The safety lock of Dr. Somerville is a truly humane invention. Its essential feature is a slide stop or catch, placed under the trigger A, [fig. 401.] It is pulled forward into a notch in the trigger, by means of a spring B, upon the front of the guard, which is worked by a key C, pressing upon the spring when the piece is discharged. In another safety plan there is a small movable curved piece of iron, A, which rises through an opening B, in the lock-plate C, and prevents the cock from reaching the nipple, as represented in the figure, until it is drawn back within the plate of the lock when the piece is fired.
To fire this gun, two different points must be pressed at the same time. If by accident the key which works the safety be touched, nothing happens, because the trigger is not drawn; and the trigger touched alone can produce no effect, because it is locked. The pressure must be applied to the trigger and the key at the same instant, otherwise the lock will not work.
The French musquet is longer than the British, in the proportion of 44·72 inches to 42; but the French bayonet is 15 inches, whereas the British is 17.
| Eng. Dimensions. | Fr. Dimensions. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diameter of the bore | 0 | ·75 in. | 0 | ·69. in. |
| Diameter of the ball | 0 | ·676 | 0 | ·65 |
| Weight of the ball in oz. | 1 | ·06 | 0 | ·958 |
| Weight of the firelock and bayonet in libs. | 12 | ·25 | 10 | ·980 |
| Length of the barrel and bayonet | 59 | ·00 | 59 | ·72 |
Within these few years a great many contrivances have been brought forward, and several have been patented for fire arms. The first I shall notice is that of Charles Random, Baron de Berenger. [Fig. 402.] shows the lock and breech of a fowling piece, with a sliding protector on one of the improved plans; a is the hammer, b the nipple of the touch-hole, c a bent lever, turning upon a pin, fixed into the lock-plate at d. The upper end of this bent lever stands partly under the nose of the hammer, and while in that situation stops it from striking the nipple. A slider g f h, connected with the under part of the gun-stock, is attached to the tail of the bent lever at i; and when the piece is brought to the shoulder for firing, the hand of the sportsman pressing against the bent part of the slider at g, forces this back, and thereby moves the end of the lever c forwards from under the nose of the cock or hammer, as shown by the dotted lines. The trigger being now drawn, the piece will be discharged; and on removing the hand from the end g, of the slider f, the spring at h acting against the guard, will force the slider forward, and the lever into the position first described.