IMPROVE- MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Remington, of Ilion, New York, United
States of America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery
Lano, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.'
Sealed the 2nd July 1869, and dated the 5th January 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Remington at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th January 1869.
I, SAMUEL REMINGTON, of Ilion, New York, United States of
America, now of No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in
the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARKS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to improvements in the arm known as the
Remington" arm, which is described in the Specifications of In-
ventions communicated by myself and others to William Edward

page_text: Newton, and for which Letters Patent were granted to him bearing
date the Twenty-third day of December, A.D. 1863, No. 3253, and
the Eighteenth day of January A.D. 1865, No. 152.
In the said former Specifications the arm is shown constructed for
firing metallic cartridges (cither rim or central fire), but my present
Invention relates more especially to a method of adapting the said
'Remington" arm to the firing of cartridges with cases of paper, cloth,
or other soft material.
The said Invention consists chiefly in combining with the swinging
breach piece of the said "Remington " arm a needle for penetrating
and igniting the cartridges; in so constructing the firing bolt or pin
which carries the needle as to permit the needle to be driven forward
(when struck by the hammer) far enough to ignite the cartridge; in
the peculiar construction of the said swinging breech piece, and the
hammer, and in the means for extracting the exploded cartridge cases.
The said Invention also consists in the combination of the above-
mentioned devices together and with the other parts of the said fire-arm.
The swinging breech piece and hammer (or tumbler), as described in
'the said former Specifications, are so constructed and arranged that
when the discharge takes, place the swinging breech piece is secured
by the hammer (or tumbler), the hammer at the same time, striking
the rear of the firing pin or bolt which projects through the said breech
'piece.
"
In adapting the said arm to the firing of paper cartridges according
to my present Invention it is necessary to make slight modifications in
the construction of the said hammer and breech piece, but their
external form is not materially changed, neither is it necessary to alter
the position of their centres or axles or to otherwise vary the -arm.
I prefer to arrange the hammer centrally behind the swinging breech
piece, and to form the same with an extension which serves as a
tumbler, and which is provided with notches for the trigger to take
into, but if desired a separate tumbler may be used, the hammer being,
then arranged at the side of the breech. The breech piece which
is curved on its upper surface to allow it to swing down in front of
the hammer or tumbler is bored or recessed from the rear to within
a slight distance of its front surface which lies in contact with the
cartridge, this surface being perforated to form a passage for the needle;
the said needle is fixed by screwing or otherwise in the bolt or pin
I

page_text: which works in the recess in the breech block. The said pin is kept
in the proper position to be struck by the hammer by a spiral spring,
and in order that this spring may not occupy any portion of the spaco
required for the action of the bolt when the same and the needle
aro driven forward, I make the said bolt hollow and insert the spring
within the same. By this means the bolt can be driven forward till
its end is in contact with the end of the recess. To allow the said
bolt to be thus made hollow the needle instead of being in the centro
is fixed near the periphery of the said bolt and (as I now construct
the arm) above the centre of the same. The portion of the breech
piece at the back of the recess or chamber is formed to act as a stop
to the hammer to prevent its driving the pin too far forward. In this
modification of my arm it is necessary that the end of the hammer
should pass beyond this stopping surface, and should follow the bolt
in its recess. For this purpose I form the end of the said hammer
with a circular projection which enters the recess and which is of
such a length that the bolt and needle are driven far enough forward
before the hammer is stopped. The escape of the bolt or piu from
its recess is provented by a scrow or pin which is passed through the
side of the breech piece. It is desirable that the distance between
the centres of the barrel and the axle pin of the breech piece should
bo as short as possible, and for this purpose the circular part of the
breech picco which surrounds the said axle pin is made concave on
the side adjacent to the barrel. The lower part of the end of the
barrel which lies in this concave part, has a portion of its exterior
surface cut away to make it conform to the shape of the concavity
in the breech piece, and the latter while thus placed in close proximity
to the barrel is permitted to turn freely on its axis. When the arm
is used for firing metallic cartridges the extraction of the empty shells
is effected either by means of a pin fixed in the proper position in
the breech piece to act on the cartridges, when the brecch pieco is
turned back, or by means of a sliding extractor which is formed with
a hook or projection arranged to lie in a recess at the sido of the breech
piece and which is drawn back, when the said breech piece is turned
backward. In adapting the said arm to the firing of cartridges with
shells of paper or cloth, it is necessary to provide some other means
of extraction. I therefore form in the face of the breech picce a small
hole or a number of small holes into which when the cartridge is
Gred portions of the paper, cloth, or other material are forced, such

