the upper end with
the breech opening a longer than the transverse height of the magazine and extends
to the termination of the frame or to the neck of the stock having a continuous
straight front face or edge 5 at an acute angle to the line of the barrel and parallel
with the back face and the sear and other operating parts between the breech block
and the trigger are extended at one or both sides of the chamber Y so as not to
obstruct or intersect the latter. The follower C occupies a position parallel to the line
of the barrel and is provided with a slide b which moves in a guide d formed in or
secured to the stock or to the frame and extending substantially parallel to the line of
the stock and of the chamber Y.

page_text: The tangs ff of the frame are turned each to one side that the securing bolt G
(Figure 2) may pass through the stock at one side of the chamber of the guide.
A spring e of any suitable character is confined at the rear of the carrier and tends
to lift the latter and to cause it to move diagonally upward and forward carrying with
it the cartridges which lie substantially in a horizontal position within the chamber,
but one projecting beyond the other, as shown in Fig. 1.
The rim of the upper cartridge is pressed by the action of the spring against the
under side of the breech block until when the latter is drawn back its forward end
passes back of the butt of the cartridge when the pressure of the spring tending to
push forward and unbuckle the next cartridge below will act to lift the upper cartridge
vertically without imparting any forward movement thereto until the butt is in front
of the end of the breech block.
When the breech block is now pushed forward the elevated cartridge will be carried
with it, the bullet end of the cartridge sliding upon an inclined edge of the face y of
the stock or frame and being raised and directed into an open bore into which the
cartridge is then forced by the further forward movement of the block.
On the next rearward motion the cartridge or shell that has been introduced into
the bore is extracted and thrown aside and the next highest cartridge passes into
position to be pushed forward in the same manner as the first.
It will be evident that the chamber Y may be extended to any desired distance into
the stock to increase the capacity and it will be seen that it is wholly enclosed in and
protected by the stock and frame, that the area of the arm is not increased nor in its
general outline altered by the presence of such chamber, that the cartridge feeding
appliances are reduced in number to a carrier, guide, and spring, and that the cartridges
pass by an easy movement without shocks or jerks into the breech opening.
In addition to these advantages the feeding of the cartridges is equally effected
whether they be all of the same length or of different lengths and the recoil of the
gun causes no hammering of the primers nor does it tend to drive the projectiles into
the shells, inasmuch as the projectiles rest upon an acutely inclined surface instead of
abutting against a vertical wall as usual.
The cartridges may be placed in the chamber singly, by hand, but in most instances
it seems preferable to use a removeable case D, which is lozenge shaped as shown in
the perspective view Fig. 6, and adapted to fit the chamber Y with a slot W along the
rear edge communicating with a recess J along the botton for the passage of the
carrier. This magazine is inserted and withdrawn through the breech opening .
The arm is of course provided with a cut-off to prevent the cartridges from all
being forced out of the chamber at once. This cut-off may be formed in any usual
imanner but as shown it consists of a lever K pivotted in the side frame with the
inner end 2 in position above the upper cartridge to prevent it rising, a spring 3
holding the lever in this position. As the breech block moves forward it strikes the
inner edge of the lever and swings it outward so as to release the cartridge which
then rises and is pushed forward by the block, the latter moving over and holding
down the next following cartridge, and when the breech block is drawn back the
end 2 of the lever swings into position to hold the cartridge below in its place.
The end of the lever K is also of such form as to extend above the edge of the
case D and hold the latter in place against the pressure of the spring s which bears
against the lower end of the magazine and tends to throw it outward.
When the
magazine is to be released the end of the lever K extends through the side of the
frame in position to be pressed inward by the thumb or finger of the operator.
In order to obtain and secure a hold upon the shell for extracting the latter any
suitable extractor may be employed, but it is preferred to make use of a dog F of an
L-shape, as best shown in Fig. 5, with one leg extending into a lateral opening z in
the end of the breech block, and having a lug i that bears upon the forward wall of
the recess while the other leg extends forward and has at the end a hook n that
catches upon the cartridge.
A. spring 9 bears against the inner end of the dog and tends to throw the outer
catch end inward.

page_text: The hook end of the dog is bevelled so that when the breech lock is pushed forward
it will slide over and then engage the rim of the cartridge and it will be seen that
owing to the diagonal position of the bearing i and hook n, any resistance of the
cartridge on the backward motion of the block will tend to throw the hook inward and
to grip the cartridge more firmly.
When a firing pin is used the dog has a perforation v for the passage of the pin.
In order to facilitate the transformation of the piece from a magazine to a single
breech loader, the gun is provided with a cover or closing piece L which may be slid
into position or otherwise adjusted to completely close the chamber Y. Thus the
closing piece is in the form of a slide moving in guides below the barrel so as to be slid
forward to expose the chamber Y, as shown in Fig. 1, or back to cover it as shown
in Fig. 3, and an arm 5 extends laterally upon the slide and is provided with a button 6
at the outer end so that the slide can be moved back and forth by means of the.
button.
When the chamber Y is closed by the closing piece it is impossible for any
powder to find its way into said chamber so that there can be no explosion from this
cause.
Such a closing piece may be used for arms of different constructions and may be
supported to slide or swing into position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
as communicated to me by my foreign Correspondent and in what manner the same
is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination in a fire arm, of a barrel open at the breech, a moveable breech
block, an inclined cartridge chamber extending downward in the stock at an angle to
the line of the barrel and with a straight inclined forward face 5, and a carrier parallel
to the line of the barrel and movable in said chamber upon an inclined guide-way,
substantially as described.
2. The combination with the barrel, stock having an inclined chamber, carrier in
said chamber parallel with the line of the barrel and inclined guide-way for a slide
connected with the carrier, substantially as set forth.
3. The combination of the barrel open at the breech and stock having an inclined
chamber, and an inclined face y, and a carrier in said chamber parallel to the line of
the barrel and inclined guide-way therefor, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination with the longitudinally movable breech block having a terminal
slot or recess, of an L-shaped dog, one arm extending into said recess and bearing
with its inner end only against the forward face of the recess in the block and the
other arm extending forward and provided with a catch at its outer end, substantially
as set forth.
5. The combination of the barrel, stock having an inclined cartridge chamber,
case for holding the cartridges adapted to said chamber, spring arranged to bear
upon and eject the case, and movable catch 2 arranged to bear upon and hold the case
in position, substantially as set forth.
6. The combination of the barrel, stock having an inclined chamber, horizontal
carrier supported to move in an inclined direction in said chamber, and case located
in said chamber and having a lower and a side edge opening for the passage of the
carrier, substantially as described.
7. The combination with the barrel, stock and chamber of a magazine gun, of a
closing piece located below the barrel and movable into position to close and open
the cartridge chamber and provided with a projecting operating arm, substantially as
set forth.
Dated this 10th day of September 1889.
PHILIP M. JUSTICE.