US3068601A

US3068601A - Stunning pistol for use in slaughtering animals

Info

Publication number: US3068601A
Application number: US832068A
Authority: US
Inventors: John B Arrowsmith
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-08-06
Filing date: 1959-08-06
Publication date: 1962-12-18
Anticipated expiration: 1979-12-18

Description

1962 J. B. ARROWSMITH STUNNING PISTOL FOR USE IN SLAUGHTERING ANIMALS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 6, 1959 FIG.!.

35343332 363l0- 42 Ill 1962 J. B. ARROWSMITH 3,068,601

STUNNING PISTOL FOR USE IN SLAUGHTERING ANIMALS Filed Aug. 6, 1959 s Sheets$heet 2 Dec. 18, 1962 J. B. ARROWSMITH 3,068,601

STUNNING PISTOL FOR USE IN SLAUGHTERING ANIMALS Filed Aug. 6, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 II II A 2 I I a ll llfljl/ Q LL 3,068,601 STUNNING PISTOL FOR USE EN SLAUGHTERING AN John B. Arrowsmith, Talford St., Aston, Birmingham 8, England Filed Aug. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 832,068 12 Claims. (Cl. 42-1) This invention has reference to appliances for use in the slaughtering of animals, of the kind comprising a piston which is accommodated and is reciprocable in a barrel, and is provided with an integral and co-axial bolt, the piston being adapted, upon tripping a spring-loaded firing pin accommodated in the appliance adjacent a breech block assembled to the rear or breech end of the barrel, and consequent firing of a live cartridge previously loaded into the said block, to be driven forwardly along the barrel by the resulting explosion so as to expel the bolt outwardly of the other or muzzle end of the barrel, into forcible impact with an animals forehead, the muzzle and forehead-impacting end of the bolt either being adapted to penetrate the forehead or, alternatively, being provided with a head (known and hereinafter referred to, as a knocker head) which is adapted to be driven into forcible impact with the forehead so as to stun the animal as the piston is driven forwardly by the explosion.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved appliance of the above-mentioned kind, which is simple and eflicient in operation.

Another object of the invention is to ensure that, until such time as the appliance is gripped in a predetermined manner, the firing pin is not conditioned for actuation, so that even if a live cartridge should be loaded into the breech and the appliance should be dropped or knocked accidentally or inadvertently, nevertheless it is essentially safe.

Still another object of the invention is to enable the appliance to be serviced with speed and ease without requiring the use of special tools.

The above and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which two typical embodiments of the invention are shown by way of example.

In the said drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional elevation of an appliance, constructed in accordance with the invention, wherein a knocker head is fitted upon the muzzle end of the bolt.

FIGURE 2 is a section along the line IIII, FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a section along the line III-III, FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 4 is an elevation, partly broken away, of the breech end of the appliance shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional elevation of an appliance, constructed in accordance with the invention, provided with a bolt which is adapted to penetrate an animals forehead when expelled outwardly of the muzzle of the barrel.

The appliance shown in FIGURES 14, comprises a body having a transverse bore 11 in its head, a pocket 12 opening to its underside, and a chamber 13 between the said bore and pocket. The breech end of a barrel 14 is socketed into, and is rotatable about the barrel axis within the bore 11 and the muzzle end of the said barrel projects from the bore forwardly of the body head.

To retain the barrel in a rotatable and removeable manner, the body is formed with a rearward extension 15 of which the upper surface 16 is arcuate and concave and serves as a seat for a cylindrical breech block 17 having a threaded and forwardly-projecting, sleeve-like extension 18, the breech end of the barrel is tapped and 3,058,601 Patented Dec. 18, 1962 the said threaded extension is screwed into the said barrel end; in addition, the forwardly projecting muzzle end of the barrel is screw-threaded at l? and is screw-engaged by a tapped collar 20 which is tightened against a thrust plate 21 mounted upon the front of the body, so as to draw the breech block on to an annular body shoulder 22. The said collar is locked against rotation relatively to the barrel, by a split ring 23 which is disposed within an external circumferential groove 24 in the collar and of which one inwardly turned end 25 extends through either one of two radial holes 26 (of which one is shown in FIGURE 1) in the said collar, into engagement with an appropriate one of eight indents 27 formed in the external surface of the barrel at equiangular distances apart.

