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Mac,
Self openers are not hard to close because of anything having to do with the ejector springs, but because of the added spring tension needed for the function of the self opening feature. The Beesley system uses only one spring, the guns mainspring itself, for cocking, firing, self opening, and ejecting. The gun is cocked strictly by the mainspring, automatically, each time the gun is opened—yes, opened. Once one is accustomed to using self openers, they do not slow one down in reloading or shooting speed, but, on the contrary, they speed up reloading/shooting. A self opening non ejector gun is faster than a traditional ejector gun, based on timed trials.

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Doubleriflejack, I understand your position on the self openers. However that is not what I was responding to! The issue I was responding to is “COCK ON CLOSING” not on a self opening rifle but on a standard double rifle used for the hunting of dangerous game. In the case of the of the one rifle, and one shotgun offered in pictures by the good captain, the rifle not having ejectors, and being chambered for 303 Brit is further handicapped by being a Jones lever type latch, is not a dangerous game rifle anyway. However that is beside the point of the COCK ON CLOSING we are discussing. In this case the rifle IS cocked on CLOSING not opening. See the cams and cocking rods below:



Though this rifle is not fitted with auto selective ejectors it is still harder to cock than a cock on opening. If say this rifle were chambered for dangerous game cartridges, it would have another handicap that is very slow to get back in action after being fired, opened and re-loaded because of the way the lever works, and with no ejectors, having the dump the empties, then re-load, close on spring tension to cock, and work the lever again. This compared to a double rifle that is automatically cocked on opening and cocks ejectors on closing, with a locking system that snaps it’s self locked as soon as it is closed is a far better system for the hunting of dangerous game than the combination shown in the pictures. I was only agreeing with the poster who had some issue with cock on closing on a dangerous game rifle, nothing more.

Admittedly the rifle shown here is a fine rifle for the purpose it was made, that system has some serious draw-backs for hunting dangerous game, and that was the only thing I was addressing, not that the system you describe or that of the Capt’s rifle.

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