IMPROVE- MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS, AND IN MAKING UP CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Adams, of King William Street, in the
City of London, Gun Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
Sealed the 20th July 1860, and dated the 3rd February 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Adams at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd February 1860.
I, ROBERT ADAMS, of King William Street, in the City of London, Gun
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS, AND IN MAKING UP CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in guns which are
loaded by inserting the charge, contained in a cartridge, at the breech or rear
end of the barrel, or barrels if double, and also in the mode of making up such
cartridges; and part of my improvements in guns of this description (the
barrels of which tilt up or move on a joint to place the breech end in a position
to receive the cartridge) consists of improved modes of securing the barrel or
barrels firmly to the stock when loaded, and in readily releasing the same so

page_text: as to place the barrels in a position to receive a fresh charge, which arrange-
ments of apparatus enable me to apply "bar locks" to guns of this description,
in place of the "back action locks" hitherto employed.
In carrying out the first part of my Invention, I prefer to place the joint
which connects the barrels to the stock further from the breech end than
heretofore, and projections are formed on the under side of the barrels, the one
nearest the joint being curved, so as to enter a corresponding slot or recess
formed on the stock, the end of the slot forming an abutment to receive the
concussion when the piece is discharged. The other projection is so formed
that one end of a lever (which is carried by a pin joint underneath the stock
of the gun) may, by its forked or other suitably formed end, take hold of, when
moved into position, and draw the barrels down, & retain them firmly to their
bed on the stock; and this lever may either form the trigger guard, or fold
over or partly fold over the trigger guard, or it may be so arranged as to move
away from or towards the trigger guard when actuated to release the barrels,
and this lever may be retained in position by a spring catch or other suitable
mechanical contrivance; and this lever is also so formed that when it is moved
in order to release the barrels from the stock, a projection or cam surface acts
on the under side of the barrel (or barrels if double) to tilt it, and thus
assist in placing it in a position to receive the charge.
Heretofore guns of this description have been formed with a chamber at the
breech end of the barrel to receive the cartridge, such chamber being as much
larger than the bore of the barrel beyond the chamber as the thickness of the
case of the cartridge containing the charge, thus causing a shoulder to be
formed in the interior of the barrel, against which the front end of the
cartridge comes when inserted. Now I have discovered that more correct
shooting is obtained by forming the breech end of the barrel without an internal
shoulder, the greased wad on the front end of the cartridge correctly fitting
the bore of the barrel at the breech end, and in place of employing a car.
tridge formed with a case of a length suitable for containing the entire charge
of powder and shot, as heretofore practised, I form a cartridge by employing
a case of sufficient length only to contain the proper charge of powder, leaving
a space above the powder of sufficient depth to receive the end of the shot
cartridge with a wad attached, and well known as "Eley's shot cartridge;"
and I gum or otherwise secure the end of the shot cartridge into the end of
the case containing the charge of powder, and the case of a cartridge thus
made up and the greased-wad on the end are made to fit the bore of the
barrel correctly at the breech end, that part of a cartridge so made up (which

page_text: contains the shot) between the end of the case and the wad, is of somewhat
smaller diameter than that of the case and the wad. The case containing the
powder may be formed with a metallic cap and pin for exploding the charge,
as heretofore, or other modes of exploding the charge may be employed, and
the cases of cartridges so made up will be more readily withdrawn from the
breech of the gun after the discharge.
Breech-loading guns of this description being useless where suitable car-
tridges cannot be procured, one part of my Invention consists in rendering
such guns
available as muzzle-loaders, and I accomplish this by forming a
hollow metal plug or breech coned out, similar to what is called a "patent
breech," closed at one end to fit accurately into the breech end of the barrel
when it is desired to use the gun as a muzzle-loader. The side of this hollow
plug or breech near the covered end has a hole formed in it to receive a pin
and detonating cap suitable for exploding the charge when rammed down the
barrel in the ordinary mode of loading through the muzzle of the gun; and it
will be obvious that large numbers of such detonating caps may be carried in.
a small space where it would be impossible to carry a large number of made-
up cartridges.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Adams in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
ADAMS, of King William Street, in the City of London, Gun Manufacturer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Iler heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Robert Adams, Her special licence that I, the said Robert Adams,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Robert Adams, my executors, administrators, and 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 IMPROVEMENTS IN