A piston 23 which is a sliding fit within the sleeve-like extension 18 is integral with a co-axial bolt 29. The bolt is of a length such that it projects beyond the muzzle end of the barrel and is provided, adjacent the piston, with an annular shoulder 30 which is a sliding fit within the barrel bore, its projecting muzzle end being a sliding fit within an axial bore of a threaded muzzle piece 31 which is screwed into the tapped muzzle end of the barrel, and is formed, in its external periphery, with a number of longitudinal venting slots 31a of which one only is shown in FIGURE 1.

The said muzzle piece projects beyond and forwardly of the muzzle end of the barrel its projecting portion being of larger diameter than its threaded portion, being in abutment with the rim of the barrel, having one system of radial holes 32 adapted to be engaged by a tommy bar or equivalent tool whereby the piece may be screwed tightly against the barrel rim, and with a second system of radial holes 33 of which the inner ends are of restricted diameter whereas the outer ends open into a circumferential channel in the said larger diameter projecting portion, and in each of which a corresponding ball 34 is accommodated, the said balls being retained in their respective holes and being constrained to seat upon and project through the restricted diameter ends of the said holes, by a tensioned resilient band 35 disposed Within the said channel so that a portion of each ball protrudes into a central pocket or recess 36 in the end face of the projecting portion of the muzzle piece.

A knocker head 37 is socketed on to the muzzle end of the bolt 29 and is detachably secured upon the said bolt by a grub screw 38. The knocker head is adapted to enter the recess 36 in the end face of the muzzle piece and to seat upon the base of the said recess so as to limit the travel of the bolt and piston inwardly of the barrel towards the breech block and ensure that, at the termination of the said travel, a clearance 39 of a predetermined dimension axially of the barrel, exists between the end face of the piston 28 and the closed end of the sleevelike extension 18.

To prevent free axial movement of the bolt and piston outwardly of the barrel away from the breech block when the knocker head is seated upon the base of the recess 36, a circlip 46 is disposed within and projects beyond the mouth of a circumferential groove 41 in the knocker head; the said groove is so located lengthwise of the knocker head that after the said head has entered the recess, the circlip impacts and rides across the projecting balls 34, depresses the balls against the action of the band 35 and, as the knocker head seats upon the re cess base, travels beyond the said balls whereupon the latter are re-projected automatically from their respective holes 33 by the resilient band so that they remain in contact with the circlip.

An annular lug 42 which is integral with and is located at right angles to a cylindrical guide 43, is mounted upon and around the muzzle end of the barrel, the said lugand-guide unit being secured against movement relatively to the barrel by a removeable pin 44 extending through the lug and engaging registering grooves in the internal periphery of the lug and the external periphery of the barrel.

' The guide is located below and parallel to the barrel and is bored axially thereof, and a contact rod 45 extends through and projects beyond the opposite ends of the guide bore.

The contact rod is a sliding fit and is reciprocable within the guide and, between its ends is formed with a peripheral shoulder 46 so that on the side of the shoulder remote from the body it is of greater diameter than on the other side of the said shoulder. The bore of the guide is also formed, between its ends, with a shoulder 47 so that the bore is of two diameters corresponding respectively to the contact rod diameters; the smaller diameter portion of the rod is a sliding fit within and is of a greater length than the smaller diameter portion of the bore and is surrounded by a coil spring 48 located and partially compressed between the

shoulders

46 and 47. Hence, the spring tends to drive the contact rod axially of the guide away from the body it the spring-initiated travel being limited by a stroke-adjusting nut 48a which is screwed on to the threaded rod portion projecting from the guide towards the body and which is urged by the action of the spring into abutment with the rim of the adjacent guide end. The extremity of the said threaded rod portion is tapered to a point 49, whereas the other and greater diameter projecting portion of the rod is tapped and engaged by a bolt 50.

A tapped bush 51 fixed upon a side wall of the chamber 13, extends transversely of the chamber at right angles to the barrel axis and a'torsion spring 52. consisting of a single U-shaped wire of which the arms are formed into coinciding loops 53, is mounted upon the bush by passing the said loops on to and around the bush. The legs 54 and 55 of the spring project in opposite directions from and substantially tangentially to the loops, the leg 54 consisting of the closed end of the arms of the U-shaped wire and the leg 55 consisting of the two free ends of the said arms.

