US2576184A - Action lock for self-loading firearms - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 27, 1951 P. A. KLOCKER ACTION-LOCK FOR SELF-LOADING FIREARMS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed March 16, 1951 Nov. 27, 1951 P. A. KLOCKER ACTION-LOCK FOR SELF-LOADING FIREARMS 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed March 16, 1951 Patented Nov. 27, 1951 9 Claims. 1

The present invention relates in general to firearms and more especially'to improvements in an action-lock for a repeating firearm of-the tubular magazine type.

An object of the invention is to provide a repeating firearm with superior means for automatically locking the breech-bolt in its retired position after the discharge of the last cartridge.

A further 'objectof the invention is to provide a repeating firearm-of the tubular magazine type with superior means for automatically locking the breech-bolt in its retiredposition after the discharge of the last cartridge, and manuallyoperated means associated with'the automatic locking-means for releasing the breech-bolt.

A still further object of the inventionis to provide a repeating firearm of the tubular magazine type in which the cartridge-carrier serves to releasably hold the breech-boltin its retired position after the discharge of the lastcartridge.

A'still further object of the invention is to provide a repeating firearm of thetubular magazine type in which the pivotal movement of the cartridge-carrierfollowing the discharge of the last cartridge is such as to elevate the carrier into the'path of the breech-bolt and simultaneously to be releasably engaged by a carrierlatch, whereby the breech-bolt is held in .its retired position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a repeating firearm-of the tubular magazine type having superior carrier-latch means for automatically locking the breech-bolt in its retired position after the discharge of the last cartridge, the superior latch-means being located in a position such that it may be conveniently operated without changing ones hold on the trigger-guard portion of the firearm.

Other objects and advantages will appear to those skilled in the art from the following, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevation in section and partly in side elevation of a repeating firearm of the tubular magazine type in which the present invention is incorporated, the breech-bolt being shown in its retired position and the carrier supporting the last cartridge in position for chambering;

Fig. 2 is a View corresponding to Fig. 1 but with the breech-bolt in its forward breechclosing position and the last cartridge chambered in the barrel;

2 Fig. 3 isa'view corresponding to Figs. 1 and 2 but showing the breech-bolt moved forwardly from its retired position and releasably held from closing by engagement with the cartridge=carrier which is held up in the path of the breech 'bo'lt by the carrier latch means of this invention;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the receiver on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a broken top plan view of the'triggerplate of the firearm; land Fig. 6 is a perspectiv'eview ofthe carrier-latch.

The particular firearm shown in the drawings for thepurpose of illustrating one embodiment of the invention is a repeating-firearm of the slide-action type such as illustrated and described more fully in the co-pending application of Frederick L. Humeston, Ser. No. 5l9,3l3, 'filed September 15 1948, patented May -8, 1951, as Patent No. -2,552;429, and comprises, in'tloe main, a receiver IE] having a barrel ii secured in the forward end thereof. A buttstocl; i2 is secured to the rear end of the receiver by fasteningmeans indicated at E3. A substantially "rectangular recess is formed vertically in the undersideof the receiver to provide an actionchamber is which is coaxial with the cartridge-chamber E5 of the barrel ll, the lower portion of the action-chamber l5 being adapted to accommodate the tr'igger-plate E6 of the firearm. In this connection, theassembled receiver Ill and trigger plate is are hereinafter referred to as the frame of the firearm.

A breech-bolt I? is movably mounted in the action-chamber i l and supported for reciprocable movement therein on the upper edges of the trigger-plate it. As is customary in guns of this type, a cartridge ejection port (not shown) is provided in the right-hand side wall cf'the receiver, while the underside of the top wall thereof is providedwithalongitudinal protuberance I l adjacent its forward end, and at its rear end with a breech-boltlocking-notch l8 for releasably locking the breech 'bolt in its forward breech-closingposition 'as illustrated in Fig. 3. A longitudinal clearance recess H is provided in the top of the breech-bolt ll to accommodate the protuberance I l when the breech-bolt is in breech-closing position, as shown in Fig. 2.

Secured to the underside of the barrel is a tubular magazine, indicated generally at l9, which, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, makes a friction fit at its rear end in a counterbored aperture in the front wall of the receiver I'll. The tubular magazine [9 is of approved construction common to repeating firearms of this type'and includes an inner tube 20 in which is 3 housed a spring 2! adapted to urge a cartridgefollower 22 rearwardly in the magazine for automatically feeding cartridges from the tubular magazine to the cartridge-carrier hereinafter described.

