US2373213A - Receiver-assembly for firearms - Google Patents

Description

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T IIJ .IIIII--IIIIIII-II II I IIPIIIIIIIHHIIIIIHIIIIIIIUrI II. I IIIIIL I I I I I D. M. WILLIAMS RECEIVER-ASSEMBLY FOR FIREARMS Filed Feb. 2e, 1943 April 1o, 1945.

A1131'l 10, 1945. D. M. WILLIAMS 2,373,213A

RECEIVER-AS SEMBLY FOR FIREARMS Filed Feb. 2s, 194s 5 sheets-sheet 2 as mq 4o; 7011111710310," 3s

Apfi l0, 1945. D. M. WILLIAMS 2,373,213

RECEIVER-AS SEMBLY FOR FIREARMS Filed Feb. 26, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 PH 10, 1945- D. M. WILLIAMS 2,373,213

l RECEIVER-ASSEMBLY FOR FIREARMS Filed Feb. 26, 1943 5 sheets-sheet 4 ff 36' n s Y @A PR' i0,1945- D. M. WILLIAMS 2,373,213

RECEIVER-ASSEMBLY 'FOR FIREARMS Filed Feb. 26, 1943 5 Sheetsi-Sheet 5 69 have, Hrm

Patented pr. l0, 1945 RECEIVER-ASSEBIBLY FOR FIREARMS David M. Williams, New Haven, Conn., assignor to Western Cartridge Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Delaware Application February 26, 1943, Serial No. 477,207

3 Claims..

The present invention relates to improvements in firearms, and relates more particularly to improvements to receiver-assemblies and associated parts therefor.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a superior receiver-assembly for firearms which includes a receiver and a receiverplug mounted in the rear end of the said receiver to exclude foreign matter from the same but which is, in addition, so constructed and arranged as to enable the receiver-plug or closure to discharge other functions by its being shifted from one -position to another.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a superior receiver-assembly for firearms' which includes a receiver and a rotatable receiver-plug so constructed and arranged as to enable the said receiver-plug to function as means for rendering the firearm safe against unintentional discharge.

A Vfurther object of the present invention'is to provide a superior receiver-assembly of the character referred to and wherein a rotatable receiver-plug or closure is employed, which latter is so constructed and so related to associated features as to act as a seal for lateral apertures in the receiver proper when the said receiver-plug is rotated into one of its functioning positions.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a superior firearm-structure comprising a receiver, a rotatable receiver-plug and a reciprocating breech-bolt, and so constructed and arranged as to enable the said receiver-plug to function as releasable restraining-means for restraining chosen movements of the said breechbolt.

With the above and other objects in, View, as will appear to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art and which .are not claimed in any separate application.

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

Fig. 1 is a broken view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical central-longitudinal secf tion of the'central portion of a firearm embody- -ing the present invention and showing the hammer as cocked and the rotary receiver-plug in its normal position wherein the rearm may be discharged at will;

Fig. 2 is a top or plan View thereof;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 though less comprehensive and showing the rotary receiverof Fig. 3; 1 Fig. 9 is a broken transverse sectional View plug turned into its safety position to effect the Fig. 7 is a broken detail transverse sectional View taken on the line 1-`| of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a similar view taken on the line 8 taken on the-line 9--9 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 10 is a broken top or plan View of the receiver, the rear portion of the barrel, and associated parts, and showing the rotary receiver-' plug turned into its safety position and the.

breech-bolt and action-slide partly retired;

Fig. 11 is an underside view of the structure Fig. 14 is a broken View of the structure partly in side elevation and partly in vertical centrallongitudinal section, and showing the breech-bolt retired to the limit of its rearward movement, preparatory to being locked into substantially the said position by the partial rotation of the receiver-plug Fig. 15 is a view similar to Fig. 14 but in side elevation only and showing the receiver-plug turned suiiciently to eiect the locking-back of the breech-bolt and hence also the locking-back of the action-slide;

Fig. 16 is a top or plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 15; i

Fig. 17 is a transverse sectional view taken on' the line I'I-I'l of Fig. 14; f Fig. 18 is a similar View taken on the line |8-l of Fig. 15;

Fig. 19 is a broken longitudinal sectional View taken on the line I9--I9 of Fig. 15 with a portion t of the receiver in plan;

Fig. 20 is a perspective view of the rotary re ceiver-plug viewing the same mainly from the top;

Fig. 21 is also a perspective view of the receiverplug but viewing the same mainly from the undercommonY in firearm-structures.