The said free arm ends are turned over inwardly of the arms into alignment and enter the opposite ends of a diametrical hole in a trunnion nut 56 screwed upon the upper threaded end of a trip rod 57 which extends downwardly through an opening 58 from the body chamber 13, a passage 59 in a handle 60 socketed into and projecting downwardly from the pocket 12, and a channel 61 in the rear edge of the said handle. V

The closed end of the spring 52 engages one of two transverse and parallel recesses 62 formed in the opposite sides of a cylindrical firing pin 63 which is a freesliding fit within a passage 64 formed in the breech end of the body 10 in a radial relationship to the breech block; the opposite ends of the said passage open respectively to the concave seat 16 and the underside of the body, and between the said ends the passage opens forwardly into the interior of the said chamber. A safety pin 65 screwed into the underside of the body forwardly of and parallel and adjacent to the firing pin, extends through the closed end of the spring and reaches to the top of the chamber to prevent the leg 54 from being forced inadvertently from the transverse recess 62 with which it engages and, consequently, to ensure that the firing pin cannot be removed inadvertently from the passage 64.

The elbow of a bell-cranked cocking lever 66a is pivoted in the lower end of the handle 60 about a pin 67, has a hooked and forked arm 68 which reaches into the channel 61, embraces the trip rod, and engages a cylindrical nipple 69 which is supported on and at right angles to the trip rod by a nut 70 screwed on to the lower threaded extremity of the rod. The other and longer arm 68a of the cocking lever extends upwardly of the pivot pin 67 forwardly of the'h andle and, by the action of a coil spring 71 disposed around the trip rod and partially compressed between the trunnion nut 56 and a shoulder 72 in the passage 59, the lever is urged by the nipple 69 to a position wherein a heel 73 on the hooked shorter arm abuts the handle and the said longer arm is inclined away from the said handle. Hence, by gripping the lower end of the handle and the longer lever arm in one hand, and compressing the said arm towards the handle by the fingers of the same hand, the cocking lever is turned about its pivot pin and the shorter lever arm forces the nipple 69 and trip rod downwardly of the handle against the action of the spring 71, with the result that the nut 56 swings the leg 55 of the firing spring downwardly of the bush 51 so as to stress the torsion spring.

The upper end of the firing pin 63 is provided with a concentric stem 74 of which the diameter is considerably less than that of the passage 64, and two parallel flats 75 are formed on opposite sides of the said pin end and the stem; the provision of the stem and the formation of the fiats, creates two pairs of

shoulders

76, 77 at different levels lengthwise of the pin, the upper shoulders 76 being of a width equal to the distance between the flats and being located between the lower shoulders 77 (see FIGURE 2).

A sear rod 78 traverses the body chamber 13 between I the firing spring 52 and the top of the said chamber. The rear end of the said sear rod enters and is slidable lengthwise of a pocket 79, of non-circular cross-section, formed in the rear wall and opening to the interior of the chamber; the said rod end is of the same non-circular cross-section as the pocket 79 and is formed with a longitudinal slot 78a of which the length is not less than the diameter of the firing pin, and the width is substantially equal to but is not less than the distance between the flats 75. The forward or muzzle end of the rear rod is threaded and is engaged by a tapped centering bush 80 which is a free sliding fit in a passage 81 in the front wall of the chamber, extends through and beyond the thrust plate 21 and is formed on its outer or muzzle end with a head 82 having a concentric and diverging depression 83 in its end face. rod, is partially compressed between the centering bush and the rear wall of the body chamber and therefore tends to drive the said rod forwardly. However, the springinitiated forwards stroke of the sear rod is limited by the firing pin stem 74 which extends through the slot 78a into an axially bored bush S5 screwed into the body 10 until the head of the bush is flush with the concave seat 16. Hence, when the sear rod is at the limit of the said stroke, the rear end of the said slot abuts the stern and one of the upper pin shoulders 76 abuts the underside of the rod rearwardly of the slot thereby preventing upwards movement of the firing pin within the passage 64. Since the sear rod slot is of a width substantially equal to the distance between the flats 75, the firing pin is held against rotation about its axis; however, if necessary, for example, if the said upper pin shoulder should become worn, the firing pin may, after removal of the safety pin 65 from the body and removal of the spring leg 54 from the transverse recess 62 with which it is engaged, be withdrawn from the body, turned about its axis through and then re-assembled so that the other of the said upper pin shoulders is adapted to abut the sear rod. Withdrawal of the firing pin, also permits withdrawal of the sear rod from the pocket 79 whereupon the rod may be turned about its axis so that, after re-insertion into the said pocket and re-assembly of the firing pin, a fresh searface may be presented to the selected upper pin shoulder.

