IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH- LOADING SMALL-ARMS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Anson, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Gun Maker, and John Declcy, of Birmingham, afore-
said, Gun Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-
LOADING SMALL-ARMS."
Sealed the 9th July 1875, and dated the 11th May 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Anson and
John Deeley at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 11th May 1875.
We, WILLIAM ANSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Gun Maker, and JOHN DEELEY, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Gun Maker,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS," to be as follows:-
"
Our Invention has reference to breech-loading small-arms of the kind
commonly called "drop-down guns and pistols, that is, breech-loading
guns and pistols in which the barrels turn upon a joint, the open breech
ends being raised from the break off for charging and shut down and
fastened against the break off during discharge.

page_text: Our improvements consist, first, of the following construction and
arrangement of parts of the lock mechanism, whereby the cocking of
the arm is effected by the raising of the breech ends of the barrels for
charging. The fore end of the arm is prolonged backwards beyond the
joint on which the barrels turn, the prolonged part entering into and
working in a groove in the body of the arm. The fore end thus con-
stitutes the long arm of a lever and the part of the said fore end pro-
longed backwards the short arm of the same lever, the ordinary joint of
the fore end constituting the fulcrum of the said lever. The hammer
or striker consists of a lever situated for the most part within the groove
in which the short arm of the fore end lever works, the end of the short
arm of the fore end lever bearing against the under side of the end of
the hammer or striker lever within thegroove described. The other end
of the hammer or striker lever projects out of the body of the arm, and
is turned upwards at the back of the brake off into a nearly semicircular
form, its end entering into and working in a hole in the said break off
in a line with the axis of the barrel, when the said barrel is shut down
for firing. The said hammer or striker lever is provided with a a main-
spring and a sear is pressed by a sear spring against the under side of the
said hammer or striker lever, and takes into a bent in the said hammer
or striker lever when the latter has been brought into a cocked
position.
The action of the parts is as follows:-When on raising the breech
ends of the barrels, the fore end is depressed, its short arm rises and lifts
the end of the hammer or striker lever bearing upon it. The other or
striking end of the said hammer or striker lever is thereby drawn back,
the sear taking into the bent described and thereby retaining the
hammer in its cocked position on the shutting down of the barrels for
firing. The pressure of the finger on the trigger releases the scar from
the bent in the hammer lever in the usual manner, and the hammer by
the action of the mainspring discharges the gun or pistol.
Instead of making the end of the hammer lever strike directly on the
primer of the cartridge, it may drive forward a loose striker, sliding in a
hole in the break off.
Instead of making the hammer turn upon a joint it may have a
rectilinear sliding motion in the groove described. In this case the
mainspring may be either a coiled spring or an ordinary flat or V
spring.

page_text: When the barrels are fastened and unfastened by a lever on the
under side of the arm, the cocking of the arm may be effected by the
motion of the said lever, instead of by the motion of the fore end.
Our improvements consist, secondly, in the following arrangement of
the lever mechanism situated on the tang of the break off for locking
down and unlocking the barrels. We simplify and improve the said
mechanism in the following manner :-'
-The head of the lover is jointed
at one side to the tang of the break off, a short link being jointed to the
middle and under side of the head of the said lever. The other end of
the link carries a pin, which passes through and travels in a slot in the
tang of the break off. This pin is connected with a rod parallel with
the slot and capable of a sliding motion, its rear end working through a
fixed bearing. By means of a coiled spring the sliding rod is pressed
towards the face of the break off, tending to bring the lever to its normal
or locking position. On pressing the thumb plate of the lever aside, the
unlocking of the barrels is effected, and on shutting down the barrels
their locking is effected by a snapping action.
T
11
O SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Anson and John Decley in the Great
Scal Patent Office on the 10th November 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
ANSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Maker, and
5 JOHN DEELEY, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Gun Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said William Anson and John Deeley, Her
special license that we, the said William Anson and John Deeley, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
William Anson and John Deeley, our exccutors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to

