Lock (firearm)

“ Nomenclature of the Gun Lock.—The number of pieces in a common gun lock, as shown, are thirteen, and are fully illustrated in the cut, Fig. 77. A, is the lock-plate; B, the hammer; C, mainspring; D, the bridle; E, the tumbler; F, the sear; G, the sear-spring; H, the swivel or stirrup; I, the sear-spring screw; K, K, K, the bridle screws; L, hole for side-screw. In some locks there are only two bridle screws. In others a screw holds the [240] mainspring to place instead of a lip catching under the stud. ”

“ Its main features may be summed up thus: 1st.—Each barrel in the gun is provided with its own independent lock or firing mechanism. 2nd.—All the locks revolve simultaneously with the barrels, carrier, and inner breech, when the 221gun is in operation. The locks also have, as stated, a reciprocating motion when the gun is rotated. The gun cannot be fired when either the barrels or locks are at rest. ”

“ Turkish, flint lock, carved stock, no ramrod. 1 ft. 7 in. 239 Pistols. Pair German duelling pistols, percussion locks, sweet briar handles; locks and barrels finely etched, with gold inlaying, barrels rifle grooved. Lindenschmidt Mainz on barrel; marked 1 and 2 respectively; of the finest mechanism. 2 pcs 240 Pistol. English, flint lock, brass barrel. D. GOFF. Very fine; small piece from stock. 1 ft. 2 in. 241 Pistol. French, flint lock, brass barrel. Du Bois & Fils. Very fine; stock slightly defective at end. 1 ft. 1⁄2 in. 242 Revolver. English, 5 barrels, extra fine and very heavy, perfect. ”

“ The principle of security is thus made to restrain the bolt without the intervention of any other agent; and the slightest inspection must convince, that no power can move the bolt, but that which also puts in motion the barrel.
Fig. 9, is the appearance of a Drawer Lock in its complete state.
It will be a task indeed of great difficulty, even to a skilful workman, to fit a key to this species of Lock, though its interior face were open to his inspection; for the sliders being raised, by the subjacent spring, to an equal height iv the barrel, present a plane surface ”

“ It soon came into use, for we find an advertisement in the Morning Post, December 23, 1808: “To Sportsmen. The Patent Gun-lock invented by Mr. Forsyth is to be had at No. 10, Piccadilly, near the Haymarket. Those who may be unacquainted with the excellence of this Invention [311] are informed that the inflammation is produced without the assistance of flint, and is much more rapid than in the common way. The Lock is so constructed as to render it completely impervious to water, or damp of any kind, and may, in fact, be fired under water.” ”

“ In taking down a lock the beginner should work slowly and cautiously, thinking in every case before acting. His screwdriver should be pressed well-down in the notch of every screw to prevent damage to the head, and if he apprehends the slightest danger of getting “things mixed,” he should lay each screw and its piece in different places upon his bench. Of course, there will be no such necessity after a few locks have been taken down, but such a necessity might exist at the very beginning; at least there is no harm to grow out of taking what is known to be the safe side in every case. ”

“ A bad lock, in these march-of-improvement days, is rarely fixed to a gun. Since the use of detonators has become general, the quality of the lock is not of so much consequence to the sportsman as it was previously. The quickness of firing with the old flint and steel locks depended so much on the workmanship of the lock, that a properly-tempered and well-filed one was invaluable. The introduction of detonators has by no means improved the quality of the workmanship of the lock—it has rather deteriorated it. ”

“ To do this, I purchased combination locks from all the leading manufacturers and plunged into the intricacies of their mechanism, and at the end of many months of almost constant investigation I felt satisfied that I had not thus applied myself in vain. I could pick every lock, work out every known train of numbers, and had mastered the finest system in the use of high explosives; and, what was of far greater importance than all, I had evolved a tiny instrument scarcely more formidable than a finely tempered piece of very small steel wire. ”