The breech block 17 is formed with a radial cartridge chamber 86 of which the inner end sweeps forwardly and opens to the interior of the sleeve-like extension 18 through the base of the said extension, and of which the outer end opens to the periphery of the block and is adapted to registe r with the bore of the bush 85.

A coil spring 84 disposed around the sear A cartridge extractor 87 provided and longitudinally displaceable in the breech block, consists of a rod which lies along a chord of the block laterally of and parallel to the cartridge chamber. The extractor rod is of a length such that one end or the other always projects beyond the periphery of the breech block and the end adjacent the outer end of the cartridge chamber is formed with a foot 88 which extends into the said chamber and. is so shaped that it is adapted to engage behind the rim of the shell of a cartridge when the latter is loaded into the cartridge chamber. The concave seat 16 is formed, on each of two opposed sides of the bush 85, with a cam groove 89 into and along which the other and convex end or nose 90 of the sear rod is adapted to enter and travel as the barrel and

breech block unit

14, 17 is rotated about the barrel axis within the body away from its firing position in which position the cartridge chamber registers with the bore of the bush 85. Hence, as the said unit is so rotated, the cartridge chamber is taken clear of the concave seat 16, and the extractor nose enters the deeper end of a corresponding one of the said cam grooves; by continuing the rotation until the said nose reaches the bush 85, the reduction in depth of the said cam groove displaces the extractor longitudinally in the direction which removes the foot 88 from the cartridge chamber, against the action of a coil extractor spring 91 disposed around the said rod and partially compressed between

shoulders

92 and 93 formed respectively around the rod and in a block passage 94 in which the rod is accommodated. Consequently, if a cartridge is loaded into the chamber 86, it will be forced outwardly of the said chamber by rotation of the barrel and block unit. By a partial rotation of the said unit in the reverse direction, the extractor spring returns the extractor to its initial position within the block, taking the foot 88 clear of the cartridge shell rim so that manual removal of the shell from the chamber 86 and the loading of a fresh cartridge is facilitated. Upon continuing the said reverse rotation of the barrel and breech block unit, the foot of the extractor enters the deeper end and then travels along the other of the two cam grooves 89 so that, if the extractor has not been returned to its initial position by the spring 91 and/ or if the fresh cartridge has not been pushed wholly into the cartridge chamber, the extractor is returned positively to the said initial position and/ or the cartridge is forced wholly into the said chamber, positively by the reduction in depth of the said other cam groove.

Inadvertent removal of the extractor rod from the breech block is prevented by a threaded stud 95 which is screwed into the rear end of the breech block and contacts a fiat 96 formed along a tapped cap 97 which is screwed on to the adjacent threaded end of the extractor rod and serves as the nose 90.

Rotary movement of the barrel and breech block unit is limited by engagement of a ball 98 in a groove 99 formed in and part way around the external periphery of the breech block (see FIGURE 3). The said ball is seated in a cup 109 in the inner end face of a cylindrical carrier 101 which is a sliding fit within a cylindrical passage 102 formed in and radially of the wall of the bore 11 in the head of the body 10. The opposite ends of the said passage open respectively to the interior of the said bore and to the underside of the said head, and the latter end is tapped and engaged by a threaded plug 103, the carrier being urged towards the breech block by a partially compressed coil spring 104 housed within the body passage 102 between the carrier and the plug.

