IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Walter Scott, of Birmingham, in the County
of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, and William James Matthews, of
Aston, near Birmingham, aforesaid, Tool Maker, for the Invention
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Walter Scott and
William James Matthews at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 13th January 1873.
We, WALTER SCOTT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Gun Manufacturer, and WILLIAM JAMES MATTHEWS, of Aston, near
Birmingham, aforesaid, Tool Maker, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS,"
to be as follows:-
Our Invention consists of the construction and combination or
arrangement of parts herein-after described, for opening and closing the
breech ends of breech-loading small-arms for discharging the said small-
arms, and for extracting and ejecting the empty cases of the cartridges
from the said small-arms. .

page_text: The opening and closing of the breech of the gun or small-arm is
effected by a transverse sliding block working horizontally in guides or
openings in a shoe or brecch chamber into which the end of the barrel
is screwed or otherwise fixed. This chamber is open at its top and rear,
and the stock at the rear of the said chamber has a simicircular groove
made in it forming a prolongation of the opening in the chamber.
When the closing block is withdrawn there is a clear sight through
the breech chamber and the barrel.
The said sliding closing block has a striker working in it, the said striker
being pressed towards the butt end of the gun by means of a spring.
The rear of the striker projects from the rear of the closing block, and
its fore end when in its normal position is nearly but not quite flush
with the front face of the block. The said striker is in such a position
in the block that when the breech end of the gun is closed its fore end is
presented to that part of the cartridge requiring to be struck while its
projecting rear end is presented to the hammer. The said hammer may
either be an external hammer situated either on the right or left hand
side of the stock, in which case the striker is situated obliquely in the
block; or the hammer may be an internal one centrally situated, and
striking through an opening in the bottom of the breech chamber. In
this case the blow of the striker upon the cartridge is direct.
The sliding block is operated to open and close the breech by means
of an arm or lever jointed to the outer end of the block, which arm or
lever in its normal position hangs vertically against the side of the stock.
The front end of the block has a recess in its under side in which when
it is pushed home a spring or snap stud in the left hand guide of the
breech chamber takes, and thereby fixes the block in its closed position.
After discharging the gun the thumb is applied to the lower end of
the lever described. The upper short end of the said lever bearing
against the breech chamber causes the block to be started with
considerable force and disengaged from the snap or spring stud
described..
After the lever has moved through a small angle to start the block,
its further motion withdraws the block by a sliding action and opens the
breech. The extractor and ejector consists of a cranked lever working
horizontally near the top of the breech chamber. The inner arm of this

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Walter Scott and William James Matthews in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th July 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WALTER
SCOTT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer,
and WILLIAM JAMES MATTHEWs, of Aston, near Birmingham, aforesaid,
Tool Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in
the thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Walter Scott and William.
James Matthews, Her special licence that we, the said Walter Scott
and William James Matthews, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Walter Scott and William James
Matthews, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times

page_text: 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 Walter Scott and William James
Matthews, our executors or administrators," by an instrument in writing
under our, 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 we, the said Walter Scott and William James
Matthews, do hereby declare the nature of our said 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 has for its objects the construction and combination or
arrangement of parts for opening and closing the breech ends of breech-
loading fire-arms, herein-after called "guns," for discharging the said
fire-arms, and for extracting and cjecting the empty cases of the
cartridges from such guns.
The method or methods by which we propose to effect or attain the
said objects of our present Invention we now procced to describe; and
in order that the same may be more clearly understood and be more
easily carried out in practice, we will explain the said Invention with
the aid of the accompanying Drawing which forms part of this
Specification, reference being made thereto by the letters and figures
marked thereon.
Figures 1 to 6.inclusive are drawn to a scale of one half full size, and
Figures 7 to 11 inclusive are drawn full size.
Figure 1 is an elevation of a gun lock complete with our improved
arrangement as seen when fixed in place.
Figure 2 is the same with the sliding block and its lever removed.
Figure 3 is a horizontal plan shewing our improved arrangement.
Figure 4 is a horizontal plan of the same with the sliding block and
extractor removed, and shewing the sliding block lever placed hori
zontally or longitudinally.