Fig. '22 isa top or plan view of the receiver depresent invention includes a stock 30 which supports ia receiver 3|, a trigger-plate 32` and a bar'- The said barrel 33 is rigidlyr attacl'nedy rel 33.

at its rear end to the. receiver 3| in a .manner Throughout the major portion of its iength,r the barrel 33 has extending over its upper portion a barrel-cover.

' 34 which like thestock 3|! is preferably formed of wood or other heat-insulating f and shockabsorbing material. A

The receiver 3| yabove referred tois formed with a bore or mechanism-receiving chambery 35 extending longitudinally therethrough and 'having acontour rwhich is substantially cylindrical in lcharacter. Reciprocating'and oscillating in the mechanism-receiving chamber 35 in the'receiver 3| is 'a breech-bolt 36 which throughout `the majority of its length is of cylindrical formext'eriorly and which is formed at its forward end with a relatively-short radially-extending ioclring-lug 3T and a diametrically-opposte andy relatively-long combined operating-and-locking lug y33. Both of the lugs 351 and 38 fit into suitable l recesses in the'receiver '3| when the breech-bolt `is at the limit of its forward-movement, fao-effect ably guidedfor movement lengthwise of the rethe locking' ofthe breech-bolt ink such position.

` The breech-'bolt 36 has the outer portion of its combined operating-and-loelring lug" 38 projecting into a cam-recess 39 formed inthe inner face ofv the rear portion of an action-slide generally designated by the reference character 40. The coaction of the lug 38 and the surfaces ofthe cam-recess 39 serve to operatively interconnect the action-slide 4|) and the breech-bolt 36 for effecting the movement of the latter in a manner well known in the art and corresponding generally to the operative interconnection employed in the well-known Garand military rifle.` In its rear portion, the action-slide 43 is also formed with an outwardly-extending operatinghandle 4| by means of which the action-slide itself and also the breech-bolt 36 connected thereto may be retired in a manner" as will here-vv inafter appear.

At its forward end, the action-slide 4U is formed with an integral head generally designated by the reference character 42 and including a. transversely-extending relatively-heavy end-wall 43. From the perimeter of the head 42 just referred to, a relatively-thin lateral-wall 44 extends forwardly and normally laterally envelops a cylinder-lug 45 when the parts are in the positions in which they 'are shown in Fis. 1.

The cylinder-lug 45 above referred toiis formed integral with and offsets downwardly from ythe barrel 33 adjacent the rear end of the latter. The said cylinder-lug is formed with a rearwardly-opening piston-chamber 46 having its longitudinal axis extending in substantial parallelism with the longitudinal axis of the barrel 33. Leading forwardly and upwardly from the closed front end of the piston-chamber 46 is an inclined gas-passage 41 communicating at its as'rams forwardupper end with the borey 48 of the barrel 33 so asto conduct gas under pressure from the said bore to the forward portion of the pistonchamber 46 for purposes as will hereinafter appear.

cylinder-lug 45 is a rpiston generally designated by the reference-character 49. The said piston includes 'a relatively-large-diametered head 5t having ar substantially-gastight reciprocating fit in.` the .forward-portion of the piston-chamber 46, and a rearwardly-projecting.stem 5|. The saidste'm 5| of the piston 43fprojects rearwardly through a bushing 52 which is threaded into the rrear portion of the rearwardly-opening pistonf chamber 46 `in the cylinder-lug 45.

n The rearward movement of the piston 49 is limited by the engagement of the conically-fcontoured rear fa'ce of its head 5U' with the similarly-contoured forward edge of the bushing 52. The stem 5| of the piston 49 normally has its rear end limpinging against the forward face of the relatively-heavy end-wall 43 of the head 42 `of the action-slide 40, :as is sho-wn in Fig. 1.

The action-slide 46 abovereferred to is suitarm-structure in any suitable manner not requiringdetailed description herein. The said actionslide, liowever,v is yieldingly yurged forwardly into;

the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2,

by a helical breech-closing spring 53 acting at its forward end through theintermediary of u breech-closing plunger 54. The .rear poi-tion of the breech-closing rplunger fits within the forward end of the breech-closing spring 53 while its forward end. is engaged with the end-wall 43 of the action-slide head 42.v Thebreech-closing spring 53 extends rearwardly into a longitudinal spring-pocket 55 formed in the right. side-wall' y of the receiver 3|.

the action-slide 40 the breech-closing spring 33 exerts a constant but yielding effort to maintain the said action-slide in its foremost position :and hence also acts through the intermediary of the said action-slide to maintain the breech-bolt 3B in its breech-closing position.

