BUFFINGTON MAGAZINE GUN.
This gun belongs to the system in which a fixed chamber is closed by a mov able breech-block, sliding and rotating, and operated by a lever from below. The receiver, to which the barrel is attached in the usual way, has a vertical slot en tirely through it for the reception of the breech-block, and two grooves, at right angles to each other, on the inner surface of each side. In these g,rooves the flat tened ends of pivots passing through the breech-block slide. 'The various points of the breech-block not in the axes of the pivots, thus describe arcs of ellipses when the block is opened or closed. The block is hollowed out to receive the ham mer, mainspring, etc. 'lite hammer is slotted to receive one branch of the main spring which abuts against a pin. The other branch hears against a similar pin through the breech-block. 'clie piece is locked by lugs projecting from pieces screwed to the sides of the receiver, partly across its top and entering g,rooves on the hammer. The firing,--pin is retracted, when the block is unlocked or the ham mer cocked, by a slot which receives the head of the pin. The extractor is a bent spring hook secured at its rear to the breech-block by a pin and supported at its front by a pivot. In order to open the block, it is necessary to draw back the ham
mer to a point a little beyond the full cock, and then control the motion by a lever. Should the hammer be let down while the block is open, it is cocked in the act of closing, by the edges of a surface striking; on projections on the inner rear sur face of the receiver. The magazine is in the tip-stock. It is provided with two cartridge stop-springs. The carrier is made of sheet steel brought to a spring temper, and is secured to the breech-block by a pivot. \\Then the breech-block is closed the carricr-block descends, its spring keeping it in contact with the breech-block, bears down on a stop-spring", and slides under the end of the mag azine-tube. As it passes under the tube inclined planes raise the ends of a cross piece riveted to the top-spring, when a cartridge is forced by the magazine-spring into thc carricr. A cut-off enables the piece to be used as a single-loader. As a magazine gun, three motions are necessary to operate, viz., opened, closed, fired. As a single-loader, four motions are necessary, viz., open, loaded, ^losed, fired_ This gun carries six cartridges in the magazine and one in the chamber.