Adrian,
Just a short excerpt from Pollards History of Firearms (pg 250-1) on the Calisher & Terry. I realise that you would know most, if not all of the quoted material, but I thought I would provide the quote verbatim and complete, just in case there is some nugget of information which might help you.
"A final class of action with a sliding breech bolt might almost be classed as a bolt action. Indeed, had it been invented twenty years earlier it would undoubtedly have been classed by most students as a transition piece between the types listed above (
Westley Richards, Merrill and Marston actions) and the true bolt actions described later. This was the Terry breech loader patented in 1856 by William Terry of Birmingham, England. This interesting weapon employed a hinged arm on the right side of the breech which pivoted laterally and could then be pulled back. With this action it retracted a sliding breech bolt and opened a loading hole in the side of the breech just behind the hammer. A cartridge could then be inserted in this hole and the bolt slid forward again to push the cartridge into the chamber. When the arm was folded back into place along the side of the breech a lug engaged a slot for locking purposes and the tip of the lever arm fitted into the loading hole. When the cartridge was properly seated its side was opposite the channel from the percussion nipple, so that the flash from the cap ignited the powder charge in the centre. Like the Marston and the Westley Richards, this cartridge also had a greased wad at its base which helped the coned head of the breech bolt form a tight seal and which also performed the same cleaning and lubricating functions claimed for two previously described arms.
The Terry, apparently, was an excellent arm, and the greased wad worked effeciently both as a seal and a cleaner. In one test made aboard HMS Excellent in 1858, a Terry carbine fired a total of 1800 rounds without cleaning, an unheard of achievement for a black powder arm of that era. Some Terry carbines were purchased for experimental issue to selected cavalry units in Great Britain, and more were purchased for use by Confederate troops during the American Civil War."
Apparently the Calisher & Terry influenced the bolt design on the Vetterli rifle. See
http://www.swissrifles.com/vetterli/ Some other information which I am unable to verify, is that some were bought by the Russians and were later converted to fire metallic centre fire cartridges by the Tula armoury. I've also read that Confederate general Jeb Stuart carried one, but again I'm not able to confirm the truth of that.
Calisher & Terry (Read 1574 times)