page_text: Figure 6 is a longitudinal section thereof on the line C, D, Figure 4.,
Figure 7 is an end elevation of our improved sliding block.
Figure 8 is a side elevation thereof.
And Figure 9 is a horizontal plan of the same and shewing the
position of the striker.
Figure 10 is a horizontal plan of our improved crank lever for
extracting and ejecting empty cartridge cases.
And Figure 11 is an isometrical perspective view of our said sliding
block without its lever.
The following reference applies to the same parts in each Figure of
the said Drawing where the same index letters and figures appear.
By our improved method the opening and closing of the breech of a
gun is effected by means of a transverse sliding block a, working or
sliding horizontally in the opening a¹ formed in the shoe or breech
chamber ; in or to which chamber 6 the end of the gun barrel c is
screwed or otherwise fixed. This chamber is open at its top and rear b',
and the gun stock at the rear of the said chamber has a semicircular or
curved groove or channel 6³ made in it, forming a prolongation of the
opening in the breech chamber, so that when the block a is withdrawn
there is an open space and a clear sight through the breech chamber and
the gun barrel, see Figure 6.
The block a has a striker a³ fitted and working in it, which striker is
held in its place by being pressod towards the butt end of the gun by an
ordinary spring.
The rear end as of the said striker projects from or beyond the
rear side of the sliding block a, and its fore or opposite end when
in its normal position is very nearly flush with the front face or
side of the block a, see Figure. 9. The said striker a³ is placed in such
a position in the sliding block a that when the breech end of the gun
is closed its fore end is presented to that part of the cartridge requiring
to be struck, while its projecting end a³ is presented to the hammer a*.
The said hammer may be an external hammer, as shewn in the Drawing,

page_text: :
and situated either on the right or left-hand side of the gun stock, in
which case the striker a² is placed obliquely in the sliding block, as
shewn in Figures 3 and 9. Or the hammer may be centrally situated
and strike through an opening in the lower part of the breech
chamber; in which latter caso the blow of the striker is direct upon
the cartridge.
Our improved sliding block a is operated to open and close the breech
by means of an arm or lever d jointed by the screw bolt or pin d' to the
outer or front end of the block a, see Figures 8 and 9. This lever a in
its normal position hangs vertically or lies horizontally or longitudinally '
against the side of the gun stock or barrel, as shewn in Figures 1, 4,
and 8. Near the further end of the under side of the block a is a
recess a³, into which, when the said block is pushed or forced home, a
spring or snap stud a placed in the left hand guide of the breech
chamber takes and thereby fixes the block a in its closed position.
After discharging the gun the thumb is applied to the lower or further
end of the lever d, the upper or opposite short end thereof bearing
against the extractor or the breech body, starts the block a with
considerable force and disengages it from the snap stud a®.
After the lever d. has moved through a small angle to start the block 2
a, its further motion withdraws the said block by a sliding action and
thus opens the breech of the gun.
The under side of our improved sliding block a is formed or provided
with bearings a', on which it slides instead of sliding on its whole
surface, and which bearings are notched transversely at a³ so as to 2
prevent the accumulation of dirt, and thereby to keep the surface on
which they slide clean. The extractor and ejector consists of a cranked
lever e, e, pivotted at e² and working horizontally in the upper part of
the breech chamber b. The further end of the inner arm e¹ of the said
lever forms part of the annular recess (see Figure 5) in which the rim 3
of the cartridge engages, and the outer arme of the said lever is placed
in front of the slot or groovef formed in the upper part of the breech
chamber, and upon or directly over the upper bearings a of the breech
block. As the sliding block a approaches the end of its path in opening
the breech the projecting screw or pin g after passing through the 3
groove strikes or comes in contact with the inside of the arme of the
extractor, and imparts to the latter the required motion to extract

page_text: and eject the empty cartridge case from the gun barrel and the breech
chamber.
The end of the side of the sliding block a which works next to the
gun barrel is bevilled at so as to force the cartridge home when
necessary.
When it is required to take the sliding block out of the breech
chamber, the screw or pin g is turned or forced down below the level
of the side bearers aº, when it passes under and free of the arm e
of the lever.
Our Invention is applicable both to new and converted fire-arms, and
also to cannon.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of our
said Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we
desire it to be understood that we do not confine ourselves to the precise
forms and dimensions of the several parts thereof as they are capable of
considerable variation, but we claim as our Invention and desire to
secure by the aforesaid Letters Patent,―
Firstly. The method of closing and opening the breech of a gun by
a horizontal lateral sliding block.
And Secondly. The method of extracting and ejecting the empty
cartridge cases from the gun breech by the same motion that opens the
gun breech, all substantially as and for the purposes herein described
and shewn upon the Drawing.
In witness whereof, we, the said Walter Scott and William
James Matthews, have hereunto set our hands and scals, this
Fourth day of July, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-three.