“ The simple fixed-guard or warded lock is so utterly worthless for security, no matter what amount of good workmanship be bestowed upon it, that it demands but short notice. It was contrived with the intention of making the passage to the bolt intricate; but it will be seen at once that this intricacy does not really offer any security. The wards of a lock are circular arcs of thin metal, so arranged as to require a key of peculiar pattern to pass amongst them, the shape of the cuts in the key being a section of the wards. ”

“ The barrel is usually longer than that of the more modern gun; and, in the case of the rifle, the stock (all wood) extends nearly to the muzzle. It is what, in later days, when half-stocks had been invented, was called a full-stock. As already intimated the interior mechanism of the lock differs very little from that of the more modern cap or percussion-lock. On the outside, in place of the cap-hammer is a cock arranged with two lips for holding a flint. The lips are brought together firmly upon the flint by means of a screw which passes down immediately back of it. ”

“ For the frame, a solid drop forging is milled to make a shell into which the working mechanism is fitted, and two types of frames are used in making the modern shotguns. The side-plate lock is really a development of the old hammer lock, with the striker inside. ”

“ The fate of the percussion-lock is now as much sealed as was that of the flint-lock at the test-trial of 1834. It is going the way of all its predecessors, and its entire extinction is only a matter of time. The breech-loader, with charge and ignition combined in the same cartridge, is rapidly taking its place, and, until some new and wonderful discovery comes to the surface, must, undoubtedly, stand paramount as the gun of the future. ”

“ When a gun begins to exhibit symptoms of having done its work, the sooner a man discards it the better. An injured barrel or enfeebled lock may prove fatal to the owner or his associates. Accidents every day occur, and very lamentable consequences proceed, from a culpable neglect in retaining arms which should be declared unserviceable and disused. ”

“ Turn the screwdriver edgeways and insert it behind the horns of the extractor and between the face of the barrel and front of the lock flange, and force the lock to the rear. (d) Turn crank handle on to the buffer spring, press down the extractor, raise the lock and remove the live cartridge, then lift out the lock. (iv) Damaged Parts of the Lock, no Spare Part being available. The gun will fire without the sear, or if the bents of the sear or firing pin are badly worn or broken off, but only single shots, and only by pressing and releasing the double button quickly. ”

“ It is true that iron safes have been made for some years in which any number of large bolts are shot by a handle and then locked by a very small key. But in such locks the key must be used in locking, and this leads to certain objections, viz. the key must occasionally at least be confided to some person whose duty it is to lock up the safe after the owner has left the place; there is also the temptation to leave the key in the lock, since it will be wanted in locking up; and thus there is the danger of some dishonest person taking an impression of the key. ”

“ Flint locks, whether as applied to the fowling-piece or the musket, will soon be forgotten, or remembered only to give a romantic interest to some tale of other times, as the arbalast and long-bow serve only to remind us of our Norman and Saxon ancestors! It requires some mechanical knowledge and some experience, to decide on the merit of a lock. ”

“ These are very good little padlocks, with an excellent lever action, 'dogged against detent,' as the technical phrase goes; so that only the key properly made for each lock will open it. They are so good, indeed, as locks, that it would be a waste of time to try picking them, when, because of their small size, it is so very easy to break them apart, just as you have done yourself, and just as I could probably have done in half the time, having had rather more experience. Now that is what has been done with your lock by the person who has your bonds. ”

“ The walls of steel or iron which separate the security parts from the tumblers, and the cylinder which revolves with the key, present formidable barriers to all descriptions of pick-locks, and render the lock a most positive and reliable security. The tumblers consist of rolled very smooth steel plates, in which the fire-crust has not been filed away, partly in order that the lock might not need oiling, as all these parts are very smooth, and partly that the [96] combination pieces might not easily rust, a thing to which the adhering fire-crust is not favourable. ”

