Close-up lever action rifles
A still from the 2001 made-for-television western Crossfire Trail, directed by Simon Winser and starring Tom Selleck, Virginia Madsen and Wilford Brimley. So, what do we see here? Of course, the “Yellow Guy” hard drive, well, how can we do without it. Classics of the Wild West, classics of cinema!
Seems like a simple thing:
Luxurious this plain
On horseback slowly cross.
Lyrics by Y. Kim "The Man from the Boulevard des Capucines"
stories about weapons. The previous material on "lever rifles" aroused significant reader interest in the VO audience and many questions. Well, for example, “Where is Spencer, because he also has a lever?”, And why is there no Walter Hunt rifle, “because he is the first ...”. And the answers are simple. The Hunt rifle had a lever that combined the function of a lever and a trigger, which somewhat differs its design from the traditional “Winchester” device, where the lever-bracket is ... just a lever. In addition, shooting with "reactive bullets" ... For the same reason, the pistol, as well as the gun, "Volkanik" also did not hit that material. Still, these are the forerunners of a slightly different weapon.
By the way, this is what the first version of the Lewis Jennings rifle looked like - an improved version of Walter Hunt: an underbarrel magazine for "rocket bullets" "Rocket ball" and "lever" - sliding back and forth inside the bracket and at the same time also performing the function of a trigger. Photo rockislandauction.com
That is, the emphasis was precisely on the lever reloading systems. Well, it would be possible to delve into the various subtleties of structures ad infinitum. But here is one wish of a number of readers that can and should be taken into account. In addition to the general views named and shown in the previous material, they wanted to look at them somewhat from a closer distance. Well, today it is possible. Well, in the future we will also talk about rifles with a magazine in the butt, including those that were reloaded using a lever-shackle.
Shot from the film "The Last Stand on the Saber River". Pictured is the receiver of a Henry rifle. And it shows a hole for ejection of shells, which did not close
It did not close on the "Winchester" (carbine) of 1866, which was not the best technical solution ... Photo forgottenweapons.com
On the other hand, the design of the Model 1866 receiver (it was not always made only of brass!) was very charismatic and successful in itself. Nothing extra, right?! Photo forgottenweapons.com
Probably, the receiver of a "Winchester" type rifle could be shorter on a "lever rifle" designed by Schneider. It is described in some detail in the book by V. E. Markevich, where it is called “mutual lever”, but the author could not find a photograph of it, made in metal. However, if it were made, then, due to the design features, it would have - yes, most likely, the shortest receiver. It would be interesting to act in it and the shutter itself. He would not move back, as on other "hard drives", but would rise up and down in its grooves. At the same time, the extraction of cartridge cases and loading was carried out by Schneider not with a shutter, but with the help of a special lever!
Here is a diagram of the bolt device of a Schneider magazine rifle with an underbarrel magazine
In 1873, when another model of the “Winchester” rifle appeared, Andrew Burgess also patented his version of the “lever rifle” (it would still be more correct to call him, and not Burgess and not Borgess, like V. E. Markevich), who received for her patent No. 134589 dated January 7, 1873.
Diagram of a Burgess rifle from an 1873 patent
Scheme of the mechanism of the Burgess rifle: at the top - the mechanism with the shutter open; below - the shutter is locked. From the book of V. E. Markevich "Handguns", publishing house "Polygon", 1994
The shaped type of lever-bracket is designed in such a way that it turns the straight neck of the butt into a semi-pistol neck. Photo forgottenweapons.com
But the most important difference between this design and the "Winchester" one, of course, was hidden inside. The "Winchester" shutter was cylindrical, in the form of a rod, and moved horizontally, while cocking the trigger. In the Burgess, the bolt was retracted into the receiver and stood up vertically at the same time. In addition, it was connected to the lid. Here she was, in the grooves of the receiver, really moving back and squeezing the trigger.
Shutter cover is open. Photo forgottenweapons.com
Here the creative work of the inventor collided with the realities of the business world. The fact is that the Winchester company at that time took steps to penetrate the lucrative market for Colt shotguns and revolvers, and Colt reacted to this in a natural way, namely: by hiring Andrew Burgess, already famous for his developments, to create a rifle that could to compete with the Winchester of 1873. In 1878, such a rifle was created, but rejected during testing. But the 1883 Colt-Burgess was good, but it turned out to be the only attempt of the Colt company to enter the market of "cowboy" lever-action rifles.