page_text: portions adhering to the breech piece, so that when the same is turned
back on its axis the empty case or portion of the case will be drawn
back with it. Instead of these holes one or more small hooks or claw's
may be fixed in the face of the breech piece. The paper, cloth, or
' other material will be forced by the explosion of the cartridge over
the points of these hooks, and the cartridge case will follow the breech
picce when the same is turned back to open the breech. The mainspring
which is fixed inside the frame at the rear of the hammer mày bo
connected to the said hammer or (if a separate tumbler' is: used) to
the tumbler by a swivel, but I prefer to form the said hammer with a
projecting piece or shoulder, and to arrange the free end of the main-
spring to act directly upon the said shoulder: The mainspring may
be attached to either the upper or lower strap of the breech frame.
When the stock is made in two parts I prefer to attach the said spring
to the lower or guard strap, but when my system is used in a stock
formed in the ordinary manner in one piece, I cut away the rear
portion of the said lower strap to allow the frame to be inserted in
the stock, and in this case I attach the spring to the upper strap,
which is secured by a screw passing through the wrist of the stock
into the usual separate guard plate placed under the same, or if
it is desirable the said mainspring may be attached to this separate
guard plate. When the stock is made in one picce the thickness of
the parts of the system may be less than when the stock is made
in two pieces. To obviate the necessity of using a vice or other
apparatus for compressing the mainspring when it is necessary to
remove or insert the hammer, I pass a pin through the sides of the
frame just above the said spring near its free end. The spring when
released is checked by this pin" and offers no obstruction to the removal
or insertion of the hammer, which can thus be readily placed upon
its axis or centre pin. The axle pins of the hammer and breech piece
are held in place by a small plate which is attached to the side of
the frame by a screw. The ends of the said plate are bevilled so
as to project slightly over the head of each pin, and when it is desired
to remove the said pins it is only necessary to slacken the screw slightly.
The plate can then be turned away from the pins which can then be
taken out. By this means the two pins are held and released by onc
screw, and as neither this screw or the plate need be detached from
the frame there is no danger of their being lost. In case of the bursting
of the head or rim of a cartridge or from other causes an escape of

page_text: gas at the breech may sometimes occur; it is therefore necessary to
provide means for preventing any injury from such escape of gas to
the person using the arm. For this purpose I form in the sides of
the breech frame just at the rear of the charge chamber narrow
grooves or channels extending outward laterally and vertically from
the said chamber. The gas impinging upon the flat surface of the
breech picco escapes through these grooves and expends its force
harmlessly in the atmosphere at the sides of the arm.
A stud or
pin is screwed into the breech frame below the end of the barrel to
receive the end of the cleaning rod, the said stud being perforated and
tapped with a screw thread to fit a corresponding thread on the end
of the rod.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Samuel Remington in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th July 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, SAMUEL
REMINGTON, of Ilion, New York, United States of America, now of
No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of January in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Remington, Her special license
that I, the said Samuel Remington, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel Remington, 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 of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-
LOADING FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, tho said
Samuel Remington, my exccutors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,

page_text: 1
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 Samuel Remington, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification :-
My Invention relates to improvements in the arm known as the
"Remington" arm, the chief characteristics of which are the inter-
locking swinging breech piece and hammer, and which is described in
the Specifications of Inventions communicated by myself and others to
William Edward Newton, and for which Letters Patent were granted
to him, bearing date the Twenty-third day of December A.D. 1863,
No. 3253, and the Eighteenth day of January A.D. 1865, No. 152.
"
In the said former Specifications the arm is described and shewn
constructed only for firing metallic cartridges (either rim-fire or central-
fire); but by my present Invention the said "Remington' arm is
adapted to the firing of cartridges with cases of paper, cloth, or other
soft material.
The said Invention consists chiefly in combining with the swinging
breech piece of the said "Remington" arm a needle for penetrating and
igniting the cartridges; in so constructing the firing bolt or pin which
carries the needle as to permit the needle to be driven forward when
struck by the hammer far enough to ignite the cartridge; in the peculiar
construction of the said swinging breech piece and hammer; and in the
means for extracting the exploded cartridge cases.
The said Invention also consists in the combination of the above-
mentioned devices together and with the other parts of the said fire-arm.
The swinging breech piece and hammer (or tumbler) of the "Re-
mington" arm are so constructed and arranged that when the discharge
takes place the swinging breech piece is secured by the hammer (or
tumbler), the hammer at the same time striking the rear of the firing
pin or bolt which projects through the said breech piece.
In adapting the said arm to the firing of paper cartridges according to
my present Invention it is necessary to make slight modifications in the
construction of the said hammer and breech piece, as will be seen in the