The breech-bolt I! is adapted to be reciprocated manually in the action-chamber IA of the frame by means of slide mechanism including an actionslide bar, a fragmentary portion of which is shown at 23, the latter being guided for reciprocable movement in the receiver and provided at its rear end with a laterally-offset cam-lug 24 adapted to cammingly engage in a cam-recess 25 in the lower left-hand edge of the breech-bolt. Forward and rearward movements of the action-slide bar 23 impart similar movements to the breech-bolt both for moving the latter forwardly into breech-closing position and elevating its rear end up into locking engagement with the locking-notch E8 of the receiver; and for withdrawing the rear end of the breech-bolt from the locking-notch and moving the breech-bolt rearwardly in the receiver for extracting and ejecting a fired shell and automatically actuating the cartridge-carrier so as to elevate a fresh cartridge into position for chambering by the breech-bolt on its return movement into breech-closing position.

As shown in Fig. l, the breech-bolt is provided with a vertical aperture 26 which extends longitudinally of the underside of the breech-bolt and provides clearance adjacent the rear end thereof for the fire-control mechanism which includes a spring-actuated hammer 2T pivotally mounted in the trigger-plate l5 and actuated by a trigger 28. The forward portion of the longitudinal clearance-aperture 26 at the bolt is formed with a central longitudinal rib 29 which depends from the top wall of the clearance-aperture and has a downwardly-and-rearwardlysloping camsurface 30 a its rear end for actuating the cartridge-carrier indicated by the numeral 32.

The magazine-throat for successively feeding cartridges from the open rear end of the tubular magazine onto the cartridge-carrier for movement thereby into the path of the breech-bolt is indicated generally at 3| and comprises two laterally separable substantially complementary throat-members between which the cartridgecarrier 32 is supported by a pivot-pin 33 for pivotal movement in a substantially-vertical plane beneath the underside of the breech-bolt. The cartridge-carrier is a blade-like member, as shown especially well in Figs. 4 and 5, pivoted by the aforesaid pivot-pin 33 between opposite sides of the frame and comprising a rearWardly-extending reach 34 provided with an upwardly-projecting breech-bolt engaging-lug 35.

In accordance with the objects of the invention, the rear edge 36 of the breech-bolt engaginglug comprises a downwardly-and-forwardlycurved cam surface which is intersected by a transverse latch-notch 31 which constitutes one element of the improved cartridge-carrier latchmeans of this invention for releasably holding I the breech-bolt open after the last cartridge in the tubular magazine has been fired. The forwardly-extending reach 38 of the cartridge-carrier is provided with a curved front edge 39 which constitutes a cartridge-cutoff, while formed on the upper edge of the forward reach 33 of the ing substantially U-shaped reach 4! of a carrier spring which is secured at its rear end by a pin 42 in the vertical recess of the trigger-plate and has a lower forwardly-extending reach 43 adapted to engage against the bottom of the aforesaid recess of the trigger-plate, whereby the upper reach 4| of the spring exerts a constant force on the underside of the cartridge-carrier forwardly of its pivot-pin 33 to elevate the forwardly-extending reach 38 thereof upwardly in the magazine-throat 3!.

In accordance with this construction, as the breech-bolt is moved forwardly from its retracted position shown in Fig. 1, into its breech-closing position as shown in Fig. 2, the cam-surface 3|] of its rib 29 will engage the upstanding lug 40 of the cartridge-carrier, thereby pivoting the carrier downwardly in the magazine-throat 3| against the resistance of the carrier-spring arm 4|. When the breech-bolt is in its forward breech-closing position as shown in Fig. 2, engagement of the heel 44 of the breech-bolt rib 29 with the upper edge of the upstanding lug 40 of the cartridgecarrier holds the forward end of the latter downwardly in a position to receive a cartridge thereon from the tubular magazine. Upon moving the breech-bolt rearwardly, its heel 44 rides off of the lug 40 of the cartridge-carrier, whereupon the latter is freed and the force of the compressed carrier-spring arm 4| serves to pivot the carrier upwardly in the magazine-throat, thereby elevating a cartridge therein upwardly into a position immediately in front of the front face of the breech-bolt, for chambering thereby. For clarity the position of the carrier when supporting a cartridge in position for chambering is hereinafter referred to as the chambering position of the carrier. With the cartridge supported by the carrier in this manner, the upwardly-projecting lip 45 of the forward extremity of the reach 38 of the cartridge-carrier serves to hold the nose of the cartridge against the underside of the projection l4 of the top wall of the receiver, which engagement prevents further upward pivotal movement of the cartridge-carrier. On the other hand, should there be no cartridge supported on the cartridge-carrier, then the carrier will be free to pivot upwardly to a position above its chambering position such as shown in Fig. 3, which position is hereinafter referred to as its action-locking position, wherein its lip 45 is in the path of movement of the forward end of the breech-bolt.

