What is a wrist breaker action?
jlb
It's the nickname for an action that was designed by Fred Beesley in the early 1880's (patent #425 of 1884) which was then purchased by H.A.A Thorn to be produced in his Charles Lancaster Factory at 151 New Bond St. The action was unique in that it could be produced in both Sidelock and "body action" guise. The body action guns were more than likely not produced at the London factory. These guns were probably produced in Birmingham by a maker like Osborne. The sidelocks were all produced in London. .
The action was designed after Beesley designed the famous Purdey action, in his mind the "wrist breaker" was an improvement on the Purdey action. It's a fairly simple design, the mainspring is the workhorse. Plenty of info floating around the board archives on the wrist breaker or as the factory called it...the Model A