page_text: BREECH-LOADING GUNS, AND IN MAKING UP CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Adams, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 Robert Adams, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
which are
This Invention has for its object certain improvements in guns
loaded by inserting the charge, contained in a cartridge, at the breech or rear
end of the barrel (or barrels, if double), and also in the mode of making up
such cartridges; and part of my improvements in guns of this description (the
barrels of which tilt up or move on a joint to place the breech end in a position
to receive the cartridge) consists of improved modes of securing the barrel or
barrels firmly to the stock when loaded, and in readily releasing the same, so
as to place the barrels in a position to receive a fresh charge, which arrange-
ments of apparatus enable me to apply "bar locks" to guns of this description,
in place of the "back action locks" hitherto employed.
In carrying out the first part of my Invention, I prefer to place the point
which connects the barrels to the stock further from the breech end than
heretofore, and projections are formed on the under side of the barrels, the one
nearest the joint being curved, so as to enter a corresponding slot or recess
formed on the stock, the end of the slot forming an abutment to receive the
concussion when the piece is discharged. The other projection is so formed
that one end of a lever (which is carried by a pin joint underneath the stock
of the gun) may, by its forked or other suitably formed end, take hold of when
moved into position, and draw the barrels down, and retain them firmly to
their bed on the stock; and this lever may either form the trigger guard, or
fold over or partly fold over the trigger guard, or it may be so arranged as to
move away from or towards the trigger guard when actuated to release the
barrels; and this lever may be retained in position by a spring catch or other
suitable mechanical contrivance, and this lever is also so formed that when it
is moved in order to release the barrels from the stock, a projection or cam
surface acts on the under side of the barrel (or barrels if double) to tilt it, and
thus assist in placing it in a position to receive the charge.

page_text: And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and
readily practised, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, shows a side view, and Figure 2 a longitudinal section,
of so much of a double-barrelled breech-loading gun or fowling-piece con-
structed according to my Invention as will enable me to describe the first
part of my improvements; Figure 3 shows a plan and side view of the metal
frame (let into the stock of the gun), which carries the axis of the holding
down lever, and closes up the back end of the breech; Figure 4 shows a plan
and side view of the holding down lever; and Figure 5 shows part of a
longitudinal section and an end view of the breech end of the barrels.
a is the joint or axis upon which the barrels tilt or move into an inclined
position to the stock to receive the charge at the breech end, as shown by
dotted lines in Figure 2. The axis a is fixed in the metal frame b, which is
let into the stock of the gun, and firmly secured thereto by screws, as shown,
and it will be seen on examining the Drawings that the joint or axis a is
placed much further from the breech end of the barrels than heretofore in
guns of similar construction, where the breech end of the barrels tilt up to
receive the charge, by which arrangement the barrels will require much less
movement on the joint or axis a, in order to place the breech end in a con-
venient position to receive the charge; c is a stud or projection fixed on the
under side of the barrel; the front part of the stud or projection c is formed
by a curve struck from the centre of the axis a, and it enters a corresponding
slot formed in the metal frame b, which forms an abutment to receive the
concussion when the discharge takes place, and thus relieves the joint or axis a
from the pressure it would otherwise have to sustain; d is another stud or
projection fixed on the under side of the barrel; the stud d is formed with
curved surfaces on each side suitable for being taken by the forked end of the
lever e, when it is moved into position to take hold of the stud d, and thus
draw down the barrels, and securely hold them to their bed upon the stock of
the gun. The levere is carried by the axis e fixed on the metal frame b, and
its long arm folds up into a recess underneath the stock, and near its end a
short piece is jointed, which is forced into an inclined position by a spring e
when released from the spring catch a fixed at the end of the stock, as shown,
the inclined position of the part e² (when released by pressing in the end of
the spring catch e) affording the means by which the lever is pulled down-
wards into the position shown by dotted liues; the forked end of the lever e