- The stock 30 before referred to includes a buttstock-portion 5G and an integral forestock-portion 51. At about the junction-point of its buttstock-portion 56 and forestock-portion 5l, the stock 30 is formed with a vertical-longitudinal passage 58 extending therethrough from top to bottom and designed and adapted for the reception of portions of the firearm-structure, including the trigger-plate 32 before referred to and as is especially well shown in Fig. 1. Leading forwardly from the vertical-longitudinal passage 58 just referred to is a relatively-deep upwardlyopening longitudinal groove 5B located mainly in the upper portion of the forestock-portion 5l.

Leading rearwardly from the upper rear-portionv of the vertical-longitudinal passage 58 in the stock 3|) is a longitudinal groove 60 which is relatively shallow as compared to the groove 59 before referred to. Leading downwardly from the groove 60 just referred to is an upwardly-opening shallow recess 6| which communicates at its forward end with the rear end of the vertical-longitudinal passage 58, as is especially well shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The lower portion of the rear-wall of the passage 58 is formed with a notch 62 in which is installed a head-plate 63l Extending vertically between the shallow recess 6| and the notch 62 and in the portion of the Reciprocating in the piston-'chamber 4K6 of the stock lying immediately to the rear of the passage 53 therein, is a vertical cylindrical passage B4. Installed partly in the upwardly-opening recess 6| and partly in the vertical cylindrical passage 64 is a tensioning-xture 65 having a cylindrically-contoured upper face substantially corresponding in transverse curvature to the transverse curvature of the underside of the receiver 3|.

Inserted upwardly through the head-plate 63 and threaded into the lower end of the tensioning-fixture 65 is the relatively-large-diametered body-portion 66 of a tensioning-screw or member 6l. Formed integral with and upwardly-extending from the body-portion of the tensioning-screw 6l is a relatively-exible tensioning-pin B8 normally projecting upwardly through a couplingpassage 69 formed in the lower rear-portion of the receiver 3|.

The trigger-plate 32 before referred to is coupled in any approved manner tothe under-portion of the receiver 3| and coacts with the assembly comprising the head-plate 63, tensioning-fixture 65 and associated parts in a manner not requiring detailed description hereinbut shown and described in detail in copending application Serial No. 473,111 led January 21, 1943.

Mounted in the trigger-plate 32 and normally extending upwardly into thel mechanism-receiving chamber 35 of the receiver 3| is a hammer generally designated by the reference character 1|) and turning upon a hammer-pin '1| extending transversely of the said trigger-plate 32. The said hammer 19 is formed on its forward upper face with an impact-lug 'l2 which is adapted to strike the rear-face of the laterally-projecting head 73 of a firing-pin M t0 effect the discharge of the rearm. The said firing-pin 74 is carried by and reciprocates in the breech--boli-l 36 before described, in a manner familiar to those skilled in the art. The hammer 10 is provided with a downwardly-and-rearwardly-extending integral hammer-tail 15 having on its lower forward corner a cooking-abutment 1B which is adapted to be engaged by the under-face of a Sear-nose 'Il' rearwardly extending from the upper end of a scar-arm 18 forming an integral feature of a trigger 19. The said trigger 19 is mounted for pivotal movement upon a. trigger-pin extending transversely across the 4lower rear-portion of the trigger-plate 32.

For the purpose of swinging the hammer 'Ill in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 1), a helical hammer-spring 8| is employed. The said hammer-spring 8|, in the instance shown, encircles a, plunger B2 and thrusts the same generally in an upward direction. The outer end of the plunger 82 bears in the under portion of the hammer-tail 'l5 near the junction thereof with the main portion of the hammer, while the opposite end of the said plunger reciprocates in a ,trunnion-block 83 pivoted in the trigger-plate 32. As shown, the lower or inner end of the hammerF spring 8| "pears upon the upper surface of the trunnion-block 83 and by urging the plunger 32 outwardly, the said hammer-spring serves, in turn, to urge the hammer 10 to turn in a clockwise direction when released by the Sear-arm 18.

The receiver 3| before referred to generally speaking is of tubular form though at its rear end the upper wall of the receiver is cut away to substantially the horizontal median line of the receiver to form a receiver-lip 84 substantially of semioircular form in cross section having the coupling-passage 69 before referred to located in the bottom portion thereof. Formed in the upper right-hand wall-portion of the receiver 3| and leading forwardly from the rear end thereof is a guide-slot 85. At its forward end the guide-slot 85 is widened out toward the left side of the receiver to provide, in eiect, an ejection-opening 85 through which cartridge-cases may be ejected when the breech-bolt 3G is retired rearwardly. In its lower wall forwardly of the receiver-lip 94, the

'receiver 3| is formed with a clearance-passage 70a leading downwardly from the mechanism-receiving chamber 35 in the receiver and providing for the movement of the hammer lli).