The latch-means for locking the carrier in its action-locking position comprises, in addition to the aforesaid latch-notch 31 at the rear end of the pivoted carrier, a manually-operated latch indicated generally at 45. The latter is formed of substantially-flat relatively-narrow metal stock of sufficient thickness to be a substantially-rigid structure and as shown especially well in Fig. 6, is substantially U-shaped, having a substantially-fiat bridge-portion a l provided at its opposite ends with depending legs 48 and 49, respectively, projecting substantially perpendicularly from the bridge-portion 41, the leg 49 being longer than the oppositely-disposed leg 48 of the latch and of greater width to provide a finger-engaging portion 33 at its lower end for manipulating the latch in the manner hereinafter described. To this end, the bottom edge of the finger-engaging portion 53 of the latch may be serrated as indicated at 5|. The legs 48 and 49, respectively, of the latch are provided with axially-aligned apertures extending transversely therethrough for accommodating a pivot-pin 52 which, as

shown especially well in 'Fig. 4, serves to -pivotally-support the latch" in a clearance-recess '53 of the trigger-plate, with the leg 49 of the latch in engagement with the inner surface of the left-hand wall of the receiver, and projecting downwardly through a vertical slot 54 in the trigger-plate, the mounting of the latch and the length of its arm cs being such that the serrated edge '5! of thefinger-engaging portion of the latch projects below the underside of the trigger-plate of the firearm, as shown especially well'in Figs. 3 and 4. A latch-spring 55 is mounted in the clearance-recess53 of the trigger-plate rearwardlyof the latch and is arranged to constantly urge the latch into position for engagement with the latch-notch 3'! of the cartridge-carrier. In particular, the latch-spring 55 comprises a coil secured'in the aforesaid clearance-recess 53 of the trigger-plate by a pin-extending transversely through the coil; and reaches 51 and 58, respectively, extending in opposite directions from the cell, the reachel extending forwardly to engage-against the bridge-portion l? of the latch and the reach 53 extending rearwardly in engagement with the bottom of the clearance-recess of the trigger-plate. In accordance with this construction, the bridge-portion 43' of the latch is-biase'd to engage against the curved rear'edge 3% of the carrier which is moved vertically relative to the latch-bridge by the action of the breech bolt and carrier-spring. As noted particularly well'in Figs. 4 and 5, the forwardlyextending reach 5'! of the spring 55 engages the bridge-portion All of the latch to the left of the cartridge-elevator so as not to interfere with the entry of the bridge portion 47 of the latch into the latch-notch 3'! in the rear edge of the carrier.

In the normal operation of the firearm, a cartridge willbe supported on the upper edge of the forwardly-extending reach 38 of the cartridge-carrier in a position for engagement by the forwardly moving breech-bolt, the upwardlyprojecting lip '65 of the carrier serving 'to bring the nose of the cartridge into engagementwith the underside of the projection M of the top'wall of the receiver. The cartridge thus serves to limit'further upward movement of the forward end of the cartridge-carrier, whereby the rearwardly-projecting reach 34 of the cartridge-carrier is held in a relatively-elevated position with respect'to the latch '46, that is to say, the latchnotch 3'! in the rear edge of the rearwardl'yextending reach 34 of the cartridge-carrier is disposed above the bridge-portion it? of the latch.