By co-operation with a deeper indent 105 in one end of the base of the block groove 99, the ball is also adapted to locate the barrel and breech block unit in its firing position, whereas by co-operation with a shallower indent 106 formed in the said base between the groove ends, the ball is adapted to locate the said unit, at the end of the above-mentioned partial rotation in the reverse direction, in an unloading and loading position wherein the extractor foot 88 has been spring-returned into the breech block subsequent to the travel of the extractor nose clear of the seat 16 and before the cartridge chamber has travelled back on to the said seat. However, positive location of the barrel and breech block unit in its firing position is ensured by abutment (see FIGURE 4) of the head of a peg 107 which is screwed into and projects from the periphery of the breech block, with the head of a peg 168 which is screwed into and is flush with the surface of the appropriate lateral edge 109 of the body projection 15.

The rotation of the barrel and breech block unit also rotates the lug and guide

unit

42, 43 which is fixed upon the muzzle end of the barrel. When the former of the said units is in its firing position, the latter unit is so located that the contact rod 45 is aligned with the sear rod 78 and centering bush 80, the tapered end 49 of the contact rod is presented to the mouth of the diverging depression 83 in the said bush, and the head of the bolt 50 is located beyond the knocker head 37.

To operate the appliance after a cartridge has been loaded into the cartridge chamber and the barrel and breech block unit has been returned to its firing position, the operator grips the handle 60 in both hands with one hand gripping the lower end of the handle and the' longer and relatively inclined arm 68a of the cocking lever 66 and then squeezes the said arm towards the handle soas to turn the lever about the pivot 'pin 67 in the direction which causes the shorter and forked arm 68 to depress the nipple 69 and trip rod 57 against the' action of the spring'71. The trip rod therefore stresses the firing spring 52 which thereupon tends to drive the firing pin upwardly. However, upwards movement of the said pin is prevented by the abutment of the selected one of the upper shoulders 76 with the rear end of the sear rod 78 so that the pin does not impact and fire the cartridge. The operator then swings the muzzle end of the appliance against the forehead of an animal to be slaughtered and, in so doing, the bolt head 50 is pressed against the animals forehead, the contact rod is depressed within the guide 43 against the action of the spring 48, the contact rod end 49 is pressed against the centering bush 82 and the sear rod is depressed against the action of the spring 84. The depression of the sear rod takes its rear end clear of the selected upper firing pin shoulder 76 with the result that the stressed firing spring drives the firing pin upwardly and the stem 74 strikes and fires the cartridge, the spring-driven stroke of the said pin being limited by abutment of the lower shoulders 77 with the sear rod on opposite sides of the slot 78a. The resulting explosion forces the circlip 40 past the projecting balls 34 and impels the piston 28 and bolt 29 forwardly along the barrel so that the knocker head is driven forcibly against the animals forehead and stuns the animal, the power-driven stroke of the piston and bolt being limited by the impact of the shoulder 30 with a resilient shock absorbing bush 111 housed within the barrel around the bolt and between the said shoulder and the muzzle piece 31.

In the event that the barrel and breech block unit has not been returned fully and exactly to the firing position after loading the cartridge into the chamber 86, the contact rod end 49 will impact the sloping surface of the depression 83 and will ride down the said surface to the centre of the depression, thereby constraining the guide and lug

unit

42, 43, to locate the barrel and breech block exactly in the firing position, before the contact rod depresses the sear rod and releases the firing pin.

The effective power developed by the knocker head before it stuns the animal, is determined by the distance by Which the bolt head 50 projects forwardly of the knocker head. The said power may be adjusted to suit varying classes of animals to be slaughtered, either by adjusting the bolt in the contact rod, by adjusting the nut on the threaded end of the said rod and/or by replacing the said bolt with a bolt having a head of different depth.

The appliance is capable of being dismantled quickly and easily without use of special tools thereby enabling any of its component parts to be removed, serviced and/ or replaced without difliculty. Thus, for example, the knocker head may be dismantled from the bolt after refrom the barrel and the guide and lug unit may be removing the screw 38v with a screw-driver and pulling the head from the pocket 36; the dismantling of the knocker head permits the muzzle piece 31 to be unscrewed from the barrel by inserting a tommy bar or equivalent tool into any one or more of the holes 32; having dismantled the muzzle piece, the piston and bolt may be withdrawn from the barrel and the guide and lug unit may be removed from the muzzle end of the barrel after removal of the pin 44 with a hammer and punch, whereupon, after levering the ring 23 out of the groove 24, the collar 20 may be unscrewed'from the barrel to permit withdrawal of the barrel and breech unit from the body after previously unscrewing the plug 104 from the body passage 102 to disengage the ball 98 from block groove 99. Having dismantled the said unit, the breech block may be unscrewed from the barrel, and the bush 85 may be unscrewed from the body;

