Improvements in Magazine Rifles.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1896-Accepted, 24th Dec., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Magazine Rifles.
I, THOMAS ROBERT RANEY ASHTON, of North Deniliquin in the Colony
of New South Wales, Mechanical Engineer, 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 :-
This invention relates to a prior Application for Letters Patent No. 8408 of 1896
and its main object is to still further simplify and improve magazine rifles and more
especially to adapt them for military service.
In order that my invention may be easily understood I will describe it by
reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein-
Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of a magazine rifle constructed according
to my invention.
Figure 2 is a plan, and
Figure 2 a side elevation of the breech portion removed from the stock and
barrel,
Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section on line 1 1" Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section on line 3-3 Figure 1 showing the rear
end of the breech in elevation.
Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section on line 4-4 Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 5 is a central longitudinal section of the magazine showing the cartridges
in position.
Figure 6 is a central longitudinal section through the bolt of the rifle, and
Figures 6 and 6B are vertical transverse sections on the lines 6 6 and 6b 6b
respectively in Figure 6 illustrating the manner of mounting the sand or dust cover
upon the bolt.
Figure 7 is a horizontal section through the breech body and lower end of the
magazine on line 7--7 Figures 3 and 4.
Figures 8, 84, and 8B are various views of the sand or dust cover, and
Figure 9 is a sectional view of part of the breech block illustrating the ejecting
contrivance.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.
As a matter of convenience I will describe the rifle as a whole limiting the claims
to the improvements constituting the present invention.
A represents the stock, B the barrel, C the magazine (for containing four
cartridges) and D D' D' the bolt which is slid to and fro within the breech body
or receiver E by the locking lever F, which is integral with the main or central
part D' of said bult; G represents the usual firing pin and H a cocking head on
the rear end of the firing pin, the cocking head being engaged by the trigger I when
the pin is in either its cocked or half cocked position.
The bolt D D D is constructed as shewn in Figure 6 by screwing the forward
end of the central portion D' into the front portion D as indicated at d and by
screwing the rear portion D into the central portion D₁ as indicated at d'. This
leaves the central portion free to be rotated sufficiently to lock the bolt in its firing
position and dispenses with the comparatively large sleeve, upon which in some
cases the locking lever and lug are mounted, thereby allowing the size of the breech
body E to be reduced thus materially improving the appearance of the rifle and
decreasing its weight without impairing either its strength or efficiency.
Au upwardly projecting feather d is formed in the forward end of the part D¹

page_text: in such a position and at such an angle that when the bolt is withdrawn the feather
fits within a slot or groove d³ in the upper part of the rear end of the breech body
or receiver E and so prevent the weight of the lever F from turning the bolt round
when it is withdrawn.
J represents a vertically arranged screw-threaded set screw or retaining pin.
which normally projects up into the breech body and prevents the bolt D D D²,
from being entirely withdrawn therefrom by engaging with a small lug on the
underside of the forward end of the bolt. The lower end of this retaining pin is
made slightly larger and is formed with a butterfly head j; it is screw-threaded
atto screw into a boss on the forward extension of the trigger guard.
By unscrewing the retaining pin J, its upper end can be drawn down out of
the path of the lug when it is required to entirely withdraw the bolt.
L represents the extractor which is mounted upon the forward end D of the bolt
and engages with the rim of the cartridge when the bolt is pushed home, so that
when the bolt is withdrawn it extracts the cartridge.
It is made in one piece with lugs I projerting from each side at about one-third
of the length from its forward end and it has a curved projection upon which the
sand or dust cover M hears so as to retain it in its proper working position.
The rear end of the extractor forms a long flat spring 2 the extremity of which
is turned down and bears upon the central part D' of the bolt, thas always tending
to hold the hook P on its forward end down in its operative position.
N denotes a spring stop and guide piece which projects into the side of the
receiver E opposite to the magazine and which allows only one cartridge at a time
to fall out of the magazine and also acts as a guide whilst the cartridge is being
moved into the barrel by the bolt.
It is made in one piece and its spring portion n is secured to the side of the
receiver by a pin or stud n projceting into a hole in the side of the receiver
combined with a small screw n fitting into the receiver, the stock of the gun
covering the screw and pin.
The forward portion of this spring stop or guide piece projects through a slot n
in the side of the receiver and normally assumes the position indicated in Figure 2
so as to allow the first or lowermost cartridge in the magazine to drop into such a
position in the receiver when the bolt is withdrawn, that when the bolt is forced
forward the bullet end of the cartridge is directed into the barrel B, and the spring
is of sufficient strength to prevent more than one cartridge f.lling int the receiver
at once, though it is not of such strength as to interfere with the forward movement
of the cartridge and bolt, it guides the cartridge into the breech of the barrel.
The magazine C is made integral with the receiver E, and is curved upwardly
and outwardly from the right of the receiver so as to be well out of the line of
sight. Its upper portion may if preferred be male separate from the lower part,
and may be secured to the lower part or base ly dove-tailing or in any convenient
manner as for instance by screws, or if preferred it may be dovetailed and in
addition have a small screw passed through a lug on the rear end of the upper part
of the magazine into a corresponding lug on the lower part.
The mouth or opening of the magazine C extends along its full length and
opens into the interior of the receiver immediately behind the breech end of the
barrel.
In order to load the rifle it is merely necessary to draw back the bolt D and to
hold the rifle on one side so that the magazine C is inclined downwardly when the
cartridges N' can be dropped one by one into its mouth and they automatically
arrange themselves in it as shown in Figure 5, the forward end e' of the magazine
being inclined towards the rear so that the rim a of each cartridge is behind the
rim of the one below it. After filling the magazine a cartridge may be placed
in the breech and the rifle turned into its normal position, when the bolt is forced
forward pushing the cartridge into the barrel Bready for firing as shewn in
Figure 1.
The central portion D' of the bolt besides carrying the locking lever F has a

