Fire
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Dec., 1886
Complete Left, 30th Sept., 1887
Complete Accepted, 30th Dec., 1887
I, BETHEL BURTON Mechanical Engineer Address % J. S. Morgan & Co., 22 Old
Broad Street, E.C. London do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My present invention relates to improvements in Magazine Fire Arms for which
letters patent were granted to me the 5th Oct. 1880 No. 4016 and 20th Feb. 1884
No. 4155, and consists in the manner of constructing the receiver for the reception of
the different parts of the action enabling the bolt and carrier to be more readily
removed either by hand without the use of any tool, or by removing one screw by
means of a screw driver, a thumb screw may be used, or a spring stop for keeping the
pin in place on which the carrier is pivoted, and without taking the other parts of the
gun apart, when the rifling of the barrel requires cleaning. The carrier is constructed
somewhat different from my former carrier to give greater strength, and ease of
manufacture. The bolt is secured in the receiver by a divided or sectional screw,
or one or more lugs on the bolt which fit in recesses in the receiver, and the bolt is
made in two parts and coupled together by a tenon and mortise secured together by
a pin and by the firing pin, The extractor is pivoted in the front end of the bolt,
And a spiral groove is formed in the front end of the bolt in which the bent arm of
the carrier enters and as the bolt is shoved into the receiver the spiral groove on the
bolt causes the bolt to rotate and brings the extractor under cover thus protecting it
from being blown out by damaged cartridges, when the bolt is withdrawn the spiral
groove working on the end of the carrier arm rotates the bolt and brings the extractor
and ejector in a position to throw the spent shell out of the receiver, the shoulder at
either end of the spiral groove strikes against the end of the arm of the carrier and
thus operates the carrier feed, a corresponding spiral may be made if desired on the
opposite side of the bolt and a pin to work therein secured in the receiver. The spiral
or helical spring on the firing pin is compressed by a cam on the rear end of the
bolt and a cam piece secured to the firing pin in the manner set forth in my former

page_text: patent above referred to, The ejector may be the same as that used by and patented
by me in patents referred to above. On the side of the receiver a hopper is placed
which contains the cartridges and on the opposite side of the receiver a place is made
for holding a plate which replaces the hopper and covers up the feed opening when
the hopper is removed and is intended to protect the action from access of sand, dust
or wet, this plate is provided with a stop which admits of its being readily trans-
ferred from one side of the receiver to the other, as the dovetail for the reception of
the plate in the receiver is the same dimensions as the dovetail for the hopper, In
carrying the arm with safety when loaded I make use of a bolt placed on the side of
the receiver the end of which enters a hole in the lever of the bolt and secures it in
place While in this position the point of the firing pin can not possibly strike the
cap in the cartridge as it is kept back by the cocking cam which is partially camed
back. In firing the gun in a prone position I provide a muzzle rest which may be
permanently attached to the rifle and lays along the side of the stock or rainrod, one
end pivoted to the band the other end made fast in any suitable manner, it may be
made of wood or other suitable material and in such a way that it will fold up when
not in use and open out when supporting the gun. The trigger guard, [ use, may be
of any of the different types shown and described by me in my former patents.

page_text: •
I, BETHEL BURTON, Mechanical Engineer Address care of Messrs. J. S. Morgan
& Co., 22 Old Broad Street, E.C. London, England, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My present invention relates to improvements upon patents granted to me hereto-
fore in Great Britain to which I refer but more particularly to the patent of the
5th October 1880, No. 4046.
And the improvements consist in the peculiar construction of the receiver and
arrangement of the working parts of the breech action and magazines, and also a
muzzle rest for the rifle, and a sliding door to cover the opening in the side of the
receiver through which the cartridges feed from the side hopper magazine on to the
carrier.
In describing the parts similar letters of reference indicate like parts throughout
the several drawings which I make part of the specification, in which
Fig. 1. is a longitudinal vertical section at the breech, the bolt withdrawn.
Fig. 2. is a similar view of the same partly in section.
Fig. 3. is a side view of the receiver with the hopper-magazine attached showing
the sliding bolt for retaining the hopper in place.
Fig. 4. is a view of the opposite side of the receiver showing the box in which the
carrier oscillates, and the head of the screw on which the carrier is pivoted to the
receiver, and the safety bolt for securing the screw support of the bolt in position.
Fig. 5. is a top view of the receiver and hopper, the lid of the hopper removed.
Fig. 6. is the under side of the receiver showing the sliding door for covering up
the feed opening, and the projection by which it is moved and prevented from falling
out of the dovetail by which it is held to the receiver by means of a small stud or
screw in the receiver; the sliding bolt and the groove for the hopper and the mortice
in the box to receive the carrier.
Fig. 7 is a vertical view at the rear end of the receiver, the tongue or tail-strap in
section.
Fig. 8 is a vertical section through the receiver, bolt, carrier and rear end of the
hopper.
Fig. 9. is a similar view intended to act as a cut off when holding the cartridges in
reserve but in the position as shown when feeding.
Fig. 10. is a similar view the hopper lowered to act as a cut off.
Fig. 11. is a view of the front part of the bolt showing the method of connecting
the front and rear parts of the bolt together, the groove in which the upper arm of
the carrier travels and the manner of placing the ejector pin.
Fig. 12, is the front end view of the bolt.
Fig. 13, is a rear end view of Fig. 11.
Fig. 14, is a top plan view of the cocking cam piece.
Fig. 15, is a top view of the carrier.