Access to the firing spring is obtained. by dismantling a cover plate 112 from the side of the body after unscrewing a bolt 113 from within the spring-carrying bush 51 to open the chamber 13. Having removed the said cover plate, and unscrewing the safety pin 65, the leg 54 of the spring may be disengaged from the selected transverse channel 62 to permit withdrawal of the firing pin, the leg 55 of the spring may be disengaged from the trunnion nut 56, to enable the said nut to be unscrewed from the trip rod and the latter to be withdrawn from the handle, and the loops 53 may be slid endwise off the bush 51. When once the firing pin has been withdrawn, the contact rod 78 and centering bush 80 may be withdrawn from the chamber 13. The dismantling of the barrel and breech block unit permits removal of the extractor after unscrewing the peg 95 from the block and unscrewing the cap 97 from the extractor rod, whereas the contact rod may be dismantled from the guide 43 at any tilnemerely by unscrewing the nut on its threaded end.

The appliance shown in FIGURE 5 differs in essentials, from the appliance shown in FIGURES 1-4, in that the muzzle end of the bolt 29, instead of being provided with a knocker head, is adapted to pierce the animals forehead; also, the bolt is loaded by a coil spring 114 whereby it is returned automatically to its initial position after a cartridge has been fired and exploded, and is held against forward longitudinal movement Within the barrel.

Also, instead of providing the contact rod and its associated lug and guide unit for displacing the sear rod against spring action, the said sear rod is adapted to be so displaced by the lever actuated depression of the trip rod. For this purpose, a bell crank lever 115 is pivoted by its elbow upon a pin 116 provided transversely of the forward end of the'chamber 13. The one arm 117 of the said lever extends upwardly into overlapping relationship to the forward end of a centering bush 82a screwed upon the sear rod, whereas the' other arm 118 extends rearwardly and is formed with a bifurcated end which embraces the stem of a T-shaped trunnion nut 56a on the upper end of the trip rod 57 and extends below the arms of thesaid nut.

The bell crank lever is loaded by a spring 119 tending to turn the lever about its pivot pin in the direction which takes a heel 120 on the upper edge of the rearwardly extending arm 118 against a stop 121 so as to limit the w g-initiated movement ,of the lever in a manner which spaces the bifurcated end of the said arm from the arms of the T-shaped trunnion unit.

Hence, upon manual actuation of the cocking lever to depress the trip bar, the latter stresses the firing spring 52 before the trunnion arms contact the bifurcated end of the rearwardly extending lever arm 118; a further depression of the lever bar causes the upwardly extending lever arm 117 to impact and displace the centering bush in the direction which disengages the rear end of the sear rod 78 from the selected upper shoulder 76 of the firing pin 63 whereupon the stressed spring actuates the said pin to fire the cartridge in the cartridge chamber 86.

It is to be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the following claims. his further to be understood that various changes may be made in details within the scope of the said claims without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific details described and shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An appliance for use in slaughtering animals, comprising a body, a barrel and breech block unit and a handle assembled to said body, a bolt accommodated within and reciprocable axially of said barrel, a contact rod carried by and substantially parallel to the barrel with one end projecting beyond an adjacent end of said barrel, said rod being reciprocal along its own axis, a firing. pin housed within the body, a spring also housed within the body being operatively connected to said pin, a cocking lever pivoted upon and projecting to one side of said handle, means mounted in the handle and coupling said lever to said spring for stressing said spring to condition the firing pin for actuation, a sear rod movably housed within the body, one end of said sear rod projecting from the body into the path of travel of the other end of said contact rod and the other end of said sear rod locking said firing pin to prevent actuation of said pin until the sear rod is displaced by axial displacement of said contact rod.

2. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 comprising a knocker head which is secured upon said bolt externally of the muzzle end of said barrel, said contact rod projecting forwardly of said knocker head and being displaceable when pressed against an animals forehead.

3. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein the 7 barrel and breech block unit is rotatable about the barrel axis. to and from a firing position, said block having a radial cartridge chamber which opens to the block periphery and is presented to said firing pin when said unit is in said firing position.

4. An appliance as claimed in claimil wherein said barrel and breech block unit is rotatable about the barrel axis to and from a firing position, the breech block of said unit being rotatable upon a concave 'seat on said body,

an extractor is reciprocable in the breechblock and is of a length suchv that one end projects from the block periphery, said seat having a cam groove'into and along which said projecting end is adapted to enter and travel as said unit is rotated from, said firing position.

5. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bolt is formed integral and co-axial with a piston, said piston having a sliding fit within a sleeve like extension having a base at the rear provided'on said breech block, and means are provided on said bolt to ensure that said piston is prevented from contacting the base of said breech block extension. 7

6. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein said firing pin has at least one transverse groove and said spring comprises at least one central loop and two legs projecting in opposite directions from said loop, the loop being fixedly supported in said body, one of said legs'being engaged in said transverse groove and the other of said legs being stressable by manual actuation of said lever.

7. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein the firing pin locking end of said sear rod has a longitudinal slot and said firing pin having at least one lateral shoulder and a portion formed with an opposed pair of longitudinal fiats which extend across the shoulder and are spaced apart by a distance substantially equal to the width of said slot, the flattened pin portion passing through said slot so that said shoulder may abut the sear rod beyond one end of the slot.

8. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein the said barrel and breech block unit is rotatable about the barrel axis to and from a firing position, a groove formed in and extending part way around the external periphery of the breech block of the said unit and having a locating indent, a spring loaded ball provided in said body projected into said groove to limit the rotation of said unit and engageable in said indent when the unit is in said firing position.

9. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein the barrel extends through and is rotatable about its axis within a bore in the body, a tapped collar is screwed upon a threaded barrel portion projecting forwardly of the body from said bore, said collar being screwed into abutment with said body to force the breech block against an annular shoulder in the rear end of said bore to secure the barrel and breech block assembly against axial movement relative to the bore of said body.

10. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cocking lever is pivoted in said handle at a position removed from said body and is provided with an arm inclined upwardly towards the body and away from said one side of said handle, a trip rod extending lengthwise of the handle connected to said spring in the body, a second arm on said cocking lever connected to said trip rod whereby pressing said inclined arm towards the handle causes said second lever arm to depress the trip rod to stress the spring.

11. An appliance for use in slaughtering animals comprising a body, a barrel and breech block unit and a handle assembled to the body, a firing pin and a spring housed within the body with the spring operatively connected to the pin, a longitudinally displaceable sear rod substantially parrallel to the barrel and accommodated within the body, said sear rod in one position engaging and locking the firing pin against spring actuation, a manually-operable lever tiltable on said handle, means other than the sear rod connecting the lever to said spring for stressing the spring to condition the firing pin for actuation, and means on said body for displacing the sear rod to unlock the pin subsequently to the stressing of the spring.

12. An appliance for use in slaughtering animals comprising a body, a barrel and breech block unit and a handle assembled to said body, a bolt accommodated within and reciprocal axially of the barrel, a firing pin housed within the body, a spring also housed within the body being operatively connected to said pin, a manually operable cocking lever pivoted on the handle at a position removed from the body, a trip rod extending lengthwise of the handle being connected at one end to said cocking lever and at the opposite end to said spring so that actuation of said cocking lever stresses the spring to condition the firing pin for actuation, a bell crank lever pivoted upon the body, a longitudinally reciprocal sear rod housed within the body with one end engaging and locking the firing pin against actuation and with the other end in abutment with one arm of said bell crank lever, and means on the spring engaging end of the trip rod extending across and in spaced relation to the second arm of the bell crank lever so that displacement of said trip rod by the cocking lever first stresses the spring and then turns the bell crank lever in a direction which displaces the sear rod to unlock the firing pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,435,573 Accles Nov. 14, 1922 1,569,153 Temple Jan. 12, 1926 1,858,601 Sedgley May 17, 1932 2,701,931 Polny Feb. 15, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,491 Great Britain 1914 101,517 Great Britain Sept. 28, 1916 218,433 Great Britain July 10, 1924