pre war yoke

[the armanian]

Can anyone shed some light on this.I noticed that on the pre war outdoorsman on the base of the yoke the part that pivets on the frame there is a hole inside the hole is a spring and pin that pivet on a groove in the frame,now the cylinder was closing hard once the pin was removed the cylinder works fine.What is the purpose of this set up and does it hurt to leave it out.
Regards Pete

 

[cgt4570]

It's supposed to be hard to close with the pin and spring installed. It's a 'cylinder hold-open device'. It helps hold the cylinder in the fully open position for loading and unloading. All the early hand ejectors had them. Many were removed and lost. The feature was phased out before WW2.

 

[the armanian]

Thanks Chris for the help,I am going to put it back where it belongs to keep this baby original.
Regards Pete