IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING FIRE ARMS AND IN CARTRIDGE BOXES TO BE USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Simon at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 20th July 1881. A communication from
abroad by Frederick Betterli, No. 7, Rue de l'Arcade, Paris, France.
HENRY SIMON, of No. 7, St. Peter's Square, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster. "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING FIRE ARMS AND IN CARTRIDGE
BOXES TO BE USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH." [A communication from abroad
by Frederick Betterli, No. 7, Rue de l'Arcade, Paris, France.]
This Invention relates to that construction of breech loading fire arms in which
the breech is closed by a sliding breech bolt, and it consists mainly in the appli-
cation to such fire arms of mechanism and devices whereby they are made to act
as repeating rifles, supplying the cartridges from a magazine formed in the front
part of the stock underneath the barrel, the Invention being not only applicable to
new fire arms, but also readily applicable to old ones. For this purpose a cylindrical
hole is bored through the stock, which is closed at the front end by a hollow metal
cap screwed into a hole formed in the front metal strap of the stock. In the hollow
of this cap is a pin surrounded by the front end of a helical spring whose rear end
carries a piston or shield which is made by the spring to bear against the foremost
cartridges in the magazine and to force these toward the breech when permitted to
do so, as will be presently explained. At the rear end the magazine opens into a
chamber formed in the stock immediately beneath the breech extension of the
barrel in which works the sliding breech bolt. This chamber is closed at bottom
by a plate that is held by means of a stud projecting down from the breech
extension and passing through a hole in the said plate, beneath which a sliding pin
passes through the stud. The plate has a bracket projecting up into the said
chamber, to which bracket is pivotted the rear end of a cradle or carrier whose
front end can be moved up and down turning on the said pivot. In the lowered
position the cradle faces the opening of the cartridge magazine so that the
cartridges can be fed on to it therefrom, while when in the raised position the
cartridge can be fed from it into the breech chamber of the barrel. The carrier is
made to spring into and remain in either position by means of a spring acting on
a tail thereon, after it has been moved somewhat in either direction. For effecting
the upward motion a stud on the underside of the sliding breech bolt is made in
T
77

page_text: the backward position to catch against a projection on the tail of the carrier,
which at the same time forins the stop for limiting the backward motion of the
breech bolt. For effecting the downward motion, the carrier has at its side a pin
that can be turned in its socket and that has a head projecting above the carrier,
so that when the breech bolt is slid forward into the closed position and is turned
partly round so as to lock it, a face thereon presses on the head of the said pin and
thus pushes the carrier down.
When it is desired to put the repeating mechanism out of action the carrier is
left in the raised position, for which purpose the said pin is turned in its socket
into such an oblique position that when the breech bolt is turned over for locking
the head enters a recess in the before mentioned face, and is consequently not
pushed down thereby."
Beneath the carrier also pivotted to a lug on the before mentioned plate is a
spring lever (consisting of a rigid bent lever combined with a spring), the rear end
of which engages in a notch on the underside of the carrier, so that when the latter
is in the lowered position with a cartridge upon it the front end of the lever is
raised, passing through a slot in the front end of the carrier, and butting against
the end of the front cartridge in the magazine, so as to prevent this from being
protruded as the carrier rises up with its cartridge, the front end of the spring
lever descends, thereby liberating the cartridge in the magazine, which is then
pushed slightly forward by the magazine spring, until it butts against the front
face of the raised carrier. On the cartridge on the carrier being inserted into the
breech chamber of the barrel, the sliding forward and locking of the breech bolt
causes the carrier to descend again as described, whereupon the cartridge that was
butting against its face will be propelled on to it. During the descent of the
carrier it depresses the tail of the spring holding lever, but the front end of this is
prevented from rising by the partly projected cartridge in the magazine, until this
has been pushed right forward on to the carrier, whereupon the lever will spring
up and butt against the next following cartridge, as described.
As before stated, the plate on which the carrier and holding lever are pivotted,
is held in position by a sliding pin passing through a hole in the trigger guard, and
through the before mentioned stud that projects down through a hole in the plate.
When it is desired to lower the carrier mechanism, so as not to come in gear with
the breech bolt, and thus allow the latter to be withdrawn altogether from the
breech extension for cleansing purposes, this is effected by withdrawing the said
pin, whereupon the rear end of the plate with its mechanism can drop until it
rests upon the nose of a curved spring on the trigger guard. Upon pressing
inward this spring, the plate with its mechanism can drop out altogether from the
stock. The sliding pin has a flat spring tail that slides against the trigger plate,
and when slid forward into the locking position, a head on the tail enters a notch
on the trigger guard, and thus prevents the pin from shifting. It is slid backwards
or forwards by the hand by means of two small lateral projections.
The recoil of the gun tends to move the pin into the locked position, so that it
operates with perfect safety when firing.
As before stated, the cartridge magazine is formed simply by a cylindrical bore
in the stock, instead of by a metal tube, the latter being liable to be indented and
thus put out of order.
The part of the stock beneath the breech end of the barrel is formed with a
shallow groove on either side, into which grooves the fingers of the hand holding
the gun can be inserted, so as to hold the gun more securely and prevent the
fingers coming in contact with the heated barrel in rapid firing.
According to another modification, instead of having only one cartridge
magazine in the stock as described, two such magazines are provided, consisting of
two metal tubes fixed closely side by side and pivotted at the front ends on a pin
in the stock, while the rear ends are free to be slid laterally in a correspondingly
widened bore in the stock, so as alternately to bring each magazine in line with
the before described carrier. The movement of the tubular magazines for this

page_text: purpose is effected by means of a pin fixed to the underside thereof and passing
down through a transverse slot in the stock, below which it is provided with a
button for moving the tubes and a plate for covering the slot.
For the convenience of rapidly charging the above described or other magazine
guns, or for firing with ordinary breech loaders, a light box, by preference of
pasteboard, is employed, containing a certain number of cartridges arranged
vertically with their bases upwards, and in rows of which some are by preference
raised above the others for convenience of drawing them out. The box is closed
by a cover secured by a strip of paper or tape cemented round the joint, one end of
the tape being left free so that it can be readily stripped off when required for use.
Round one side of the lower part of the box is fixed a loose broad tape or band
sufficient space being left between it and the box for the insertion of the fingers.
Thus when charging the gun, the operator slips the band over the fingers of the
hand with which he holds the breech of the gun, and thus at the same time holds
the cartridge box at the side of the gun in the most convenient position for
taking out the cartridges and inserting them in the magazine with the other
hand.