page_text: 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 BREECH-LOADING
SMALL-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
William Anson and John Decley, our executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under our or their hands and scals, or under
the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William Anson and John Deeley
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 :-
Our Invention has reference to breech-loading small-arms of the kind
commonly called drop-down guns and pistols, that is, breech-loading guns
and pistols in which the barrels turn upon a joint, the open breech ends
being raised from the break off for charging, and shut down and fastened
against the break off during discharge.
Our improvements consist first of the following construction and
arrangement of parts of the lock mechanism whereby the cocking of the
arm is effected by the raising of the breech ends of the barrels for
charging. The fore end of the arm is prolonged backward beyond the
joint on which the barrels turn, the prolonged part entering into and
working in a groove in the body of the arm. The fore cnd thus con-
stitutes the long arm of a lever and the part of the said fore end
prolonged backwards the short arm of the same lever, the ordinary joint
of the fore end constituting the fulcrum of the said lever. The hammer
or striker consists of a lever situated for the most part within the groove
in which the short arm of the fore end lever works, the end of the short
arm of the fore end lever bearing against the under side of the end of
the hammer or striker lever within the groove described. The other
end of the hammer or striker lever projects out of the body of the arm,
and is turned upwards at the back of the break-off into a nearly semi-

page_text: дного у москуохпортобст
circular form, its end entering into and working in a hole in the said
break off in a line with the axis of the barrel when the said barrel is
shut down for firing. The said hammer or striker lever is provided with
a mainspring, and a sear is pressed by a sear spring against the under
side of the said hammer or striker lever, and takes into a bent in the
said hammer or striker lever when the latter has been brought into a
cocked position.
The action of the parts is as follows:-When on raising the breech
ends of the barrels the fore end is depressed, its short arm rises and lifts
the end of the hammer or striker lever bearing upon it. The other or
striking end of the said hammer or striker lever is thereby drawn back,
the scar taking into the bent described and thereby retaining the hammer
in its cocked position on the shutting down of the barrels for firing.
The pressure of the finger on the trigger releases the scar from the bent
in the hammer lever in the usual manner, and the hammer by the
action of the mainspring discharges the gun or pistol.
Instead of making the end of the hammer lever strike directly on the
primer of the cartridge it may drive forward a loose striker sliding in a
hole in the break off.
The cocking of the arm may be effected by the motion of an under
lever acting directly on the hammer lever instead of by the motion of
the fore end.
Our improvements consist, secondly, in the following arrangement of
the lever mechanism situated on the tang of the break off for locking
down and unlocking the barrels : —
We simplify and improve the said mechanism in the following
manner: The head of the lever is jointed at one side to the tang of the
break off, a short link being jointed to the middle and under side of the
head of the said lever. The other end of the link carries a pin which
passes through and travels in a slot in the tang of the break off. This
pin is connected with a rod parallel with the slot and capable of a sliding
motion, its rear end working through a fixed bearing. By means of a
coiled spring the sliding rod is pressed towards the face of the break off,
tending to bring the lever to its normal or locking position. On pressing
the thumb plate of the lever aside the unlocking of the barrels is
effected, and on shutting down the barrels their locking is effected by a
snapping action.

