IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING SMALL ARMS to be as follows
Year: 1884

page_text: I WILLIAM TRANTER of Lichfield Road Aston justa Birmingham in the County
of Warwick Gun Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING SMALL ARMS to be as follows:-
"
My improvements in Breech loading small arms relate to fire arms of the kind
commonly called drop down guns, rifles and pistols or fire arms in which the breecli
ends of the barrels turn upon a joint or centre on the forepart of the body so as to
raise and expose their open breech end, and my said improvements consist of the .
construction and arrangement heroin after described of the parts for cocking the
the lock mechanism for discharging the same, and also safety apparatus
for preventing the accidental discharge of the said arms.
fire
arm,
I will describe my invention in connection with a double barrel drop down gun.
In constructing and arranging the parts according to my invention for cocking
and discharging the said gun, The axis of the lover on the tang has provided at
its lower end or extremity a cam or enlargement which cocks the gun and a stud
thereon withdraws the sliding locking bolt from the lump in the barrels, the
excentric or enlargement on the end of the axis described acts upon the face of a
rocking lover jointed preferably upon the understrap of the body, This rocking
lever or arm is provided at its upper end with a cross head, the ends of which act
upon tumblers or strikers for the cocking of the gun which is effected by the arins
of the cross head acting against the tumblers or strikers working within a tube or
guide formed on the inside of the lock plate, The striker rod being urged forward
by a coiled spring which may be encased within the guide or tube described or the
striker may be acted upon by a Bat spring in the usual way-Each tumbler or
striker is provided with suitable bents into which the nose end of the sear takes
for retaining the arm at cock.
The cross armed rocking lever resumes its normal position by means of a spring
riding upon its back, The breast of the rocking lever acts on its return movement
against the inclined side of the cam on the lever axis, and so returns the lever
home with the locking bolts pressed forward.
Each tumber may be provided with double sears centred upon the sear axis but
taking into different bents, that is, one scar nose engages into the sear proper
while the second or auxiliary sear takes into a secondary bent situated above the
°

page_text: The accidental discharge of the arm is prevented by a safety arrangement
consisting of a jointed lever the short arm of .which is moved over the back end of
the triggers for safety and is removed therefrom by the thumb acting on the
top slide previous to discharging the arm, The safety lever is operated by a slide
moving in the tang and a depending sliding plate situated under the tank strap
connected to the pusher slide for putting the safety out of action, The depending
plate carries a roller which is pressed upon by the wave like end of a spring
attached to the underside of the tang, the wave or swell end of the spring keeps
the safety in its respective positions by falling in front or on the back of the
centre of the roller described. The automatic putting into safety by the cocking
of the arm is effected by a rod acted upon by the rocking lever or spring attached
to it.
The action of the parts of the gun is as follows, with the gun at safety.
On pressing the slide on the tang of the arm, the end of the short arm of the
jointed lever is removed from the back of the triggers, the swell like part of the
spring resting on the front side at the centre of the roller on the plate, thereby
holding the safety in the last named position. By now pressing either trigger,
which is free to rise, raises the two arms of the sears engaging in the double bents
and liberates the tumbler or striker, and allows the spring under tension of the lock
to urge forward the tumbler or striker pin and so discharge the arm.
On turning aside the lever on the tang, the cain or enlargement on the end of its
axis presses upon the breast of the jointed rocking lever and through its cross-
tread forces back the tumblers or strikers into the bents and thereby cocking the
art, At the same time the arin is put into safety by the end of the rocking lever
(aided by the spring) preventing the triggers from rising-Tho safety is retained
in this position by the swell of the depending spring described coming in front of
the centre of the roller-At the same time that the Arm is being cocked, the cam
on the axis of the lever withdraws the locking bolts from the lûmps in the barrels
which can now be opened.
On again shutting down the barrels, the rocking lever for cocking resumes its
normal position and the gun is again ready for firing by moving the safety from off
the triggers as described.
Dated this twenty fourth day of April One thousand eight hundred and
eighty four

