The Cocking Hook Is an Ingenious Device, with Variations Used on Different Makes of Arms
The box type of frame likewise has its champions and possesses certain advantages. Certainly it makes a strong and rigid frame, and for inexpensive weapons it would be difficult to improve upon. While its square, boxlike form is not graceful in line, it enables the maker to use a spiral, or coil, spring instead of a flat spring for operating the locks, which is an advantage. In brief, the merits of both types may be summed up in this fashion: The use of the box type of lock enables the maker to turn out a better quality of gun at a low price, but in the case of a well-made gun, selling for a reasonable figure, there is very little choice between them so far as dependability and long service are concerned. Both are much used by manufacturers of the finest weapons, hence the shooter may pick out the one which best suits his fancy.
A Hammerless Gun with Roller Bearings to Overcome the Short Leverage and Make It Open and Close Easily
The Cocking Mechanism of the Hammerless
The locks of the hammerless shotgun work inside of the frame or lock, and are cocked by an ingenious little mechanism operated by the movement of the barrels when they are opened. The Anson & Deely cocking mechanism is one of the oldest and best of these devices, and is still used on many American as well as European arms. The levers of this mechanism are hung with pivots in the end of the frame—one end projecting into the fore end and the opposite end resting beneath the hammer toe. As the gun is “broken,” or opened, it presses down the forward end of the cocking lever, and the other end rises and pushes the hammers into the cocked position. This is the principle upon which all cocking devices are constructed, and while it works smoothly and is so simple that it is not likely to get out of order, it is mechanically weak, owing to the short frame required to secure adequate leverage. Perhaps one of the best variations of the Anson & Deely device is one employed by an American manufacturer who makes use of a rod running through the frame from the fore end to the hammer. To each end of this rod is attached a crank, so hung that as one crank is depressed the other rises and pushes the hammer to the cock position as the barrels are swung to open the gun.
A Lug is Forged on the End of Each Barrel, and When Fitted Together They are Brazed
The cocking hook is an ingenious device found on American shotguns and many variations of it are, of course, used on the different makes of arms. The Parker gun is provided with a hook working a slide, thus pulling the hammers to cock. In the Baker, a bent arm is pivoted to the breech to serve the same purpose. Another example of American ingenuity may be noted in the lug-cocking devices used on the Ithaca and Fox guns. This simple arrangement is made by connecting the toe of the hammer directly with the lug, which is an integral part of the barrel. The hammer is thus made to act as its own lever, for as the toe portion rises when the barrel is opened, the striker falls back until it is caught in the notch of the sear.
To guard against the possibility of accidental discharge of the hammerless gun, in which type of gun the hammer must be always at full cock, a safety trigger bolt is utilized. This bolt is affixed in the frame in a vertical position by pivoting it, and to the upper part of the lever is attached a slide placed on top of the tang immediately back of the top lever which opens the barrels. As this safety slide is pushed, the lower end of the lever is brought close up against the triggers, blocking them, and thus prevents them from moving while the safety is in the “on” position. To discharge the gun, the slide must be pushed forward to the “off” position, which moves the lower end away from the triggers. This type of safety is of the nonautomatic variety and can only block the triggers when the slide is operated by the shooter.