IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hugh Adams Silver, of Sun Court, Cornhill, in the City
of London, Merchant and Manufacturer, and Walter Fletcher, of the same
Place, Gunsmith, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING
FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 29th October 1878, and dated the 2nd May 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hugh Adams Silver and
Walter Fletcher at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd May
1878.
HUGH ADAMS SILVER, of Sun Court, Cornhill, in the City of London, Merchant
and Manufacturer, and WALTER FLETCHER, of the same Place, Gunsmith. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
"
This Invention relates to Improvements in Breech-loading Fire-arms," and
refers to those arms having drop blocks at the breech for opening the passage for
the introduction of a cartridge, the arm being self-cocking.
In this present Invention we hinge our drop block at the front lower end of a
box, within which the block is enclosed when the arm is ready for firing. This
block carries the striker pin, whose back end projects and bears against a tongue
spring fitted in rear of the box; one end of this spring, which is the mainspring of
the arm, has preferably one end formed with a button head, which rises above the
level of the top plate to indicate that the needle or striker is set, should such be the
case.
The body part of the striker is held in a fork of a lever, which is pinned to the
block, and works in a groove or channel provided for it; the lower end of this
lever is formed with a facing, against which the thumb or finger comes into contact
when the breech has to be opened, this being done by an onward and downward
pressure, which pressure also forces the lever plate forward, and sets the striker,
which is held in a cocked position by the catch of the trigger taking into the full
bent" of the lever, as in the tumbler of an ordinary gun lock.

page_text: The trigger is suspended by a separate pin, and its rear has a spring fitted so
that the lever facing may be acted upon by it in the direction to prevent the lever
acting without pressure being applied in the manner described.
The front lower end of the drop block has an extractor fitted, the lower end of
which projects to be in position for striking against a wedge or other piece provided
for it on the front position of the drop block, so that the full force and power from
the weight of the block in moving upon its fulcrum pins caused the complete
withdrawal or extraction of an empty cartridge case from the barrel, and of its being
thrown out in a downward direction upon the ground, and not in an upward
direction, as is general.
The empty cases, therefore, are never thrown upwards, or in the face over the
shoulder of an attendant who may be at the side of the person using the arm, or
of the next soldier, should the arm be used for military purposes, for which the
Invention is applicable, as well as for sporting purposes.
The neck of the facing lever is partly encircled by one end of a bolt, and as
the needle or striker is shot forward the other end of the bolt enters a recess at the
back of the box, and holds the block firmly in a closed position until the facing
lever is pushed forward again when the bolt travels in the reverse direction, and
permits the block to be drawn downwards again.
The loading is effected from the under side or bottom of the box, and, should the
cartridge be not pushed completely home by the finger or thumb, it is pushed into
that position by the face or front of the block as it is moved up to be closed.
Instead of the striker being set or cocked by the push forward pressure of the
lever, as before described, it may be set or cocked by a cross pin, the legs of which
can be caused to ride in a groove formed in the box when the block is being
raised.
The lower fore-end of our breech box has a vertical saw-cut formed in it, so as
to leave a space, and what may be termed a couple of jaws, which, after the barrel
is screwed into the box, a screw pin which is passed through one jaw can be caused
to draw the two jaws together, and so clamp the barrel to the box. This plan
facilitates the easy removal of the barrel from the stock for convenience of packing,
which in the case of sporting arms is of importance.
This portion of our Invention is specially applicable to all single-barrelled rifles,
and obviates the necessity of screwing the barrels into the breeches by mechanical
power, as is now done.
When our improved arm is to be used for military purposes we arrange the side
or sides of the stock to receive the blade portion of a spade, the shank of which is
hollow, and shaped to receive the blade of a sword bayonet, or an ordinary bayonet,
which can be used as a handle thereto, or by which the spade blade can be attached
to the rifle, in which case the rifle would be the handle, a set screw being used to
fix the blade in position. This spade attachment is applicable for other rifles than
that above described,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent.filed by
the said Hugh Adams Silver and Walter Fletcher in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 2nd November 1878.