page_text: lug projecting downwardly from it into an inclined recess f' in the side and lower
part of the receiver E when the locking lever is turned down into its locking position
as indicated in Figure 3.
The sand or dust cover M is secured to the end pieces D D' of the bolt as
indicated in Figures 1, 3, 6, 64, and 6B, by sliding under-cut or dovetailed grooves m
on its underside into engagement with dovetail projections m¹ on the end pieces D D'
until an opening m³ in the side of the cover comes opposite to the locking lever F,
after which the lever being turned up into its normal position enters the opening
thus locking the cover endwise and securely fastening it without requiring screws
or similar devices.
A shoulder g' is formed on the forward end of the firing pin G, in front of the
helical main spring g' which extends back to and bears against the rear end D' of
the bolt.
The cocking head H on the end of the firing pin has a knob at h to allow the
firing pin to be moved slowly forward by hand if the trigger I be pulled down;
and to allow the trigger to engage in a notch h', in the underside of the cocking
head so as to hold the firing pin in half-cocked position. When it is in its full
cocked position the trigger I engages with the forward end of the cocking head as
indicated in Figure 1. For this purpose the trigger I is formed with a small
shoulder i and is normally held in its raised position by the trigger spring i¹; the
trigger is made in the form of a bell-crank lever and is fulcrummed upon a pin
passing through the underside of the breech body or receiver the rear end of the
trigger being hook-shaped as indicated at so that it can readily be placed in
engagement with the pin 2. The spring is preferably coiled around an upwardly
projecting inclined pin which is preferably screw threaded below a shoulder
upon which the spring bears, the screw threaded portion being screwed into the
base of the finger guard in such a way that the spring can be adjusted by turning
the pin to regulate the pull required to release the firing pin.
It will be noticed on reference to Figure 6 that the cartridge is moved forward
into its firing position by the end of the extractor. This keeps the cartridge a
short distance in front of the firing pin until it has been forced into its firing
position and the bolt is locked and bearing tightly against the rear end of the
cartridge the extractor hook being thus caused to engage with the rim of the
cartridge as shown in Figure 1. Thus it is impossible to fire until the bolt is
locked.
To ensure the ejection of the cartridge when the bolt is withdrawn a notch O is
formed in the inner side of the receiver a little more than a cartridge length from
the breech end of the barrel as indicated in Figure 9, so that the side of the
cartridge rim opposite to that engaged by the extractor make contact with the
notch in travelling backwards thus ensuring ejection of the cartridge.
In order to prevent the possibility of the bolt being accidentally unlocked before
the piece is fired a small vertically sliding spring-actuated catch P may be arranged
to slide through the bottom of the receiver and to engage with a recess in the bolt
when the latter is in its forward position and before the trigger is pulled so as to
lock the bolt against rotation.
This catch P is connected with the front end of the trigger I by means of a pin
and slot connection pl in such a manner that when the trigger is pulled said catch
is withdrawn although the trigger remains free to engage with the cocking head in
the ordinary manner when required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a magazine rifle a bolt made in three parts (such as D D D³) the central
part being screwed to the other parts and carrying a locking lever and lug
substantially as and for the purposes specified and as illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.

page_text: 2. In a magazine rifle a bolt made in three parts with the central part screwed
to the other parts and carrying a locking lever and lug together with an upwardly
projecting feather or lug (such as 2) on its forward end in combination with a
breech body or receiver having a slot or groove (such as d³) in the upper part of
its rear end to receive said feather or lug, substantially as and for the purposes
specified and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
3. In a magazine rifle a trigger made in the form of a bell-crank lever having its
rear end hook-shaped in combination with a fixed pin with which the hook-shaped
end can be engaged substantially as and for the purposes specified and as illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
4. In a magazine rifle an extractor having lugs projecting from each side and a
curved projection on its upper edge adapted to bear against the underside of the
sand or dust cover together with a long flat spring (such as ) the whole being
made in one piece, substantially as and for the purposes specified and as illustrated
in the accompanying drawings.
5. In a magazine rifle a sand or dust cover connected to the bolt by dovetails
and dovetail grooves and locked in position by the locking lever, substantially as
and for the purposes specified and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
6. In a magazine rifle a spring-actuated bolt locking catch (such as P) controlled
and withdrawn by the trigger, substantially as and for the purposes specified and
as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 26th day of November 1896.
ABEL & IMKAI,
Agents for the Applicant.