The receiver-lip 84 at the rear end of the receiver 3| is formed with a series of parallel coupling-ribs 81 extending crosswise thereof and following the cylindrical contour of the inner or upper face of the said receiver-lip 84 as is especially well shown in IFigs. 22 and 23.

lFitting within the otherwise open rear-end of the mechanism-receiving chamber 35 of the receiver 3| is a receiver-plug or closure generally designated bythe reference character 88. The said receiver-plug is cylindrically contoured, and generally speaking may be said to be of relativelydeep cup-shaped form and comprising an endwall 89 and a substantially-annular lateral-wall 90 integral with and projecting forwardly from the said end-wall 89. On the periphery of its rear portion, the receiver-plug 88 is formed with a series of coupling-ribs 9| respectively spaced from each other in a direction longitudinally of the receiver-plug and extending around substantially the lower half of the periphery of the said receiver-plug. The said coupling-ribs 9| of the receiver-plug 88 normally intert between the similarly-shaped coupling-ribs 8l formed in the upper surface of the receiver-lip 84. ,Ihe lengths of both of the sets of coupling-ribs 8l and 9| in a direction circumferentially of the receiver-plug 88 are slightly less than 180 to permit the disengagement of the said sets of coupling-ribs one from the other in a manner as will hereinafter appear. Normally, however, when the couplingribs 9| of the receiver-plug 88 are interengaged with the coupling-ribs Sl of the receiver-lip 84, the said receiver-plug is rmly locked in place in the rear-portion of the mechanism-receiving chamber 35 of the receiver 3| against axial displacement and with capacity, however, for transverse turning movement, all for purposes as.will more fully hereinafter appear. l

Radially projecting from the rear portion of the outer periphery of the receiver-plug 98 is an integral lug 92. Extending radially through the end-wall 89 of the receiver-plug lili and also radially outwardly through the said lug 92 is a socket 93. Mounted in the inner end of the said socket is a helical spring 9d which loutwardly urges a plunger 95 mounted in the outer portion of the said socket S3 and normally projecting outwardly beyond the outer end thereof for pur poses as will presently appear.

Fitting over the radial lug 92 at the rear end of the receiver-plug 83 is a hollow finger-piece 96 pivoted to the said lug 92 by a pivot-pin 91 located forwardly of the spring-pressed plunger 95 and extending substantially perpendicularly with respect thereto as is especially well shown in Figs. 2 and 19. The spring-pressed plunger 95 presses outwardly upon the portion of the ringerpiece 96 located to the rear of the pivot-pin 91 yand hence exerts a yielding effort, under the force of the spring 94, to turnthe finger-piece 99 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 2 and 19. At its forward portion, the nger-piece 98 is formed with an integral inwardly-projecting' tang 98 which, in a manner as will hereinafter appear, serves to releasably retain the receiverplug 88 in any one of a plurality of positions of rotation within the rear end of the mechanismreceiving chamber 35 in the receiver 3l. On occasion the inner end of the tang 98 just referred to is adapted to fit into a clearance-notch 99 formed in the periphery of the receiver-plug 88.

Inthe portion of its periphery having couplingribs Si thereon, the receiver-plug 88 is formed with a circumferentially-extending limiting-slot IBG which receives the upper end of the tensioning-pin 68 before referred to. The coaction of the respective opposite ends of the limiting-slot lilo with the respective opposite sides of the upper end of the tensioning-pin 68 serves to limit the rotation of the receiver-plug 88 so long as the receiver 3! and associated parts remain assembled with the stock 3E.

Adjacent one end of the transverse limitingslot It!) just above referred to, the receiver-plug S8 is formed with a longitudinal clearance-slot Il which i designed to provide clearance for the laterally-projecting head i3 of the firing-pin c 1d in a manner as will hereinafter appear. The forward portion of the clearance-slot ll is relatively wide in a direction circumferentially of the receiver-plug and extends to and intersects the forward end of the said receiver-plug, as is especially well shown in Fig. 21. The forward portion of the longitudinal clearance-slot |01 also serves on occasion to accommodate the radiallyprojecting locking-lug 31 at'the forward end of the breech-bolt 3E under conditions as will hereinafter appear. About midway of its length, one wall of the longitudinal clearance-slot lill is shaped to provide a sloping hammer-retiring cam 02 which serves to coact with the upper end of the hammer li! to forcibly retire the same in a manner as will hereinafter appear.

