| Breech Loader Hammer Shotguns |
| History | British Military Weapons | Repeating Rifles | Breech Loader Hammer Shotgun | Hammerless Shotgun |
|
Sporting shooting as we know it today developed more rapidly
with the development of the breach- loader again primarily for
use in the military. The first practical version of this, being
developed in 1831 by M. Demondion. Improvements followed rapidly
with Gilbert's Smith's American rifle (1838); the Norwegian Carbine
(1842); the Westley Richards' capping breach loader (1861) followed
in Britain by the Snider Rifle and the Martini- Henry rifles and
in the US by the famous Sharps (1850) and Henry and Remington
(1866) breach loading rifles. |
Westley Richards Patent Breech |
| The greatest weakness in
breach loading shotguns was the method of attaching the barrels
to the stock. The development of various methods was made in parallel
with various ignition systems. The first effective breech loading
shotgun was developed as a pin fire by Lefaucheux (1836) and various
methods were tried to develop an effective and safe method of barrel
attachment. It was not until the development of the centre fire cartridge that the modern breech action was developed. Needham of London (1862) is given credit for this type of snap or self locking action where the locking bolt is forced into the bites or grips by a spring when the gun is closed. |
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