The operation of the carrier-latch for holding the breech bolt in its partially retired position, after the last cartridge has been fired as shown in Fig. 3, is as follows. Assuming'that the last cartridge in the magazine has beeninserted in the chamber 55 of the barrel II by the breechbolt and fired, then, with the breech-bolt in its closed position, the cartridge-carrier 32 will be held down by the heel it of the breech-bolt opposite the open rear end of the tubular magazine. Since there are no cartridges in the magazine,no cartridge will be fed onto the carrier. Nowby pulling rearwardly on the action-slide bar 23 so as to disengage the breech-bolt from the locking-notch is of the receiver, the subsequent rearward movement of the breech-bolt will extract the'lire'd cartridge from the chamber of the barrel and eject the fired cartridge from the ejectionport in the side of the'receiver. During the rearward excursion ofth'ebreech-bolt l1, the'lug' tfl of 6 the carrier isreleased by therearwardly-moving heelwa of the bolt,-whereupon'-theforce of the resilient reach 4! of the carrier-spring swings the forward end-of the carrier upwardly,-=and since there is no cartridge thereon to be brought intoengagement with the underside of the projection HV-of-the top wall of the receiver, the c-arr-ieris free to swing upwardly beyond its aforesaid "chambering position. Consequently, the rearwardly-extending reach -34 of the carrier swings downwardly -below its normal position, with respect to the carrier latch, with'the result that the latch-notch 3! in the rear edge of the carrier is brought opposite the bridge p'ortiond'l ofthe latch, whereupon the force of the latchspring swings the bridge-portion 41 of the-latch into'the latch-notch -31 of the carrier. The-carrier is thus automatically locked against'pivot-al movement, with the lip 45 at its forward end held-up-in-the pathof'the breech-bolt. Hence, if the breech-bolt-is-moved forwardly in expectation of loading another cartridge intothe chamber of the barrel, the-forward endof' the breechbo1t-is broughtinto engagement with the upstanding lip 45 of the cartridge-elevator and positively held thereby-from moving forwardly into breech-closing--position. Thus, the shooter is notified automatically that there are no -more cartridges in the magazine. Should the-shooter wish to releasethe breech bolttomove the latter into its breech-closing position, it-is only-necessary to manually engage the lower serrated edge of the latch-operating leg 56 to pivot the latter in a clockwise directiomas seen in Fig. '3,-whereby the bridge-portion :4! of the-latch is withdrawn from the latch-notch 3? of the carrier. The latter is thus unlocked and will be readily cammed down out of the pathof the breech-bolt by engagement of the front-face ofthe breechbolt with the upstanding lip dfi'of the carrier. If, on the other'hand, the shooter wished to load another'cartridgeinto the chamber of the barrel, he could do so while the breech-bolt is held'i-n its retired position by the locked'carrier, and thereafter release the carrier by manual actua'tion of the 'carrier-latch '46 to permit the breechbolt to move forwardly and chamber the fresh cartridge. the unlatched carrier is swung downwardly by the-cammi'ng action of the forwardly-moving breech-bolt, thenotch in the rear edgeof the carrier-is again moved to a position above the bridge-portion l! of the latch, the bridge-portion'of the latter again engaging resiliently against the'lower curved edge 36 of the rearwardly-extending reach 34 of the carrier until such time as th'e carrier is again permitted to swing upwardly beyond its normal cartridgeha'm'beri'ng position.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that-the invention is characterized bythe use of apivoted cartridge-carrier in conjunction with carrier-latch means for positively holding the carrier in the path of movement of the breechbolt to hold the latter in its retired position in thereceiver when the last cartridge in the magazine has been fired; and that the carrier-latch means is of relatively simple, durable and dependable construction located conveniently for inanipulationby the shooters fingers without releasing his hold on the trigger-guard portion of the firearm. Although the cartridge-carrier latch-means is illustrated by its application to a repeating firearm having a manually-operated action-slide for opening and closingth'e breechbolt, it will be understood that it 'is'within'th'e purview of the invention to use the cartridgecarrier latch-means in an autoloading firearm of the blow-back type.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. A repeating firearm having a frame and a barrel provided with a cartridge-chamber, and including in combination: a breech-bolt movable longitudinally in the frame of said firearm for chambering a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber of said barrel; a, cartridge-magazine; a movable cartridge-carrier for transferring cartridges from the said magazine into a position for chambering by said breech-bolt, said cartridge-carrier having a chambering position and an action-locking po sition, a portion of said carrier being engageable with the said breech-bolt to hold the same in its retired position when the carrier is in its actionlocking position; and latch-means comprising a member arranged to be releasably engageable with said cartridge carrier to lock the said breech-bolt engaging-portion thereof up in the path of movement of the breech-bolt to hold the latter from moving forwardly into breech-closing position.

2. A repeating firearm having a frame and a barrel provided with a cartridge-chamber, and including in combination: a breech-bolt movable longitudinally in the frame of said firearm for chambering a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber of said barrel; a cartridge-magazine; a movable cartridge-carrier for transferring cartridges from the said magazine into a position for chambering by said breech-bolt, said cartridge-carrier having a chambering position and an action-locking position, a portion of said carrier being engageable with the said breech-bolt to hold the same i in its retired position when the said carrier is in its action-locking position; and latch-means comprising a member arranged to be releasably engageable with the rear extremity of said cartridge-carrier to lock the said breech-bolt engaging-portion thereof up in the path of movement of the breech-bolt to hold the latter from moving forwardly into breech-closing position, the said member having a manually-engageable portion arranged to project from the underside of said frame for releasing the latch-member from engagement with the carrier.