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
I, WILLIAM TRANTER of Lichfield Road, Aston juxta Birmingham in the County
of Warwick Gun Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING SMALL ARMS" and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
"
My improvements in breech loading small arms relate to fire arms of the kind
commonly called drop down guns, rifles and pistols or fire-arms in which the
breech ends of the barrels turn upon a joint or centro on the fore-part of the body,
so as to raise and expose their open breech ends; and my said improvements
consist of the construction and arrangement hereinafter described of the parts, for
cocking the said arin, the lock mechanism for discharging the same, and safety
apparatus for preventing the accidental discharge.
I will describe my invention in connection with a double barrel drop down gun;
and as the lock mechanism on the two sides of a double gun are alike, I will only
describe one of them.
I will first describe the cocking and discharging mechanism-The axes of the
lever on the tang is provided at its lower end or extremity with a cam or
enlargement which cocks the gun, while a stud thereon withdraws the sliding
locking bolt from the lump or lumps on the underside of the barrels-The
excentric or enlargement on the end of the axes described acts upon the face of a
rocking lever, jointed preferably upon the under-strap of the body of the arm-
This rocking lever or arm is provided at its upper end with a cross head, the ends
of which act upon strikers for the cocking of the gun, this is effected, by the arms
of the cross head, acting against the tumblers or strikers working within a guide
formed on the inside of the lock plate. The striker rod being urged forward by a
coiled spring-Or the striker may be acted upon by a flat spring in the usual
way-Each striker is provided with suitable bents into which the nose end of the
scar takes for retaining the arm at cock.
The cross armed rocking lever resumes its normal position by means of a spring
riding upon its back-The breast of the rocking lever acts in its return movement
against the inclined side of the cam on the lever axis, and so returns the lover home,
with the locking bolts pressed forward.
Each striker may be provided with double sears, centred upon the sear or
different axes but taking into different bents; that is, one sear nose engages into
the sear proper, while the second or auxiliary sear takes into a secondary bent
removed from the first.
The accidental discharge of the arm is prevented by a safety arrangement con-
Listing of a jointed lever, the short arm of which is moved over the back end of
the triggers for safety; and is remove therefrom by the thumb acting on the top
slide previous to discharging the arm-The safety lever is operated by a slide
moving on the tang, and a depending sliding plate situated under the tang strap
and connected to the pusher slide, for putting the safety out of action-The

page_text: depending plate carries a roller, which is pressed upon by the end of a spring on
the underside of the tang-The end of the spring keeps the safety in its respective
positions.
The action of the parts of the gun is as follows, with the gun at safety.
On pressing the slide on the tang of the arm, the end of the short arm of the
jointed lever is removed from the back of the triggers, the end of the spring
holding the safety in the last named position. The pressing of either trigger
(which is free to rise) raises the two arms of the sears engaging in the double
bents, and thereby liberates the striker, which allows the spring under tension to
urge forward the striker pin, and so discharge the arm.
On turning aside the lever on the tang, the cam or enlargement on the end of its
axis presses upon the breast of the jointed rocking lever, and through its cross head,
forces back the strikers into the bents, and so cocks the arm. The arm is at the
same time put into safety.
The cam on the axis of the lever withdraws the locking bolts from the lumps on
the barrels, which can now be opened.
On again shutting down the barrels the rocking lever for cocking resumes its
norinal position, and the gun is again ready for firing by moving the safety from
off the triggers as described.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the
manner in which my invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents a longitudinal vertical section of a double barrelled gun
constructed according to my invention, the section being taken through the middle
of the body of the gun, leaving the lock mechanism which is attached to the lock
plate concealed, and showing only those parts which pass through the cut away
parts
t.'
J
stock which are acted upon by a rocking arm or lever, and the
arm is shown in its discharged position; the safety being removed
fro backs of the trigger plates-Figure 2 is a complete longitudinal vertical
section showing the whole of the parts and lock mechanism of the gun, (that is, the
lock mechanism on one side of the gun)-The gun being in position ready for
firing, with the safety removed from the back of the triggers-Figure 3 is the
same section as Figure 2, with the barrels open, and the spent cartridge in the act
of being withdrawn by the extractor; the safety now resting behind the triggers
so as to prevent them rising until the safety slide has been pressed forward-The
lever of the arm is shown in the act of cocking the gun as I will hereinafter
particularly describe-Figure 4 shows the lock mechanism and the lock plate
separately, the striker being shewn in its discharged position-Figure 5 is an
underside edge view of figure 4, the other figures of the Drawings show the
principal parts and lock mechanism of the gun separately.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the
Drawings.
a, a are the barrels, and b is the body of the gun, c is the lever on the tang-
d is the axis of the said lever provided at its lower end with a cam or enlarge-
ment d, which cocks the gun by the pressing back of the rocking arm or lever e
which is jointed and turns upon a fulcrum passing through the understrap-The
cam or enlargement of the axis d has a stud or projection d³ on its upper side,
which actuates or withdraws and presses back the sliding locking bolt f, which
engages in the lumps g on the underside of the barrels-The pin or stud ³ takes
into a cross slot f' on the end of the bolt f so that on the turning of the lever
aside for the opening of the barrels the excentricity of the boss d³ withdraws the
locking bolt, and at the same time acts upon the nose of the rocking lever e, which
in its turn presses back the tumbler h, by acting upon its cross head h* situated
above the joint or centre upon which the tumbler turns-The extreme upper end /³
of the said tumbler operates the striker rod i, which works between guides j on
the lock plate k-The striker rod i is urged forward by the coiled spring 7. the
said striker is also held in its cocked position by the duplex sears m. n; that
is, the nose in the sear m takes into the bent of the tumbler h, while the