At a point substantially diametrically opposite the relatively-wide forward end of the longitudinal clearance-slot lill above referred to, the receiver-plug 8S is formed with another longitudinal clearance-slot ID3 which intersects the forward end of the receiver-plug and extends but a relatively-short distance rearwardly therefrom. The last-mentioned clearance-slot 103 is adapted to receive the combined operating-andlocking lug 38 which projects radially from the forward end of the breech-bolt 36 at a point substantially diametrically opposite the lockinglug 32' thereon. Formed integral with one wall of the clearance-slot 03 and projecting circumferentially in a counterclockwise direction therefrom, is a bolt-retaining finger |84 having a rearwardly-facing bolt-retaining abutment 105 which latter is adapted to engage on occasion with the forward face of the combined operating-andlocking lug 33 of the breech-bolt 36 to restrain the same in its retired position, all in a manner as will hereinafter appear.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the receiver-plug 8f3 is adapted to be turned about its longitudinal axis within the rear-end of the mechanism-receiving chamber 35 in the receiver 3 I, to various degrees for various purposes as will hereinafter appear. The said receiver-plug may beturned manually by means of its pivotal fingerpiece 96.

Before proceeding to describe the operation of the firearm-mechanism shown and described', it is thought best to first outline some of the functions of the receiver-plug 88.

Amongpthe functions-discharged by the receiver-plug cmay' be mentioned the following:

l(a.) Serves as a. closurefor the rear-end of the receiver 3| to exclude foreign matter therefrom.;

(b) Serves as a closure for the rear-portion of the guide-slot in the receiver 3l`when the receiver-'plug is turned into its so-called safety position and when the breech-bolt is in its forward breech-closingv position;

(c) The inner face of its end-wall 89 serves as a stop to check the rearward movement of the breech-bolt as the same is thrown back following the discharge of the firearm;

(d) Serves to retire and lock the hammer l0 or other firing-member against turning movement to effect the discharge of the firearm, when the receiver-plug is turned into its so-called safety position;

(e) Serves when in its safety position to permit but limit the rearward travel of the breechbolt so as to allow the same to be retired to a degree suicient for the user to ascertain the presencel or absence of a cartridge in the cartridgechamber of the firearm but without permitting the full extraction and ejection of such cartridge; and

(f) Serves to releasably hold the breech-bolt in substantially its fully-retired position.

OPERATION Let it be assumed that the hammer is cocked as shown in Fig. l, and that the receiver-plug 88 is turned into its so-called ring position as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 7. The term firing position as employed herein refers to the position of the receiver-plug 8B when the same is in a position of non-interference with the discharge of the firearm.

With the hammer l0 cocked as shown in Fig. 1, the rearm may be discharged by pulling rearwardly upon the finger-piece of the trigger 'I9 to thereby release the hammer 10 to the action of the hammer-spring 8l Upon its release, the hammer 1B will snap rapidly in a clockwise direction to impinge its impact-lug 12 against the head 'I3 of the firing-pin 14, thereby driving the same forwardly and effecting the discharge of the rearm in a manner well understood in the art.

As soon as the firearm is discharged, gas under pressure from the bore 48 of the barrel 33 will pass downwardly through the inclined gas-passage 4'! into the forward end of the piston-chamber 46. The entry of gas under pressure into the piston-chamber as just described will serve to force the piston 49 rearwardly to correspondingly move the action-slide 45. The rearward travel of the piston 49 will continue a short distance until the rear face of its head 50 engages with the forward edge of the bushing 52. The action-slide and associated parts will, however, continue by virtue of their now-acquired momentum to move a much greater distan-ce rearwardly, i. e., until the breech-bolt 36 has reached substantially the position in which it is shown in Fig. 14 wherein its rearward movement is checked by the forward face of the end-wall 89 of the receiver-plug 88.

In traveling rearwardly as above described, the action-slide 4E! will act through its cam-recess 39 to iirst partly turn the breech-'bolt 36 in a counterclockwise direction and then to move. the same rearwardly into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 14. In the figure referred to it will be noted that the combined operating-and-locking lug 38 has been accommodated in the longitudinal clearance-slot |03 while under these conditions the diametrically-opposite locking-lug 31 of the breech-bolt will be accommodated in the fori'ilalrd `portion of the relatively-wide clearance-slot The rearward movement of the breech-bolt as just above described will, in a manner well understood in the art, effect the extraction and ejection of the case of the just-fired cartridge.