page_text: Fig. 16 is an end view of the same.
Fig. 17 is a side view of the barrel, stock and sighting rest when not in use.
Fig 18, is a vertical cross section of the same when in use. The barrel, receiver
and furniture are let into the stock t in the manner shown in the drawing.
The receiver a is bored out in the usual way and the barrel screwed therein.
In the rear end of the receiver a screw or recess is also formed and divided which
screw corresponds with a screw or projections on the rear end of the bolt a² which sup-
ports the bolt in the receiver against the recoil from the exploded charge in the box
of the receiver a ribs 6' are formed to engage the head of the cartridge and prevent
the cartridge from being thrown out in loading. The bolt is made in two pieces and
coupled together in the manner shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 11. The rib on the top of
the bolt which in my former patents extended to the front end of the bolt is in my
present bolt partly removed for the purpose of lightening the weight and yet owing
to the manner of forming the receiver no dust or sand can enter the receiver when
the bolt is closed, nor can any sand or dust enter the bolt whether open or closed
to retard or prevent the firing pin b and spring 6' from performing their functions.
And the bolt is constructed so that in case sand or dust get on it the sand or dust can
be removed with the fingers.
The box or lower part of the receiver in which the carrier e oscillates is also closed
against the access of sand or dust the carrier e is pivoted to the receiver a by a pin n
and by the present mode of construction is made much stronger than as formerly and
being pivoted to the receiver, instead of to the trigger guard, by the screw n the
carrier may be removed at will for cleaning or repairs without taking off the stock t
or trigger guard g3 by removing the screw n and it also permits of the bolt at a being
taken out for cleaning or repairs. The screw n may be taken out without the use of
a screw-driver if desired by the use of a milled head or thumb screw and replaced by
the fingers. The carrier is provided with a friction spring e² to support while the
bolt is being pushed into the receiver. The firing pin is constructed with a collar b²
against which the spring b' presses, and the other end of the spring rests against
the recess in the rear part of the bolt a². Upon the rear end of the firing pin b squares
are formed corresponding with squares in the hole in the head of the cocking cam and
when put together they are held in place by a nut a*, Figs. 1 and 2, a rib a³ on
the lower side of the cocking cam which extends forward engages the upper end of
the sear g when the bolt is closed which keeps the spring b₁ compressed; a quarter
turn of the handle on the bolt a causes the screw on the bolt to unite in the corre-
sponding sectional screw in the rear end of the receiver which holds the bolt a¹, a²
firmly closed.
By pulling the trigger g² the sear g is lowered and the firing pin released and
driven forward to explode the percussion cap in the cartridge. A reverse turn of the
bolt a cams back the firing pin and cocks the gun and allows the bolt to be withdrawn,
the front end of the cocking cam a³ being sharp edged rests in a notch in the rear
end of the bolt a² and prevents it from turning when the bolt is withdrawn,
A groove o is cut in the tang of the receiver and extends into the receiver a
in which the rib a³ on the cocking cam enters and is thereby prevented
from turning when cocking. To prevent the rear part of the bolt a² from
turning when the handle is turned vertical a pin d and a helical spring d² are
placed in a hole made in the handle or lever for working the bolt, and the spring d
resting against the nut d¹ presses the pin d into the groove d³ in the coupling strap of
the bolt a', when the bolt is driven forward the pin d strikes the rear end of the
receiver forcing the pin d back and out of the groove d³ and thus permits the bolt a²
to turn.
The extractor c and ejector c¹ are let into the bolt a¹ in the manner shown in
Fig. 1, the rear end of the ejector c¹ resting against the end of the hole in which it is
placed is prevented from being blown back by the force of the charge, and by means
of a shoulder on the ejector pin c' which strikes the arm e¹ of the carrier it is driven
forward, strikes the head of the cartridge and throws it out, the extractor and ejector
being placed on one side of the centre of the bolt in the manner shown in Fig. 12

