IMPROVEMENTS IN REPEATING OR MAGAZINE RIFLES
Year: 1885

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COME LEIE
DIECIFICATION.
I, GEORGE EDWARD VAUGHAN, of 57, Chancery Lane, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN REPEATING OR MAGAZINE RIFLES," being a communication
to me from abroad by The Austrian Small Arms Manufacturing Company, of
Steyr, in the Empire of Austria, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This Invention consists of improvements in repeating or magazine rifles and
relates to the construction and arrangement below the breech and in front of the
trigger guard of a cartridge magazine consisting of a case of a truncated conical
shape closed at its rear end by means of a moveable cover, and containing a
cartridge feeder working round an axis and actuated by a spiral spring. The
action of the feeder is controlled by a catch fitting into a ratchet wheel attached to
the feeder. This catch forms one end of a bell crank lever which has its other
end fitted into a groove in the bottom of the breech bolt and is so arranged that
the closing of the breech releases the catch from the ratchet wheel attached to the
cartridge feeder.
The cover of the magazine is fastened thereto by a bayonet socket attachment,
and is provided with a lever by means of which the action of the spring may be
rendered inoperative and the rifle used as a single loader.
The improvements constituting this invention may be applied to any rifle having
a breech, bolt or piston breech closing action and are hereinafter described with
reference to the accompanying drawings. The magazine consists of a case M.
(Figures 1. and 4.) of the form of a truncated cone, slotted through its upper side
to allow of the passage of the cartridges into the breech chamber. On the front
of the case M. is a flange L. (Figures 1. and 4.) by which it is fastened, by a
screw pin passing through the block S. (Figure 1.), to the breech.
The cover K. (Figures 1. and 5.) fits on to the back of the magazine case, and,
being turned, is fastened by the projections R. (Figure 4). The said cover of the
magazine is provided with the flange (L' Figures 1. and 5.) which is fastened to a

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block (Figure 1), by means of a screw, which block is fixed to the breech by a
screw b. (Figure 1).
The feeding drum T. is of the form shown at Figures 1. and 6. and has its
exterior surface provided with any desired number of wings or flanges forming
troughlike grooves for the reception of cartridges. One end of the axis A. on which
the drum T. turns (Figures 4. and 8.), fits into a hole bored in the centre of the
cover K. and the axis is held in position by means of a screw which bears against
the opposite end thereof.
The spiral spring F. (Figures 1. and 7.) is attached by means of soft solder at
one end to a ratchet wheel R' and at its other end to a coupling K¹ and is arranged
round the axis A. and within the boring o. of the drum T.
In order that the drum T. may rotate with the ratchet wheel R¹ a pin s.
(Figure 7.), fixed to the latter, gears into the groove a. (Figure 6.).
The axis A, is attached to the coupling K₁ by means of the projection f. fitting
into the notch d. (Figure 7).
The lever H. (Figures 2 and 5.), provided with a catch and secured to the
cover K. by a screw, regulates the action of the ratchet wheel R'.
The presser D. (Figures 5 and 11.), with its spiral spring, is arranged in the
cover K. (Figure 5). the pressure of the same gearing the catch of the lever H.
into the teeth of the ratchet wheel R¹.
The ratchet lever Sh. (Figures 5. and 9.) serves to lock the feed drum when it
is desired to use the rifle as a single loader. The lever is secured by a screw to
the cover K. (Figure 5.) and its projection n. (Figures 2. and 9.) catches into the
teeth of the ratchet wheel R¹. A spring and pin t. (Figure 9). let into the head of
the lever S'h. retain the lever in any desired position.
In the bottom of the breech chamber V. (Figure 10). is an aperture which
corresponds with the slot herein before mentioned of the magazine case M. The
several cartridges are held in position during loading by a band spring fl
(Figure 10). fixed to the breech V.
In putting the repeating mechanism together and attaching it to the rifle the
spiral spring F. to one end of which is attached the ratchet wheel R' and to the
other the coupling K¹ is placed in the bore of the feeding drum T. in such a
The
manner that the pin 8. of the ratchet wheel R¹ gears into the groove a.
feeding drum T. is then fitted on to the axis A. and is secured in the magazine.
case M. in such a manner that the groove d. of the coupling K₁ fits on to the
projection f on the axis. The cover K., provided with the lever H. and the
presser D., is then fitted to the case M. and turned thereon into its proper position
as shown in the drawings.
By pressing to the left upon the projecting arm . of the lever H. (Figure 5.) it
can be ascertained whether the spiral spring is properly fixed. The tension of the
spiral spring F. is now effected by revolving the feeding drum twice to the left
round its axis.
The magazine thus adjusted is fixed to the rifle by screws as hereinbefore
described.
To charge the magazine the large wing or flange J. of the feeding drum T.
(Figure 6) must be moved round to the exhausted position which is effected by
closing the breech of the rifle the required number of times. The groove for the
trigger head G. on the breech bolt slides over the arm x. of the lever H. (Figure 2.)
but in closing the breech the arm c. of the lever H is deflected to the left by the
contact of the right hand edge k. (Figure 2), of the above groove whereby the
catch of the lever H is disengaged from the ratchet wheel R¹ and the feeding
drum T. is revolved to the right by the spring F. until the wing or flange J. comes
in contact with the side w. of the aperture in the breech.
In filling the cartridge magazine after the breech has been opened, the cartridge
is placed in the breech and pressed downwards until it lies under the band spring f
(Figure 10)

page_text: This action is repeated until the magazine is filled, when the rifle may be used
as a repeater.
If, however, the rifle, with the magazine filled is to be used as a single-loader,
the ratchet lever Sh. (Figure 5.) is pressed upwards until it reaches the position
shown in Figure 2. when its projection n. gears into and locks the ratchet wheel R¹.
If the repeating action is to be restored, the ratchet lever Sh. need only be
pressed downwards until it is in the position shown in Figure 5, when the ratchet-
wheel R¹ is released.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
In piston closing or breech bolt rifles.
First. The construction and arrangement below the breech and in front of the
trigger guard of a cartridge magazine consisting of a case of a truncated conical
shape closed at its rear end by means of a moveable cover, substantially as, and for
the purposes, hereinbefore described.
Secondly. The construction and arrangement of the cartridge feeder consisting
of a flanged drum revolving round an axis and actuated by a spiral spring the
action of the drum being effected by the spring and controlled by the action of the
breech bolt through the lever H. on the ratchet wheel R', substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Thirdly. The combination of the ratchet wheel R¹, with the catch lever H., the
spring pin D. and the breech bolt, substantially as hereinbefore described and shown
in the accompanying drawings.
And Fourthly. The combination of the ratchet wheel R¹ with the locking lever
Sh, substantially as, and for the purposes hereinbefore described.
Dated this first day of July One thousand eight hundred and eighty five