page_text: combine with the gun a safety bolt for cach hammer lever. The said
safety bolts are marked g, g. Each of the said safety bolts consists of a
cylinder working in the break off . The opening in which the said
bolt works crosses the striker hole, through which the nose of the
striker lover acts to discharge the gun. A portion of the bolt is cut
away, so that when the bolt is turned in one position the striker hole is
closed as represented in Figure 3, but when turned at a right angle to
that position the striker hole is open, as represented in Figure 2. The
said bolt has at its end a small lever g², by which it can be turned as
-herein-after explained, the weight of which lever brings the bolt into
the position, Figure 3, in which it closes the striker hole when the said
bolt is at liberty to move.
The action of the safety bolt is as follows:-On depressing the barrels
to open the breech ends the short arm of the fore end lever withdraws
the hammer, and the safety bolt being no longer supported by the said
hammer, the said bolt turns into the position, in which it closes the
striker hole by the weight of the lever at its end. The gun is now in a
position of safety, for the striker hole being closed the hammer cannot
reach the cartridge. In order to discharge the gun the thumb or finger
presses the said lever upwards, when the changed position of the bolt
brings its cutaway part opposite the nose of the hammer, which advances
a short distance and engages with the scar, at the same time supporting
the bolt in the position to which it has been brought. By pulling the
trigger the gun may now be discharged.
The position of the safety bolts is best seen in the gun represented in
Figures 4, 8, and 9.
When the hammer or striker levers ff, are used for actuating loose
strikers the nose ends of the said levers are shortened, the said loose
strikers working in holes in the break off and being forced forward by
the action of the nose ends of the said hammer levers upon them.
Figure 6 represents our arrangement of cocking mechanism for
cocking the hammer by the operation of a hand lever on the under side
of the gun.
,, is the hammer or striker lever turning on the centre
, the said centre being situated in a line with the face of the break
off 1. 7 is the spring of the hammer lever. s is the bent in the
hammer, and is the scar, which on the cocking of the gun takes into

page_text: the said bent and holds the hammer lever in its cocked position. u, u²,
is the hand lever for operating the hammer or striker lever r, r². The
said hand lever turns on the centre ³, and its short arm u² bears against
the under side of the short arm of the hammer or striker lever 7, 2³.
When the hand lever is moved in the direction of the arrow the short
arm of the said hammer lever is lifted by the short arm u² of the hand
lever, and the hammer lever is cocked and held in its cocked position by
the sear t engaging with the bent s. The gun is discharged by pressure
on the triggers v, v, as usual. By arranging and jointing the two levers
r, r², and u, u², in the manner represented the cocking of the gun is
effected with great ease.

page_text: the rod 3 in its bearing 4, and the coiled spring 5 is compressed. By
loosing the hand lever wo the coiled spring 5 forces the bolt y towards
the face of the break off, and its front end snaps into the prolonged rib 6
and fastens down the barrels, the hand lever wo at the same time being
returned to its normal position, as shown in the Drawing. The sliding
bolt works in a channel or cutaway part in the tang of the break off.
Instead of connecting the hand lever directly to the pin or bar 1, as
represented, it may be connected by a link.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the
nature of our Invention; but we claim as our Invention of improve-
ments in breech-loading small-arms of the kind called drop down guns
and pistols,-
First. The construction and combination of the parts of lock mechanism
herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 4^, 5, and 6
of the accompanying Drawing, for cocking the said guns and pistols by
the raising of the breech ends of the barrels for charging, that is to say,
converting the ordinary fore end into a lever by prolonging the said
fore end backwards into the body of the gun or pistol, the said prolonged
part constituting the short arm of a lever, which short arm on the
raising of the breech ends of the barrels acts upon and cocks a hammer
or a striker lever, substantially as described and illustrated, whether the
said hammer or striker lever act directly upon the cartridge or upon a
loose striker.
Secondly. The arrangement or combination of the parts herein-before
described and illustrated in Figure 6 of the accompanying Drawing, for
cocking the hammer or striker lever by directly acting on the said
hammer or striker lever by means of a hand lever on the under side of
the gun or pistol.
Thirdly. The combination or arrangement of parts of the safety bolts
herein-before described and represented in the accompanying Drawing.
mi

page_text: Drawing, of lever mechanism situated on the tang of the break off for
bolting and unbolting the barrels of the said guns and pistols.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Anson and John Deeley,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Second day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-five.
Witness,
HENRY SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
WILLIAM ANSON. (L.S.)
JOHN DEELEY. (L.S.)