3. A repeating firearm having a frame and a barrel provided with a cartridge-chamber, and including in combination: a breech-bolt movable longitudinally in the frame of said firearm for chambering a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber of said barrel; a cartridge-magazine; a movable cartridge-carrier for transferring cartridges from the said magazine into a position for chambering by said breech-bolt, said cartridge-carrier having a chambering position and an action-locking position, a portion of said carrier being engageable with the said breech-bolt to hold the same in its retired position when the said carrier is in its action-locking position; latch-means comprising a member arranged to be releasably engageable with the rear extremity of said cartridge-carrier to lock the said breech-bolt engaging-portion thereof up in the path of movement of the breech-bolt to hold the latter from moving for Wardly into breech-closing position; and resilient means in engagement with the latch-member to constantly urge the latch-member into position for engagement with the rear extremity of said cartridge-carrier.

L A repeating firearm having a frame and a barrel provided with a cartridge-chamber, and including in combination: a breech-bolt movable longitudinally in the frame of said firearm for chambering a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber of the barrel; a cartridge-magazine; a movable cartridge-carrier for transferring cartridges from the said magazine into a position for chambering by said breech-bolt, said cartridge-carrier having a chambering position and an action-locking position, a portion of said carrier being engageable with said breech-bolt to hold the same in its re-- tired position when the said carrier is in its action-locking position and including a rearwardly-extending reach; and latch-means comprising a notch in the rear edge of the rearwardly-extending reach of said carrier and a notch-engaging member arranged to releasably engage in said notch to lock the breech-bolt engaging-portion of the carrier up in the path of movement of the breech-bolt to hold the said breech-bolt from moving forwardly into breechclosing position, said notch-engaging member having a manually-engageable portion arranged to project from the underside of the frame of said firearm for releasing the latch-engaging member from engagement with the notch in the rear edge of the rearwardly-extending reach of said carrier.

5. A repeating firearm having a frame and a barrel provided with a cartridge-chamber, and including in combination: a breech-bolt movable longitudinally in the frame of said firearm for chambering a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber of the barrel; a cartridge-magazine; a movable cartridge-carrier for transferring cartridges from the said magazine into a position for chambering by said breech-bolt, said cartridge-carrier having a chambering position and an action-locking position, a portion of said carrier being engageable with the said breech-bolt to hold the same in its retired position when the said carrier is in its action-locking position and including a rearwardly-extending reach; latch-means comprising a notch in the rear edge of the rearwardly-extending reach of said carrier and a notch-engaging member arranged to releasably engage in said notch to lock the breech-bolt engaging-portion of the carrier up in the path of movement of the breech-bolt to hold the said breech-bolt from moving forwardly into breech-closing position, said notch-engaging member having a manuallyengageable portion arranged to project from the underside of the frame of said firearm for releasing the latch-engaging member from engagement with the notch in the rear edge of the rearwardlyextending reach of said carrier; means mounted in said frame in engagement with said latch-engaging member to constantly urge said latch-engaging member into contact with the rear edge of the rearwardly-extending reach of said carrier for engagement with the notch therein.

6. A repeating firearm having a frame and a barrel provided with a cartridge-chamber, and including in combination: a breech-bolt movable longitudinally in the frame of said firearm for chambering a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber of the barrel; a cartridge-magazine; a movable and resilient cartridge-carrier for transferring cartridges from the said magazine into a position for chambering by said breech-bolt, said cartridge-carrier having a chambering position and an action-locking position; a lip on the forward end of said carrier engageable with the said breech-bolt to hold the same in its retired position when the said carrier is in its action-locking position; a rearwardlyextending reach in said carrier; latch-means comprising a transverse notch in the rear edge of the rearwardly-extending reach of said carrier and an inverted substantially U-shaped notchengaging member arranged to releasably engage in said notch to lock the breech-bolt engagingportion of the carrier up in the path of movement of the breech-bolt to hold the said breech-bolt from moving forwardly into breech-closing position; pivotal-means arranged to pivotally support said notch-engaging member in the frame of said firearm, said notch-engaging member having a manually-engageable portion extending downwardly from one leg thereof and arranged to project from the underside of the frame for releasing the notch-engaging member from engagement with the notch of the carrier; and a spring supported in the frame rearwardly of the notchengaging member and arranged to engage against the latter at a point thereon above its pivotal means to urge the notch-engaging member forwardly constantly into engagement with the rear edge of the rearwardly-extending reach of the cartridge-carrier for engagement in the notch thereof.