IM-
HUGH ADAMS SILVER, of Sun Court, Cornhill, in the City of London, Merchant
and Manufacturer, and WALTER FLETCHER, of the same Place, Gunsmith.
PROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.”
F
The objects of our Invention are,-
1. An arrangement of appliances within a drop block of a breech-loading
fire-arm, that in opening the breech the striker shall be set, and an empty cartridge
case extracted and thrown direct upon the ground from an opening at the under
side or bottom of the breech portion.
2. A method by which a screwed or threaded-ended barrel can be attached and
detached to and from the breech portion of a single-barrelled fire-arm without
mechanical power, this being applicable to sporting as well as to military breech-
loading small-arms.
3. Arranging a spade that its abank or stem can be attached to the blade of a
sword bayonet, or to an ordinary bayonet barrel of a small-arm, which would
then serve as the handle of the digging tool, either alone or along with a completo
rifle to which it can be affixed if desired.
Our Invention will be clearly understood by the annexed Drawings, and by the
following description :-
Figure 1 is an elevation or a view of a portion of a rifle, or of a sporting arm,
sufficient to show the Invention in detail, the outside plate on that side being
removed for the purpose; Figure 2 is a similar view, with the breech block drawn
down, and the aperture leading to the barrel exposed to enable a fresh cartridge to
be placed in.
.
A is the drop block hinged at B to the fore lower end of its box C, within
the walls of which it finds a lodgement when closed, such as when the arm is ready
for firing, as in Figure 1; D is the striker pin, whose back end E is formed with a
hook for a claw F on the end of a lever or safety bolt to engage and be held in a
backward position, even should the trigger G be acted upon accidentally. The
opposite end H of the lever terminates in a button or head I, which under the
action of a spring J is caused to project above the level of the stock K, as indicated,
so that the head or button must be pressed upon to release the claw before the
striker is permitted to move forward to strike the percussion of the cartridge, after
which the button or head I sinks to the level of the stock acting as an indicator, as
to when cocked or when fired.
The back part of the striker D rides in a groove formed in the block A, and its
fore-end also in a groove in the front portion of the block, so that it has a direct
thrust when acted upon by the mainspring L, which is either placed in the hollow
of the stock, as in Figure 3, to act against the back end of the striker, or within a
hollow of the block, as in Figure 2, to act upon the striker near to its fore-end.
The striker has a notch M, within which the upper end N of the opening lever P
engages to force the striker D back into a cocked position when the lower end of
the lever is pushed forward, this being done when the breech has to be opened.
Within the bottom plate of the block a groove is formed for a locking bolt.Q to
slide to and fro in. The inner end of this bolt Q encircles the neck R of the lever
P, and partakes of a movement therefrom, either to remove the bolt from the locking
socket S formed in the back face of the box, or by the spring T to force its nose
into the socket for locking the block in place when closed.
In some cases we fit a pinch bolt Q to the side plate, so that by a half turn, say,
over to the left, locks the block, while the reverse movement of the lever releases it.
The body of the striker pin D has a "bent" in its upper face for a claw on the
upper portion U of the trigger G to engage when the striker is drawn back or
J
:

page_text: "
cocked. The trigger G is fitted within a guard V, and it is carried up to near the
top of the block A, where it is suspended or hung from a pin W, as shown, as its
fulcrum, the neck X of the trigger being acted upon by the leg Y of the same
spring which acts upon the opening lever P, this being driven by it in a direction
opposite to that of the trigger.
Instead of the body of the striker pin having the notch or bent formed in it, as
in Figures 1 and 2, it may be upon the body of the lever P, as in Figure 3, if
desired.
:
The front lower end of the drop block A is hinged to the box C by a transverse
pin or nail Z, this also carrying the extractor a, so that as the block falls in the
opening action the tail piece b of the extractor is pressed upon by a wedge-shaped
part of the block with sufficient force to cause its fork c to withdraw an empty
cartridge case, and to throw it clear of the barrel, the "case" by the impulse getting
clear of the fork, and free to fall to the ground, which it can do by the opening
of the box over the top of the block, which forms the curved surface over which it
can slide.