page_text: 7
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a side view of the breech of a "Remington" rifle con-
structed according to my present improvements; Figure 2 is a longitu-
dinal section of the same; Figuro 3 is a side view, partly in section, of
the breech picce; Figure 4 is a front view of the said breech piece;
Figure 5 is a side view, and Figure 6 a top view of the hammer; Figures
7 and 8 are side views of the hammer and breech piece as I prefer to
construct them for firing metallic cartridges. Like letters indicate the.
saine parts throughout the Drawing.
In this rifle there is no essentially novel feature in the stock a,
barrel b, or frame c. I prefer to arrange the hammer d centrally behind
the swinging breech picce e, and to form the same with an extension d',
which serves as a tumbler, and which is provided, with notches 1, 2, for
the trigger to take into, but if desired a separate tumbler may be used,
the hammer being then arranged at the side of the breech. The brecch
picce e which is curved on its upper surface to allow it to swing down
in front of the hammer d (or the tumbler) is bored or recessed from the
rear to within a slight distance of its front surface o¹ which lies in contacț
with the cartridge, this surface being perforated at e' to form a passage
for the needle g. The surface e³ of the breech piece is quite plain or
flat, and closes the breech perfectly without any valve or gas check
such as is ordinarily employed in breech-loading arms when paper
cartridges are used. The needle is fixed by screwing or otherwise' in
the bolt or pin which works in the recess or cavity e in the breech
block e; the said pin is kept back in the proper position to be struck
by the hammer by a spiral spring i, and in order that this spring may
not occupy any portion of the space in the said cavity in front of. the:
bolt h, and shall leave the same clear for the advance of the bolt when
the same and the needle are driven forward, I make the said bolt
hollow and insert the spring within the same. By this means; the
bolt can be driven forward till its end is in contact or nearly.so
with the end of the recess. e. To allow the bolt to be thus made
hollow the needle g, instead of being in the centre, is fixed near the -
periphery of the said bolt and (as I now construct the arm) above, the.

page_text: centre of the same. In order that the bolt h may not be driven too far
forward the breech piece at the back of the recess or chamber e³ is
formed to act as a stop to the hammer d. To drivo the needle forward
the required distance it is necessary in this arrangement of parts that
the end of the hammer should follow the bolt some distance in the
recesse, as shewn in Figure 1. For this purpose I form the end of the
said hammer with a circular or other shaped pieco d², which projects
beyond the shoulder d³ and enters the recess, the said piece being of such
a length that the bolt and needle are driven far enough forward to effect
the explosion of the cartridge before the hammer is stopped. The escape
of the bolt or pin h from the recess e³ is prevented by a screw or pin e
which is passed through the side of the breech piece e, the front end of
the bolt being formed with a stop h' which will not pass over the said
screw. It is desirable that the distance between the centre of the
barrel b and the axle pin j of the breech piece e should be as short as
possible, and for this purpose the circular part e' of the breech picce
which surrounds the said axle pin is made concave at et on the side
adjacent to the barrel b. The lower part of the end of the barrel which
lies in this concave part e³ has a portion of its exterior surface cut away
at b' to make it conform to the shape of the concavity e in the breech
piece. A compact arrangement of parts is thus obtained in which the
free movement of the breech piece is not affected by its close proximity
to the barrel. The pin j and the hammer pink are passed through both
sides of the frame c and are well fitted therein. When the arm is used
for firing metallic cartridges the extraction of the empty shells is
cffected either by means of a pin fixed in the proper position in the
breech picco to act on the cartridges when the breech picce is turned
back, or by a sliding extractor which is formed with a hook or projection
arranged to lie in the recess e at the side of the breech piece e,
Figure 7, and which is drawn back when the said breech piece is
turned backward. In adapting the said arm to the firing of cartridges
with shells of paper or cloth it is necessary to provide some other means
of extraction. I therefore form in the face of the breech piece a small
hole or a number of small holes 2, (Figure 4) into which when the
cartridge is fired portions of the paper, cloth, or other material are
forced, such portions adhering to the breech piece, so that when the
same is turned back on its axis j the empty case or portion of the case
will be drawn back with it. Instead of these holes one or more small
hooks or claws may be fixed in the face of the breech piece e. The

