IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE- ARMS
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th December 1879. A communication
from abroad by Henry A. Buck, of West Stafford, Connecticut, United States
of America.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-
ARMS." [A communication from abroad by Henry A Buck, of West Stafford,
Connecticut, United States of America.]
This Invention relates to breech-loading fire-arms, and comprises improvements
in the lock mechanism and in the devices for extracting the shell and opening and
closing the breech.
The mechanism in most of the breech-loaders now in use is faulty, and some of
the objectionable features which I overcome by this Invention are as follows, that
is to say: In breech-loading fire-arms as heretofore constructed the parts are not
so arranged as to force a tightly-fitting cartridge into the cartridge-chamber. A
loosely-fitting cartridge is therefore used, thereby increasing the re-coil; especially
is this seen when at the time of firing the head of the cartridge does not bear
against the breech block Again the explosion of the cartridge forces the shell back
against the breech block, rendering the removal of the breech-block very difficult
in many of the guns now in use. In many cases also is there great danger by
reason of the premature discharge before the breech -block is in place, and locked as
in the so-called Remington, Stevens, Dexter, and other tire-arms. In many cases
also the parts are small and numerous, rendering the mechanism complicated,
springs being often relied upon especially to force the cartridge shell from the
chamber. The weakening or breaking of any of these springs, which is very liable
to happen, renders the arm unfit for use until repaired. In rapid firing it is
desirable that the gun be cocked by the same motion that opens or closes the
breech; this is done in some arms, but it is also desirable that the hammer after
being so raised may be lowered without exploding the cartridge; otherwise if the
gun be not fired at once the hammer or exploding device is left with the spring
strained until the gun is fired.
Another objectionable feature in most of the breech-loading fire-arms heretofore
used, is that too many motions are required to place the gun in readiness for firing
after the explosion of each cartridge,

page_text: The object of this Invention is to produce a breech-loading fire-arm which shall
have the fewest parts possible consistent with safety and effectiveness, with all the
notions of all the parts, except the hammer and trigger, positive and not dependent
upon springs, and in which a tightly-fitting cartridge can be used with ease in
which the recoil is reduced to a minimum, and in which one motion cocks the gun,
opens the breech, and ejects the shell, and a return motion places the arm in
readiness for firing after the cartridge is inserted.
In carrying the said Invention into practice I provide a shell or frame to which
the barrel is rigidly attached, within which frame the breech-block and lock
mechanism operate. I combine a breech-block having a side cam device, provided
with a pin, a hammer, a slotted connecting-arm, and an operating lever.
I make the lock, frame, or shell of one piece. The breech-block is made with a
front vertical wall and a rear curved surface, and is pivoted ahead of and below the
rear end of the barrel.
By this construction of the breech-block I obtain an upward and forward
movement when closing the breech, thus forcing a tightly-fitting cartridge in place
by a slow motion which cannot in any way explode the cartridge, and leaving the
rear end of the cartridge bearing against the breech-block, thus doing away with
the recoil, which is always noticeable when the cartridge does not bear against the
breech-block at the time of explosion. Again the recoil of the shell does not have
the effect of wedging the breech-block in place, making it difficult to move, as is the
result in some breech-loaders.
The breech-block is drawn down by the action of a cam device, which being
moved backward by the forward motion of an operating lever causes a pin on the
side of the breech-block to traverse a slot until it reaches a certain point, thus s
drawing the breech-block downward and opening the breech. The breech is closed
by a reversed motion of the said lever, which bungs a large cam against the lower
side of the breech-block, forcing it into place and at the same time gradually forcing
the cartridge home, leaving the rear end of the cartridge however bearing against
the breech-block. The said cam being in an upright position, bearing against the :
lower side of the breech-block, renders it impossible to open the breech by any force
from the cartridge without breaking the parts
The lower and rear end of the breech-block is made a section of a circle to allow
the hammer to roll below it, thus rendering it impossible to explode the cartridge
by the action of the hammer until the breech is closed and the breech-block securely
locked in place; and it will be seen that if the trigger should fail to engage in the
bammer-notches at the time the hammer is raised it cannot at any time while
the said operating lever is away from the stock explode the cartridge, as its motion
downward cannot be more rapid than the said cam device to which it is attached
by a connecting piece or arm, thus lowering the hammer gently to place, or
allowing it to catch at half-cock.
The said arm or piece fits on a pin and the hammer, and is slotted at one end to
allow it to move on another pin. A backward motion of the cam device, in which is
the last named pin, will force the piece or arm in the same direction, thus cocking the
gun. A reverse motion of the lover replaces the parts as when the operating lever
was first moved, with the exception of leaving the gun cocked. The hammer may
then be lowered in the ordinary manner if it is not desired to fire the gun, or by
pressure on the trigger, which being disengaged in the ordinary manner allowa
the hammer to descend rapidly, striking a pin which strikes and explodes the
cartridge.
The ejector fits within a slot between the large cam and another piece, and turns
on the same pin with the lever; it passes upward through a slot in the breech-
block, and fits within a recess or chamber in the rear end of the barrel just in front
of the flange on the cartridge. At its lower end is a projection against which the
lever strikes when carried forward, thus giving the ejector a positive, powerful, and
rapid motion backward, which bearing against the flange on the shell forces it
outward.

page_text: It will be seen that a moderately quick motion of the lever will throw the shell
clear from the chamber.
The main or hammer-spring and tugger-spring are substantially the same as in
an ordinary gun, and their shape and position may be changed.
The lever may be used as the tigger-guard, or the trigger-guard may be inade
separate, and the lever lie over it; or the lever might rest against the part of the
arm ahead of the pin, and the motions of the lever be in the opposite of the
ones described without altering the general arrangement and construction
described. I deem, however, the method and operation described the best and
most convenient.
It will be seen that I do away entirely with the use of springs except the two
mentioned, and that all the parts are of a good and convenient size to manufacture.
If it is desired a bolt or some other device for striking the firing-pin or for
striking the cartridge may be substituted for the hammer described without any
alteration of the principle of my device, and with but very little change in the
shape of the parts.
The great advantage of my device over all now in use will be seen in the fact
that all the motions are positive except the hammer and trigger as stated, all the
parts being operated by the movement of the operating lever, and each following
the other in regular order. On moving this lever forward the gun is first cocked;
the breech-block then moves downward and backward away from the breech; the
extractor then throws the shell from the chamber. On a fresh cartridge being
placed in the breech the operating lever is brought back to place, which closes the
breech, forcing the cartridge home, and locking the breech-block in place, leaving
the gun cocked ready for firing.
The advantage of the breech-block moving in the arc of a circle in contra-
distinction to sliding vertically within the breech-piece is, that in the latter a
loosely-fitting cartridge has to be used so as to drive it home with the thumb;
whereas in the former a closely-fitting cartridge is used, which is gradually fed or
driven home after being inserted by the breech-block in its upward and forward
movement caused by mechanism, the lower edge of the shell resting upon the front
wall thereof until it assumes the vertical position closing the breech.
The general construction and arrangement of the parts are such that the gun is
cocked, the breech opened, and the shell extracted by one motion of the lever, and
the cartridge is forced in, the breech is closed, and the block locked in place by
another motion of the lever leaving the gun cocked.