Following the full retirement of the breech-bolt as above described, the breech-closing spring 53 will assert itself and again restore the parts to the positions in vwhich they are shown in Figs. 1 and 2 preparatory to another discharge of the The safety setting of the receiver-plug 88 When the hammer is cocked and the firearm is in readiness for discharge as shown particularly well in Figs. l and 2, the firearm may be rendered safe, so to speak, by first swinging the forward portion of the finger-piece 90 of the receiver-plug 88 outwardly and rearwardly and then raising the said finger-piece to thereby turn the said receiver-plug in a counterclockwise direction (as viewed from the rear of the firearm). In this manner the parts just referred to will shift; from the positions in which they are shown in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and '1 into the positions in which they are shown in Figs. 3, 4, 6 and 8. The swinging of the finger-piece 96 (prior to being lifted) about its pivot-pin 91 is to retire its tang 98 outwardly from the clearance-notch 99 'in the receiver-plug and from beneath the upper wall of the longitudinal guide-slot 85. Then upon being lifted as described, the tang 98 of the finger-piece 96 will come to rest in a stop-notch |06 in the upper wall of the receiver 3|.

The turning movement of the receiver-plug 88 as above described will cause the hammer-retiring cam |02 thereof to act against the adjacent upper portion of the hammer 10 and thereby swing the same in a counterclockwise direction into the position in which the said hammer is especially well shown in Fig. 3, and thereafter interpose the portion of the lateral wall 90 `of the receiver-plug between the said hammer and the firing-pin 14. Thus, the 4hammer 10 is retired into a so-called over-cocked position and positively retained therein by the receiver-plug so that when the latter is restored to its so-called firing positionthe hammer will swing in a clockwise direction and again be caught by the scar-nose 11 of the scar-arm 18.

In turning the receiver-plug 88 from its firing position (Fig. 1) into its safety position (Fig. 3), should the operator attempt to swing the fingerpiece 96 so that its tang 98 moves beyond the stop-notch |06 in the receiver, the engagement of one wall of the transverse limiting-slot |00 with the upper end of the tensioning-pin 68 will serve to check such movement.

In its turning movement as above described the receiver-plug 88 remains firmly coupledto the receiver 3| against axial movement relative thereto by the interlocking effects of the two sets of coupling- ribs 81 and 8|.

After the firearm has been rendered safe as above described,vthe user of the firearm will on occasion commence to wonder as to whether or not the firearm is loaded. With ordinary firearms the user will draw back upon the breechbolt to secure an answer to the question and in most instances will unintentionally extract and eject a cartridge if one is at the time in the cartridge-chamber of the firearm. It is very difficult in ordinary firearms to withdraw the breechbolt only partly, since the start of the retirement of the breech-bolt is usually the most diiiicult and, following its starting, the breechbolt moves relatively easily, with the result that before the user knows what has happened the cartridge is completely extracted and ejected and in all probability lost in the dirt. With the present construction, however, and when the receiver-plug is in its safety position, the user of the firearm may readily secure an answer to the question as to whether or not a cartridge is'in the cartridge-chamber by moving the breechbolt rearwardly by means of the action-slide 40. The rearward movement of the breech-bolt will, however, be limited to a distance corresponding to but a fraction of the length of the cartridge, due to the fact that the laterally-projecting head 13 of the firing-pin 14 will engage with a forwardly-facing stop-abutment |01 located on a forward edge of the receiver-plug adjacent one side of the circumferentially-widened forwardportion of the longitudinal clearance-slot i0! in the receiver-plug 88 just forwardly of the hammer-retiring cam |02 therein.

In this manner the user of the rearm will be able to ascertain the presence or absence of a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber of the firearm without running the hazard of unintentionally eifecting the ejection of such cartridge, due to the unintentional full retirement of the breech-bolt.

It is also to be noted that when the receiverplug 88 is turned into its safety position which is the normal position under which the firearm would be carried, the lateral wall 90 of the receiver-plug has swung into position whereby it acts as a closure for the rear-portion of the longitudinal guide-slot in the receiver 3| to thereby effectively exclude foreign matter from the interior of the' receiver. Under the conditions just described, the ejection-opening 8S and associated cuts or openings in the receiver are closed by the periphery of the breech-bolt 36 itself.

The bolt-retaining position of the receiverplug 88 As is well known to users of rearms, it is very often desirable to hold a breech-bolt in its fully-retired position and in the present structure and as has been before noted, the receiverplug 88, or its equivalent, is designed to effect' such result.