“ Sports and Pastimes.—THE FOWLING-PIECE. THE LOCK—THE PERCUSSION SYSTEM—TRIGGERS—WADDING—AMMUNITION, ETC. The flint and steel lock, like the matchlock, has had its day; and the one is as likely as the other to supersede the detonator. There were some sportsmen who long retained the flint in preference to the copper-cap. Their partiality for the old system arose from their inability to depart from the manner of taking aim to which they had been accustomed—they fired too forward! It was said, too, that a barrel fired by a detonating lock, did not throw shot so efficiently as the other. ”

“ Howard’s Sporting Rifle, “The Thunderbolt.”—To clean the lock, take out the screw that attaches the back end of the yoke to the breech piece; unscrew the barrel; then take the nut from the back end of the sliding breech-pin, which with the mainspring and hammer, constitute the lock.
In using, if the operator does not wish to have the piece cocked, he has only to hold the trigger back while closing the guard, and it will not be cocked. To cock it from this position, he has only to open the guard a short distance, and close it. If he wishes to load and fire rapidly, it will cock itself. ”

“ Choke-dressing.—Dressing out the bore of a gun so as to make it slightly larger at the breech than at the muzzle.
Clamp, Mainspring.—A mainspring clamp is a kind of vise used by gunsmiths for clamping the mainspring preparatory to taking it from the lock.
Cock.—In flint-lock guns, that part of the lock which holds the flint. The name is also often applied to the hammer of percussion and other locks of more modern make. When the hammer has been pulled back to its last catch, we say the gun is cocked, or at full-cock ”

“ Where these locks are exposed to moisture or to the weather, they should be of bronze or of brass, with all of the interior construction of the same material. If required for great security, that is, for places where they are likely to be subjected to violence, they should be very heavy, and preferably provided with steel shackles. Padlocks constructed on the cylinder-lock principle may be obtained, and should always be used where a series of locks that are operated by separate keys and controlled by a master key is employed. ”

“ A lock operating on exactly the same principle but entirely different in construction (fig. 9) was invented by Joseph Bramah in 1784. It consists of an outer barrel aaaa, within which is a revolving barrel, cccc, held in place by a steel disk, dd, and provided with a pin b fixed eccentrically for operating the bolt; the barrel is prevented from turning by sheet metal sliders ss, which slide axially in radial grooves in the barrel and project into slots cut into the steel disk which is fastened to the case of the lock. ”

“ But the art of war, like every other, never goes backward, and men were not disposed to abandon the use of so mighty an agent as gunpowder, merely for the want of some weapon adapted to its use.
The fire-lock, named from its producing fire by friction, was the first improvement upon the match-lock. Its earliest form was that known as the wheel-lock, which is mentioned in a treatise on artillery by Luigi Collado, printed at Venice in 1586. He says that it had been lately invented in Germany. This lock consisted of a solid steel wheel, with an axle, to which was fastened a chain. ”

“ Under ordinary circumstances, as is well known, the cock of a barrel or cask is in no way secure from the action of any one who can approach near enough to touch it; and different methods have been adopted of obtaining this security or secrecy. One plan is to employ a perforated cap, soft-soldered to the barrel of the cock, immediately over the grooved plug, the top of which plug is formed to the shape of the perforation, and a socket-key of the same form is introduced to turn the plug or open the lock. ”

“ A lock for this purpose requires to be, first, very strong, and protected by hard steel, so as to be drill-proof; second, completely gunpowder-proof; third, simple in construction, so that it may never be liable to derangement. Locks on such safes as we are now describing are seldom anything but the last, and not always that. So weak and poor in its construction is this most important part of most of these safes, that workmen with the simplest tools have, with ease and without noise, forced open many of them in from five to fifteen minutes. ”

“ Without deranging position of the hand, rotate the pistol so the sights move to the left, the barrel pointing to the right front and up.
With the thumb and forefinger of the left hand (thumb to the right) grasp the slide and pull it toward the body until it stops, and then release it. The pistol is thus loaded, and the hammer at full cock.
If the pistol is to be kept in the hand and not to be fired at once, engage the safety lock with the thumb of the right hand.
If the pistol is to be carried in the holster, remove safety lock, if on, and lower the hammer fully down. ”