7. A repeating firearm having a frame and a barrel provided with a cartridge-chamber, and including in combination: a reciprocable breechbolt for chambering a cartridge in the cartridgechamber of the barrel; a tubular magazine; a pivotal cartridge-carrier for transferring cartridges from the said, tubular magazine into a position for chambering by said breech-bolt, said pivotal cartridge-carrier having a chambering position and an action-locking position; a forwardly-extending reach on said carrier provided with a breech-bolt engaging-portion for holding the breech-bolt in a retired position when the carrier is in its action-locking position, the said forwardly-extending reach of said cartridge-carrier and its breech-bolt engaging-portion being adapted when said carrier is in its chambering position to elevate a cartridge from said magazine into the path of movement of the breech-bolt for chambering thereby on the forward movement of the breech-bolt, the elevation of the cartridge by the carrier being such as to bring a cartridge into engagement with the underside of the top wall of the frame, thereby preventing pivotal movement of the carrier into its action-locking position; and latch-means comprising a member releasably engageable with the rear extremity of the pivotal carrier when the latter is in its action-locking position, to lock the breech-bolt engaging-portion of the carrier in the path of movement of the breech-bolt to hold the latter from moving forwardly into breech-closing position.

8. A repeating firearm having a frame and a barrel provided with a cartidge-chamber, and including in combination: a reciprocable breechbolt for chambering a cartridge in the cartridgechamber of the barrel; a tubular magazine; a pivotal cartridge-carrier for transferring cartridges from the said tubular magazine into a position for chambering by said breech-bolt, said pivotal cartridge-carrier having a chambering position and an action-locking position; a forwardly-extending reach on said carrier provided with a breech-bolt engaging-portion for holding the breech-bolt in a retired position when the carrier is in its action-locking position, the said forwardly-extending reach of said cartridge-carrier and its breech-bolt engaging-portion being adapted when said carrier is in its chambering position to elevate a cartridge from said magazine into the path of movement of the breech-bolt for chambering thereby on the forward movement of the breech-bolt, the elevation of the cartridge by the carrier being such as to bring a cartridge into engagement with the underside of the top wall of the frame, thereby preventing pivotal movement of the carrier into its action-locking position; latch-means comprising a member releasably engageable with the rear extremity of the pivotal carrier when the latter is in its actionlocking position, to lock the breech-bolt engagingportion of the carrier in the path of movement of the breech-bolt to hold the latter from moving forwardly into breech-closing position; resilient means mounted on said frame to actuate said pivotal carrier; and a second resilient means arranged to hold said latch-member in engagement with the rear extremity of said pivotal carrier.

9. A repeating firearm having a. frame and a barrel provided with a cartridge-chamber, and including in combination: a reciprocable breechbolt for chambering a cartridge in the cartridgechamber of the barrel; a tubular magazine; a pivotal cartridge-carrier for transferring cartridges from the said tubular magazine into a position for chambering by said breech-bolt said pivotal cartridge-carrier having a chambering position and an action-locking position; a forwardly-extending reach on said carrier provided with a breech-bolt engaging-portion for holding the breech-bolt in a retired position when the carrier is in its action-locking position, the said forwardly-extending reach of said cartridge-carrier and its breech-bolt engaging-portion being adapted when said carrier is in its chambering position to elevate a cartridge from said magazine into the path of movement of the breech-bolt for chambering thereby on the forward movement of the breech-bolt, the elevation of the cartridge by the earrierbeing such as to bring a cartridge into engagement with the underside of a projection on the top wall of the frame, thereby preventing pivotal movement of the carrier into its action-locking position; latch-means comprising a member releasably engageable with the rear extremity of the pivotal carrier when the latter is in its action-locking position, to lock the breech-bolt engaging-portion of the carrier in the path of movement of the breech-bolt to hold the latter from moving forwardly into breechclosing position; resilient means mounted on said. frame to actuate said pivotal carrier; and a second resilient means arranged to hold said latchmember in engagement with the rear extremity of said pivotal carrier, said latch-member having a manually-engageable portion arranged to project from the underside of said frame for releasing said latch-member from engagement with the rear extremity of said carrier.

PAUL A. No references cited.

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