They managed to make 6 rifles of the M400 model (both in the configuration of a rifle and in a configuration of a carbine) before the leaders of the Colt and Winchester met and agreed on a "separation of spheres of influence." As a result, Colt ceased production of the 1883 Colt-Burgess rifle and Winchester ceased development (and import) of its revolvers. Today, copies of this rifle are produced by the Uberti company, but there are very few original samples left on the antique market, so their price is very, very high.
The device of the rifle "Colt-Burgess" company "Uberti"
The receiver of the carbine "Colt-Burgess" 1883. Please note that it is very similar to the "Winchester". The differences are minimal: the cover of the charging window is moved forward, and the cartridges are shoved under it, while for the "hard drives" it is spring-loaded. Photo forgottenweapons.com
The shutter of the M1883 is U-shaped and moves horizontally. On the top of the receiver there is an oval window for ejection of cartridge cases. Photo forgottenweapons.com
Rifle "Colt-Burgess" 1883 with a bayonet. Photo Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc.
In a previous article about this rifle, it was said that it had a long receiver due to the fact that the bolt rolled in it on two gears. But how does it look on the diagram? Moreover, in his transmission, Ian McColum did not disassemble this particular rifle. And here's how - look at the diagram from the book by V. E. Markevich.
Bollard rifle
Indeed, look at this photo. Her receiver is indeed much longer than that of the Winchester and Burgess. In addition, the lever itself is shifted down along the neck of the butt. Photo forgottenweapons.com
One of the features of the Bollard rifle was the bolt cover, which consisted of two parts. The one closest to the barrel could be moved manually along the grooves back by the teeth in its back, but it could also move back in the process of opening the shutter. Photo forgottenweapons.com
The bolt in the receiver of a Bollard rifle with the bolt cover open. Photo forgottenweapons.com
Bollard rifle with an open bolt. The front cover completely covers the back. Photo forgottenweapons.com
Another example of a lever-action rifle: the Whitley-Kennedy rifle. Photo forgottenweapons.com
And this is a very rare Whitley-Sharf rifle in an even rarer caliber 38-40 Winchester. Photo forgottenweapons.com
Rifle "Whitley-Sharf". View from the left. Patent dated December 21, 1886. Photo antiquearmsinc.com
Whitley produced only 2 Scarf rifles around 000-1886 before it was bought and destroyed by the Winchester Repetition Arms. Despite their "purely industrial design," the Scarf rifle and its Whitley-Kennedy predecessors were quite elegant in appearance compared to other lever-action rifles such as the Bullard and Evans designs. However, their production was too expensive, and they could not compete with rifles from companies such as Winchester and Marlin.
W. Mason lever action rifle. Schematic from US Patent No. 545708, September 3, 1895. Left side view. Even such a trifle as an ammunition counter, he provided for that!
The fact that rifles with a lever occupied a certain niche in the market and would not leave it anywhere was obvious. But this did not stop the inventors, who began to attempt instead of a tubular underbarrel magazine to supply them with a middle magazine for powerful rifle cartridges. We know that such a design turned out, again, at the Winchester (and also at the Savage) in 1895, but other attempts are also known. In particular, one interesting design was patented in the same 1895 by the inventor William Mason.
W. Mason lever action rifle. Schematic from US Patent No. 545708, September 3, 1895. Right side view. The design, as you can see, is very stylish. Better than the Winchester M1895.
By the way, at first Mason worked at the Colt company, but left it and in 1882 went to work at the Winchester Repetition Arms. Although initially hired to design a revolver to compete with Colt's revolvers, Mason ended up prototyping many of John Moses Browning's designs. One of the most notable improvements to its design was the M1886 rifle.
The device of the shutter and the cartridge feed lever
In 1885, he became the company's chief mechanic, a position he held until his death on July 17, 1913. During his life, he received 125 patents for inventions in the field of firearms, ammunition, machines for their manufacture, steam pumps and looms. Company historian Mary Jo Ignoffo called Mason "one of the most significant constructors of the nineteenth century."
Scheme of a V. Mason rifle with a magazine filled with cartridges
Rifle Valentine Fogarty. Photo american-firearms.com
PS
But Valentine Fogarty's rifle, as it turned out, although it had a lever drive, was single-shot. And therefore it is not of particular interest in this particular case for us.
Little is known about her. Made in Boston between 1866 and 1869. 50 caliber, first made under the name of Fogarty Repetitive Arms Co. in 1866. In 1869, it was bought by the Winchester company, most likely in order not to produce competitors.
Winchester sold all of the company's equipment almost immediately after the deal was closed, and did not use any of the patents he bought from Fogarty, further evidence that the purpose of buying the company was simply to keep it out of the market.
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