When it is desired to hold the breech-bolt 36 in substantially its rearrnost position, the said breech-bolt may be retired into such position by drawing rearwardly upon the action-slide 40 to bring the parts into the positions in which they are shown in Fig. 14. This movement is accomplished while lthe receiver-plug S8 is in its so-called firing position, as shown.

When the breech-bolt is retired as just described, its combined operating-and-locking lug 38 will be entered into the longitudinal clearance-Slot |03 in the forward part of the lateral wall 90 of the receiver-plug, so that the front face of the said lug 38 will be located rearwardly of the plane of the bolt-retaining abutment |05 of the receiver-plug 88. f

With the breech-bolt retired and positioned as just above referred to, the same may be latched or retained in such position by rotating the receiver-plug 88 in a counter-clockwise direction from its .so-called firing position into the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1.5, 16, 18 and 19, which position is one intermediate its ring position and safety position.

When the receiver-plug 58 is swung from ,its ring position into its bolt-latching position, the bolt-retaining finger IFM of the said receiverp-lug will be .shifted intoa position Ain front of the combined operating-and-locking plug 38 of the breech-bolt. Now when the breech-bolt 36 is freed of manual restraint, the breech-closing spring Edv/ill assert itself and endeavor to rcturn the breech-bolt and associated parts to their foremost positions. The interposition Of the bolt-retaining abutment HB of the receiverplug in the path of return movement `of the breech-bolt will, however, check such forward movement. The tang 98 of the iinger-piece 95 of the receiver-plug 88 will under the conditions just described rest upon the sloping upper wall of the guide-slot 85 in the receiver Si. The parts will b-e restrained in the positions just referred to by the friction between the abutment 195 land the front face of the lug 38 of the breech-bolt.

A slight manual pressure exerted upon the upper face of the finger-piece 96 of the receiverplug d8 will serve to turn the receiver-plug from its bolt-retaining position into its firing position and thereby release the previously-latched breech-bolt and associated parts for forward movement into the positions in which they are particularly well shown in Figs. l and 2, in readiness for the discharge of the firearm. The release of the breech-bolt from its retention may also be effected by slightly rearwardly moving the breech-bolt to thereby relieve the friction between the parts 3g and |85.. This action will permit the spring Qd to act through the finger-piece S5 and the tang 28 to cause the latter, by camming action on the sloping upper wall of the guide-slot 35, to return the receiverplug 83 to its ring position.

When the finger-piece 96 is swung downwardly, its tank 93 will swing inwardly beneath the upper wall of the guide-slot 85 in the receiver 3l and enter the clearance-notch 99 in the periphery of the receiver-plug 88. In this .manner the receiver-plug is latched in its ring position to guard against the unintentional or accidental movement thereof out of such position. To effect the turning movement of the receiver-plug out of its firing position, it is first necessary to swing the finger-piece 9G thereof so as to withdraw the tang 93 from beneath the upper wall 4of the guideslot 85 in the receiver 3l The 'femoral of the receiver-plug 8 8 from the receiver In order to remove the receiver-plug 88 from the receiver, it is first necessary to dismount the unit comprising the receiver 3l, trigger-plate 32, barrel 33 and associated parts from the stock 30. This removal serves to completely remove the coupling-passage Si! in the receiver-lip 84 from the upper end of the tensioning-pin 88.

Now by swinging the tang of the finger-piece 96 of the receiver-plug sa outwardly, the entire receiver-plug may be turned substantially 180 in a counterclockwise direction from its firing position into its releasing position, as indicated in Figs. l2 and 13. The rotation of the receiverplug 88 to the extent just referred to will serve to completely disengage its series of couplingribs 9| from the similar coupling-ribs 81 of the receiver-lip 84. Thereceiver-plue 88 may now be Withdrawn axially rearwardly completely out of the Vrear end of the receiver 3l, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 12. Following the removal of the receiver-plug 88, the breech-bolt 3.6 may be removed through the now-open rear end of the receiver after the action-slide 40 has been disengaged from the lug 38 of the breech-bolt.

General considerations For purposes of description, the hammer 1D, the firing-pin 14 and the breech-bolt 36 may be viewed as comprising portions of a firing-mechanism, since the said parts are jointly and severally involved in effecting the discharge of the firearm.

The receiver-plug 88 or its equivalent as thus constructed and arranged not only serves to positively lock the hammer against moving into its firing position but also acts as a stop for the breech-bolt when the same is `thrown fully backwardly as a result of the discharge of the firearm. The said receiver-plug also acts as a stop to limit the rearward movement of the breechbolt to a slight distance as shown in Figs. 10 and l1, to permit the ascertainment of the presence or absence of a cartridge in the cartridge-chamber of lthe firearm. In addition to the functions just described, the receiver-plug 88 excludes foreign matter from entry directly into the rear end of the receiver and also excludes foreign matter from radial entry into the receiver through its guide-slot when the receiver-plug is turned into its safety position. Also and as before noted, the receiver-plug may be utilized to hold back the breech-.bolt in its fully-retired position.