page_text: paper, cloth, or other material will be forced by the explosion of the
cartridge over the points of these hooks, and the cartridge case will
follow the breech piece when the same is turned back to open the
breech. The mainspring m which is fixed inside the frame c at the rear
of the hammer d may be connected to the said hammer or (if a separate
tumbler is used) to the tumbler' by a swival; .but I prefer to form the
said hammer with a projecting piece or shoulder d", and to arrange the
free end of the mainspring to act directly upon the said shoulder: The
mainspring m may be attached to either' the upper or lower strap of
the breech frame. When the stock a is made in two parts I prefer to
attach the said spring to the lower or guard strap c', but when my
system is used in a stock formed in the ordinary manner in one piece, I
cut away the rear portion of the said strap to allow the frame to be
inserted in the stock d, and in this case I attach the spring to the upper
strap c, which, as in the arrangement shewn, is secured by a screw'n
passing through the wrist of the stock into the usual separate guard
plate placed under the same; or if it is desirable the said mainspring
may be attached to this separate guard plate. When the stock is made
in one piece the thickness of the parts of the system may be less than
when the stock is made in two pieces. To obviate the necessity of using
a vice or other apparatus for pressing down the mainspring m when it is
necessary to remove or insert the hammer d, I pass a pin o through the
sides of the frame just above the said spring near its free end. Tho
spring though left free will be provented by this pin from offering any
obstruction to the removal or insertion of the hammer when the same is
placed upon its axis or centre pin k. The axle pins j, k, of the breech
piece and hammer are held in place by a small plate p, which is attached
to the side of the frame by a screw 9. The ends of the said plate' are
bevelled so as to project slightly over the heads or ends of the pins j, k,
and when it is desired to remove the said pins from the frame it is only
necessary to slacken the screw q sufficiently to allow the plato p to be
turned thereon away from the pins, which can then be withdrawn from
the frame; by this means the two pins j, k, are held and released by one
screw, and as neither this screw or the plate p need be detached from
the frame there is no danger of their boing lost. In caso of the bursting
of the head or rim of a cartridge, or from other causes an escape of gas
at the breech may sometimes occur, it is therefore necessary to provide
means for preventing any injury from such escape of gas to the person

page_text: ""
using the arm. For this. purpose I form in the sides of the frame.c
just at the rear of the charge chamber narrow grooves or channels r
extending outward laterally 'and vertically from the said chamber. The
gas impinging upon the flat surface of the breech piece e escapes through
these grooves, and expends its force harmlessly in the atmosphere at the
sides of the arm. A stud or pin may be screwed into the breech frame
below the end of the barrel 6 to receive the end of the cleaning rod, the
said stud being perforated and tapped with a screw thread to fit a corre-
sponding thread on the end of the rod.
By the above-described peculiar construction and arrangement of the
firing bolt and parts in connection therewith, the "Remington" arm is
adapted to the firing of cartridges whose ignition is placed at a con-
siderable distance from the base or rear end of the cartridges, but it is
obvious that by a slight modification of the parts the action of the
needle may be adapted to other cartridges.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shown how the
same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I
claim,―
I
First. The combination of a needle with the swinging breech piece of
the so-called "Remington" arm.
Second. Fixing the said needle excentrically upon the pin or bolt, and
boring or chambering the said bolt to receive the spring, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
Third. Forming the end or nose of the hammer so that it will enter
'the recess in tho breech piece, substantially as and for the purposo set
forth..
Fourth. Forming one or a number of holes or one or more small hooks
or claws in the face of the said swinging breech picco for extracting tho
cartridge cases.
Fifth. The swinging breech piece and hammer constructed and
combined together, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
J
Sixth. The swinging breech piece formed with a cavity or recess to
carry the pin or bolt and the internal spring, and with its face perforated
for the passage of the needle, and provided with holes or hooks for
extracting the cartridge cases arranged in combination with a swinging

page_text: hammer, whose end is formed to enter the recess when it strikes the said
pin, substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Remington, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Second day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nino.
SAMUEL REMINGTON. (L.S.)