Figure 4 represents the side plate of the drop block, which, when in place, serves
to enclose the action or mechanism, and also to present a flush surface to the block.
The removal of this plate enables the action to be got at for cleaning purposes, or
for repairs when desired.
Figure 5 shows a breech end view of a barrel & secured to the breech box or a
breech piece e (fixed) of a rifle or sporting arm. The box or fixed piece in this
contrivance is screw threaded in the usual manner for the reception of the threaded
end of the barrel, the two fitting easily by reason of a saw-cut f, which we make
vertically through the bottom of the box or breech piece, whereby two jaws g, h,
are formed, and a space left between them, so that they can be drawn into close
contact by a transverse screw or bolt to obtain by hand that degree of fit and
rigidity, now only obtained by mechanical power.
In the breech portions, shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, the transverse pin z serves
also for the attachment of the drop block and of the extractor, but it is only fitted in
these arrangements, for the sake of convenience, for our particular Invention. It will,
however, be understood that this clipping method of the two jaws of a breech
piece is applicable to all single-barrelled sporting, as well as to military small
breech-loading fire-arms, in which the barrel is screwed into the breech.
The loading of our improved small-arm is preferably effected through an aper-
ture i formed in the side plate, as is particularly shown in Figure 2; but it may
be done by pushing the full cartridge up into the chamber from below or through
an aperture provided for that purpose in the top plate, or the top plate may be
fitted to slide when necessary for the opening to be formed at that part.
The fore-sight of rifles we make with two notches on the same fringed lip piece,
as in Figures 6, 7, 8, and 9, by which for short ranges, say, up to 300 yards, the
lower notched portion of the lip can be used, and the larger portion of the lip for
ranges up to, say, 450 or 500 yards.
Figure 10 represents the stock K of a small-arm in one side of which a recess is
formed for the reception of the blade of a spade j, this being retained in position
by, say, the edge being slipped in, and by one or two turns buttons k, k, the shank
of the spade abutting against the stock as to be clear of the movement of the
hands in ordinary drill.
The shank or stem of the spade is hollow and shaped for the reception of the
blade of a sword bayonet in combination, the sword bayonet forming the handle
to facilitate digging or trenching operations. The sword bayonet can thus be used
with the spade as one article in itself, or it can be mounted upon the muzzle of a
barrel, and be used with the rifle as a digging tool, as shown in Figure 11; or the
spade may be mounted upon the muzzle of the barrel direct when removed from the
stock.
Instead of the spade being fitted with the sword bayonet, an ordinary bayonet,
as in Figure 12, may be fitted, and this may be used alone or in combination with

page_text: the rifle if desired, the hollow of the spade shank or stem being shaped for either
of them, or for the barrel itself, which can be fixed one to the other by a set
screw.
.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, we declare that we claim,―
The combination of appliances arranged in a drop block, and forming the
striking and percussion action of a breech-loading fire-arm, as described, and as
represented in the annexed Drawings, Figures 1 and 2.
Secondly. We claim the modified combination of appliances described, with
reference to Figure 3 of the annexed Drawings, as set forth.
Thirdly. We claim dividing the under part of a breech piece, and drawing the
same together to ensure a tight fit between the breech and the barrel of a single-
barrelled arm, whether used for military or for sporting purposes, as described, with
reference to Figure 5 of the annexed Drawings.
Fourthly. We claim the spade or digging tool as described, arranged for attach-
ment to the stock of a military small-arm, and capable of being affixed to the blade
of a sword bayonet or to the blade of an ordinary bayonet, or to the muzzle of the
barrel when detached from the stock, as set forth and shown in Figure 6 of the
annexed Drawings.
Fifthly. We claim hollowing and shaping the interior of the shank or stem
of a spade for the reception of the blade of a sword bayonet or of an ordinary
bayonet, or of rifle barrel, that the two can be used as one article for digging
and trenching purposes, with or without the stock, as set forth, and shown at
at Figures 7 and 8 of the annexed Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said Hugh Adams Silver and Walter Fletcher,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Second day of November, One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
HUGH A SILVER.
(L.S.)
WALTER FLETCHER. (L.S.)