page_text: being thus withdrawn from its connection with the stud d. the breech end of
the barrels is free to tilt into an inclined position to receive the charge. The
forked end of the lever e is so formed that as it is disengaged from the stud or
projection d, the curved end of the fork presses on the under side of the barrels,
and in its farther movement the projection e*, on the lever e, comes against
the under side of the stud d, and forces it upwards, so as to partially tilt up the
breech end of the barrels into the position required for charging.
Sheet 2 of the Drawings shows corresponding views of another arrangement
of a breech-loading gun or fowling-piece constructed according to my Invention,
and the only difference between this arrangement and the one previously
described, consists in the form and position of the lever e, which is arranged so
as to fold partly over the trigger guard, and in the opposite direction to the
lever e, previously described. The lever e in this arrangement is retained in
position by the spring catch e, in the end of the lever e, taking into a recess
in the trigger guard. By thus arranging the parts of breech-loading guns of
this description, and by placing the joint or axis a much farther from the
breech end of the barrels, than heretofore I am enabled to apply "bar locks"
to breech-loading guns of this description (the barrels of which tilt or move
upon a joint), in place of the "back-action locks" hitherto employed.
Heretofore guns of this description have been formed with a chamber at
the breech end of the barrel to receive the cartridge, such chamber being as
much larger than the bore of the barrel beyond the chamber as the thickness
of the case of the cartridge containing the charge, thus causing a shoulder to
be formed in the interior of the barrel against which the front end of the
cartridge comes, when inserted. Now, I have discovered that more correct
shooting is obtained by forming the breech end of the barrel without an
internal shoulder, the greased wad on the front and of the cartridge correctly
fitting the bore of the barrel at the breech end, and in place of employing a
cartridge formed with a case of a length suitable for containing the entire
charge of powder and shot, as heretofore practised, I form a cartridge by
employing a case of sufficient length only to contain the proper charge of
powder, leaving a space above the powder of sufficient depth to receive the
end of the shot cartridge with a wad attached, and well known as "Eley's
shot cartridge," and I gum or otherwise secure the end of the shot cartridge
into the end of the case containing the charge of powder; and the case of a
cartridge thus made up, and the greased wad on the end, are made to fit the
bore of the barrel correctly at the breech end. That part of a cartridge so
made up (which contains the shot) between the end of the case and the wad

page_text: is of somewhat smaller diameter than that of the case and the wad. The
case containing the powder may be formed with a metallic cap and pin for
exploding the charge as heretofore, or other modes of exploding the charge
may be employed, and the cases of cartridges thus made up will be more
readily withdrawn from the breech of the gun after its discharge.
Figure 9 shews a longitudinal section and side view of a cartridge made up
according to this part of my Invention, and Figure 10 shews a section of part
of the breech end of a barrel having a cartridge of this description inserted
therein. a is the case of the cartridge, which is short in comparison with
those heretofore employed with guns of this description. The case a is only
of such a length as to contain the necessary charge of powder, leaving
sufficient depth to receive the end of the shot cartridge b, with a wad b
attached, and well known as "Eley's shot cartridge," which is gummed or
otherwise secured therein. The end of the case a is formed with a metallic
cap al and a pin a² for exploding the charge, as is well understood, or other
means may be employed for this purpose; and it will be seen, on examining
the Drawings, that the internal shoulder in the bore of the barrel at tho
breech end is dispensed with, the wad 6 and the case a of the cartridge exactly
fitting the bore of the barrel at the breech end, when inserted.
Breech-loading guns of this description being useless where suitable car-
tridges cannot be procured, one part of my Invention consists in rendering
such guns available as muzzle-loaders, and I accomplish this by forming a
hollow metal plug or breech combed out, similar to what is called a "patent
breech," closed at one end, to fit accurately into the breech end of the barrel
when it is desired to use the gun as a muzzle-loader. The side of this hollow
plug or breech near the closed end has a hole formed in it to receive a pin
and detonating cap, suitable for exploding the charge when rammed down the
barrel in the ordinary mode of loading through the muzzle of the gun; and
it will be obvious that large numbers of such detonating caps may be carried
in a small space when it would be impossible to carry a large number of
made-up cartridges.
Figure 11 shows a section and end view of a hollow metal plug or moveable
breech constructed according to this part of my Invention, and Figure 12
shows separate views of a percussion cap and pin suitable for exploding the
charge, to be employed in connection with the plug or moveable breech.
When a gun of this construction is loaded at the muzzle, the plug a is
furnished with a slight spring at the back end to press upon the exploding
pin, in order to prevent it from falling out, and the recess at the inner end

page_text: of the plug is sufficiently large to permit the exploded cap to fall out and pass
through the barrel after the discharge.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Adams, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE, Patent Agent,
34, Southampton Buildings,.
Chancery Lane.
ROBERT ADAMS. (L.8.)