page_text: outer end of the sear n, engages with the bent of the striker i, the tail ends
of the sears respectively resting upon the triggers o. o-The rocking arm or
levere has riding upon its back, a flat spring for returning it to its normal
position, and bringing back the lever on the tang, effected by the nose of tho
lever pressing upon the excentric part of the boss d², and so rotating the axis,
and pressing back tho bolts into the under lumps so as to effectually secure
and lock the barrels to the body of the arm-P. p are the strikers and q is the
safety turning upon a joint pin passing through a bracket affixed to the under-
strap of the arm-The upper end of the safety takes into a depending cut
away part of the safety slide 2, so that the moving of the slide to or fro, puts
the gun in, or out of safety; thus the pressing forward into a position of safe ns
indicated by the arrow and shown in figure 3 puts the lower end of the safety arm,
in front of the cut away part o³ of the trigger plate, and so preventing the triggers
from rising The safety slide is automatically worked by the turning aside of the
lever c to open the barrels; this is effected by a connecting sliding spring plate s
which carries back the slide r and keeps it in position by pressing the said slido
forcibly against the strap upon which it moves-The forward end of the said
spring plate s takes into a gap or cut away part c³ in the boss of the lever c, the .
other end of tho spring plate takes into a notch in the safety slide-The turning
aside of the lever c presses back the spring plate and the safety slido attached to
it, by the front end of the said plate, being acted upon by the shoulder c³ of the
slot c².
The action of the parts of the gun is as follows, after the gun has been discharged
as represented in figure 1.
On turning aside the lever c on the tang of the arm, the excentric boss or
enlarged end d on the end of the axis d, withdraws the bolt f from the under-
lumps g, g of the barrels a, a; and at the same time forces back the rocking arm
or lever e, which in its turn presses against the cross heads h³, h³ of the tumblers h, h,
which urges back the striker i, compresses the coiled spring encircling it, and puts
the arm into double bent, by the nose of the sear m engaging with the bent h* of
the tumbler h and the and the outer arm of the sear n engaging with the bent or
notch of the striker i, thereby retaining the striker at two points when cocked
as represented in figure 3; for should the sear m become disarranged and acci-
dentally removed from the bent in the tumbler, the striker could not possibly be
discharged, from the fact of it being still retained by the second sear engaging in
the bent of the striker; therefore it is necessary that the tail ends of the
sears m n must be raised at the same time, to discharge the arm, for the raising of
one without the other has no effect-The turning aside of the lever c on the tang
has also pressed back the safety slider to a position of safety-The pressing back
of the said slide turns the safety lever g upon its joint or fulcrum bringing its
lower end, in front of the cutaway part o³ of the trigger o, thereby holding down
the triggers so that they shall not rise and so preventing the accidental discharge
of the gun.
On releasing the lover on the tang, and the closing of the barrels; the parts
resume their normal positions as reprosented in figure 2 (other than the safety)-
The spring on the back of the rocking arm or lever e brings the axis and the parts
connected with it into their acting positions as represented on figure 1.
To discharge the arm, the safety is removed from the back of the triggers, by
the sliding forward of its slide in the direction of the arrow, into the position as
represented in figure 2, which frees the triggers: By now pulling either of them,
the sear tails are raised together, removing their other ends from the bents;
thereby freeing the striker rod which is urged forward by the coiled spring under
tension, and so discharges the arm by the red impinging forcibly upon the
striker p.
The triggers on being released are pressed into their acting positions by the scar
springs as represented in figures 2 and 3.

page_text: To re-cock the gun and put it at safety, it is only necessary to turn aside the
lever on the tang, when the parts are operated as hereinbefore described.
In figure 4 the lock mechanism is shown out of bent.
Although I have described that the striker rod which discharges the gun is
pressed back by a tumbler, yet I wish it to be understood that the head of the
tumbler itself may be made to discharge the arm, and so dispensing with the striker
rod as described; the tumbler is pressed home by a flat instead of a coiled spring,
the hammer or tumbler being actuated by the upright rocking lever, as already
described and represented.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
First The improvements in breech-loading small arms hereinbefore described
and illustrated in the several figures of the Drawings; in which the arm is cocked
and put into a position of hammer and trigger safety on the turning aside of the
hand lever on the tang of the arm, for the opening of the barrels for reloading or
otherwise; also retaining at two points the striker rod or hammer, when cocked
by two independent sears, which only allow the gun to be discharged, when raised
together by the triggers; the parts being constructed, arranged and combined, and
acting in the ways, and for the purposes substantially as hercinbefore described
and set forth:
Secondly Cocking the hammers or strikers of breech-loading small arms,
through the intervention of a rocking arm or lover, which is acted upon by a
swell or excentric enlargement on the end of the lever axis, the pressing back of
the said rocking arin puts the cocking tumbler and striker rod carried by it, into
double bent, also the withdrawal of the locking bolt by the same excentric swell
that cocks the arm, the parts being constructed, arranged and operated substan-
tially as described and set forth in figures 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying
Drawings.
Thirdly The improvements in detachable lock mechanism consisting of a
plate k, a guidej, a striker rod i with bent i, a hammer tumbler and its bent,
also sears in duplicate and their springs, as described and set forth in figures 4
and 5 of the accompanying Drawings.
Fourthly The trigger and striker safoties as described and set forth in figures 1,
2, 3, 6 9, 11 and 16 of the accompanying Drawings.