page_text: the cartridge is thereby thrown out on the side of the receiver thus escaping the face
of the firer.
To carry the arm with safety from premature discharge I make use of the locking
bolt Figs. 4 and 5 in the manner described in my former patents. To enable the
hopper p to be more readily and quickly attached to the receiver instead of being
attached by a dovetail which is more difficult I make use of a groove in the receiver
and a tongue on the hopper constructed in the manner shown in the Figs. 3, 5, 8, 9
and 10, or a low detachable hopper may be used made and secured to the receiver in
the manner shown and suitable boxes made of metal or other suitable material made
to fit in the hopper filled with cartridges placed in the hopper mouth downwards, the
cartridges being fired off the box emptied may be thrown away and replaced by
another. When a hopper such as is shown in Figs. 9 and 10 is used it serves as a cut
off when down, as shown in Fig. 10, and feed when raised up as shown in Fig. 9.
By the use of the tongue and groove on top and both sides of the receiver and
hopper the hopper is securely fastened to the receiver and is not liable to be broken
off by rough usuage. A cheap box, made of metal or other suitable material, may
also be used for packing the cartridges in and served to the soldiers for use as a
hopper, this box may be formed by the use of proper machinery that it will, in making
and folding the metal form the tongue to enter the grooves in the receiver in the same
manner as the hopper shown and described, and cheap enough to throw away when
once used, the use of such a box will greatly facilitate the loading of the arm.
To cover the feed opening in the side of the receiver when using the arm as a
single breech loader and to prevent the entrance of dust or sand into the receiver I
form a dovetail v in the receiver a from the top of the feed opening to the bottom
of the box in which the carrier oscillates, and place therein a sliding door k, and in
the side of the receiver a I place a sliding bolt m, in the tongue of the hopper p and
the end of the sliding door ka notch is formed. When the hopper tongue u enters the
groove u in the receiver the end of the sliding bolt m is pushed into the notch in the
tongue of the hopper and holds the hopper firmly in place. To remove the hopper
the bolt in is pushed back which allows the hopper to be pulled out, the sliding door k
is then pushed up to cover the feed opening and the sliding bolt m is again pushed
forward the end of which enters the notch in the door k and thus retains the door in
place covering up the opening in the receiver.
In the bottom of the receiver a stop screw is placed and in the middle bottom
edge of the sliding door ka projection is formed as seen at k¹; Fig. 6, when the
hopper is pushed down into the groove u in the receiver the bottom of the hopper
strikes the projection on the door k and slides the door down with the hopper, the
stop screw prevents the door from falling out and it can not move up or down until
the hopper is withdrawn. In order to strengthen the carrier it is made the full width
of the mortice in the box of the receiver and as shown in the drawing Figs. 1, 15
and 16.
The muzzle steady rest, Figs. 17 and 18, is hinged to the band s¹ and secured to
the other band by a spring stop 3, the legs s are pivoted at s' and for lightness
and compactness I prefer making them of tube metal ог any light suitable
material.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what 1
claim is
(1) The construction of the receiver a in the manner shown and described for the
purpose set forth.
(2) The combination of the bolt a', a² with the firing pin b and cocking cam a³,
as and for the purpose shown and described.
(3) The combination of the receiver a with bolt a¹, a², the cocking cam a³ and firing
pin 6 as shown and described.
b
(4) The combination of the carrier e with the ribs 6* arm e pivoted to the receiver
by the pin n, the arm e' working in a groove a³ in the bolt a' which serves the purpose

page_text: of raising and lowering the carrier e, throwing out the spent shell preventing the
loaded cartridge from being thrown out and preventing the bolt from being withdrawn
too far back. The construction of the carrier e as and for the purpose shown and
described.
a,
the
(5) The combination substantially as shown and described of the recoiver
bolt a', a², cocking cam a³, firing pin b, carrier e, with the hopper magazine p.
(6) The sliding door k and the bolt fastener m in the receiver a secured therein for
the purpose of closing the feed opening in the side of the receiver as described and
shown and for the purpose specified.
(7) The combination as described and shown of the receiver a and the working
parts of the breech action with an attachable hopper p, Figs. 9 and 10, carrying two
or more cartridges, secured to the receiver a by a tongue u and groove u¹ and retained
in place by the bolt m.
(8) An attachable cartridge box in which cartridges are served to the soldier, said
box having a tongue u to enter the grooves u³ of the receiver a in combination with the
receiver a, carrier e, as and for the purpose described and shown.
(9) The combination as shown and described of a low hopper Figs. 3, 9 and 10
with the receiver a, bolt a¹, a², cocking cam a³, carrier e, with or without the box in
which cartridges come packed and served to the soldier for use in the hopper.
(10) The combination as shown and described of a detachable hopper imagazine p
with a receiver a, a sliding bolt m for securing the hopper in place.
(11) The combination of the sliding cover k with the receiver a and bolt m as shown
and described.
(12) The bolt m in the side of the receiver a for securing the slide k, the hopper p
and the cartridge box to the receiver as and in the manner described and shown.
(13) The combination of the receiver a and carrier e with or without the door the
carrier pivoted to the receiver by the pin n as and in the manner shown and
described.
(14) The combination constructed as shown and described of the extractor c,
ejector c with the bolt a', a², the arm e¹ of the carrier e with the receiver a.
(15) The application and construction of the muzzle steady rests attached to the
bands s¹, s, with the hinge joint s² for the purpose shown and described.
(16) In a magazine gun the combination of the action shown and described and an
attachable hopper magazine shown and described.
(17) The combination and construction in a magazine gun of the several parts as
shown in Figs. 1 to 18 and described for the purposes specified.
(18) In a magazine gun the combination of the receiver and action with the trigger
plate, trigger sear pin, and sear spring secured to the receiver and stock and
working in conjunction with the cocking cam a³ as and in the manner shown and
described.
Dated this 30th day of September 1887