The Kynoch revolver, manufactured by the Kynoch Gun Factory, at Aston,
Birmingham, is the invention of Mr. Henry Schlund. It may be regarded as
the most simple in respect of lock mechanism of any existing revolver,
whether single or double action. It extracts the cartridges
automatically, and combines with this important feature strength and
safety in the closing of the breech. Certainty of aim when firing is
obtained by means of a double trigger, which serves many purposes. This
secures quick repeating as in the double-action revolvers, and at the
same time the revolver is not pulled out of the line of sight, as the
trigger is pulled off by the forefinger, independently of the cocking
motion, the cocking trigger being longer than the ordinary double-action
triggers. The cocking trigger further serves to tighten the grasp, and so
enables the power of the first recoil, which affects the shooting of all
revolvers, to be held in check. The light pull-off enables a steady
shooter to make surpassingly fine diagrams.
[Illustration: THE KYNOCH REVOLVER.]
The upper side of the barrel is perfectly free from obstruction, so that
the sighting can be done with the greatest ease, and the entire weapon is
flush and without projections which can catch surrounding objects, with
the exception of the cocking trigger, which seems to require a second
guard to render it secure when thrusting the pistol hastily into a
holster. At the same time, it should be remembered that the cocking
trigger does not effect the firing. It puts the hammer to full cock and
rotates the cylinder, and these operations may be performed time after
time with safety.
Turning to the mechanical details, it is noticeable that no tools are
required to take the weapon to pieces and to put it together. By removing
a milled headed screw seen to the left of the general view, every
individual part of the lock action comes apart, and can be cleaned and
put together again in a few minutes. This screw is numbered 24 in Fig. 4.
To load the pistol the thumb piece (marked 2 in Fig. 4 and shown
separately in Fig. 3) is drawn back, and thus withdraws the sliding bolt,
3, from the barrel, 20. The barrel and cylinder are then tilted on the
pin, 15--a shake will effect this if only one hand be available--and as
the chamber rises, the extractor is forced back by the lifter, 15, and
the empty shells are thrown out. When the barrel has moved about 80 deg.,
the spring, 14, which works the lifter, 15, is tripped, and the spring 13
carries the extractor home ready for the fresh cartridge to be inserted.
When these are in place, the barrel and cylinder are returned to the
position shown in Fig. 1, and are automatically locked by the bolt, 3.
All is then ready for firing. The middle finger is placed on the cocking
lever, and the forefinger within the trigger guard. The cocking trigger
is drawn back, taking with it the firing trigger for the greater part of
its stroke. At the same time the lifter, 8, which is pivoted to the
cocking lever, engages with a ratchet wheel (seen in Fig. 2) attached to
the cylinder, and rotates it through one-sixth of a revolution. To insure
the exact amount of rotation, a heel on the trigger, not to be seen in
the engravings, engages in one of the six slots (Figs. 1 and 2) formed
round the barrel. The end of the slot is square, and comes up against the
heel, which tightly grips the cylinder, and holds it steady while firing.
A toe-piece, just over the figure 4, in Fig. 3, holds the cylinder when
the cocking trigger is in its normal position. The cocking lever also
compresses the main spring, 7, and holds it in this state until the
firing trigger, 12, is pressed by the forefinger against the sear, 9, and
the hammer, 5, is driven forward against the cartridge. If the pistol be
not fired, the release of the cocking trigger takes the pressure off the
spring, and there is thus no danger of accidental discharge.
It will thus be seen, says _Engineering_, that the weapon presents many
advantages. It can be loaded on horseback when one hand is engaged with
the reins; there is nothing to obstruct the aim, and the act of firing
does not throw up the muzzle, for the two operations of cocking and
shooting are separate, and consequently the latter needs only a very
light pressure of the finger to effect it. The breech is well protected,
so that the flash from a burst cartridge cannot reach the face of the
user. The mechanism is as nearly dust proof as possible, and can be
entirely taken to pieces and cleaned in a few moments, and the whole
forms as handy a weapon as can be desired, where rapid and accurate
shooting is required.
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[JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY or ARTS.]