The invention may be carried out in `other specificways 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 firearm-structure including in combination: a receiver having a. longitudinal mechanismreceiving chamber therein intersecting its rear end; a transversely-oscillatable receiver-closure located at the rear of the said receiver in position to close the rear end of the mechanism-receiving chamber therein; Coupling-means constructed and arranged to releasably couple the said receiver-closure to the said receiver against axial displacement but with capacity for transverse oscillating movement with respect thereto; a breech-bolt reciprocating in the mechanism-receiving chamber of the said receiver adjacent the vsaid receiver-closure and having a rearwardlyfacing stop-abutment; a forwardly-facing stop abutment carried by the said receiver-closureand movable by a transverse oscillating 4lfrlovcmenfof the said receiver-closure into and out Qf potion to engage with the stop-abutment of the Said breech-bolt to block the normalrearward movement of the said breech-bolt.; apivotal hammer extending in the mechanism-receiving .chamber of the said receiver adjacent the said receiverclosure; and blocking-means carried by the v said receiver-closure and movable yby a transverse oscillating movement of the said receiver-closure into position to coact with the said pivotal hammer to block the firing movement thereof coincidentally with the movement of the aforesaid forwardly-facing stop-abutment into` position .to

engage with the rearwardly-facing stop-abutment of the said breech-bolt.

2. A rearm-structure including in combination: a receiver having a longitudinal mechanism-receiving chamber therein intersecting its rear end and also having a lateral opening leading outwardly from the said mechanism-receiving chamber; a transversely-oscillatable hollow receiver-closure located at the rear of the said receiver in position t0 close the rear end of the mechanism-receiving chamber therein and having a lateral opening movable by a transverse oscillating movement of the receiver-closure into and out of registration with the' lateral opening in the said receiver; coupling-means constructed and arranged to releasably couple the said receiverclosure to the said receiver against axial displacement but with capacity for transverse oscillating movement with respect thereto; a breech-bolt reciprocating in the mechanism-receiving chamber of the saidreceiver adjacent the said receiverclosure and provided with a laterally-projecting lug movable into and out of the respective lateral openings in the receiver and receiver-closure, the said breech-bolt having a rearwardly-facing st-opabutment; a forwardly-facing stop abutment carried by the said receiver-closure and movable by a transverse oscillating movement of the said receiver-closure into and out of position to engage with the stop-abutment 0f the said breech-bolt to block the rearward movement thereof; a pivotal hammer extending in the mechanism-receiving chamber of the said receiver adjacent the said receiver-closure; andblocking-means carried by the said receiver-closure and movable by a transverse oscillating movementl of the said receiverclosure into position to coact with the said pivotal hammer to block the ring movement thereof when the said receiver-closure is oscillated into position to bring its lateral opening out of registration With the lateral opening in the said receiver coincidentally with the movement of the aforesaid forwardly-facing stop-abutment into positionto engage with the rearwardly-facing stop-abutment of the said breech-bolt.

3. A rearm-structure including in combination: a receiver having a longitudinal mechanism-receiving chamber therein intersecting its rear end and also having a lateral opening leading outwardly from the said mechanism-receiving chamber; a transversely-oscillatable hollow receiver-plug extending within the rear of the mechanism-receiving chamber in the said receiver in position to close the same, the said receiver-plug also having a lateral opening movable by a transverse oscillating movement of the receiver-plug into and out of registration with the lateral opening in the said receiver; couplingmeans constructed and arranged to releasably couple the said receiver-plug within the said receiver against axial displacement therein but with capacity for transverse oscillating movement with respect-thereto; a breech-bolt reciprocating in the mechanism-receiving chamber of the said receiver adjacent the said receiver-plug and provided With a laterally-projecting lug movable into and outl of the respective lateral openings in the receiver and the receiver-plug, the said breechbolt having a forwardly-facing retaining-abutment on its said lug; a rearwardly-facing boltretaining abutment carried by and located in the lateral opening in the said receiver-plug and movable by a transverse oscillating movement of the said receiver-plug into and out of position to engage with the retaining-abutmentl of the said breech-bolt to hold the breech-bolt in its retired position when the said receiver-plug is turned into position to bring its lateral opening partly out of registration with the lateral opening in the

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