US1369085A - Accuracy attachment for firearms - Google Patents

Description

A, M. CRAIG. ACCURACY ATTACHMENT FOR FIREARMS.

APPLICATION FILED J AN. H, 1919.

Patented. Feb. 22, 1921.

1 v I [.{VTOR A Tron/v15 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVIN M. CRAIG, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

ACCURACY ATTACHMENT FOR FIREARMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 11, 1919. Serial No. 270,623.

means for increasing the accuracy of fireprojectiles.

arms, meaning by the term firearms to embrace all implements of this character from pistols to cannon in which an explosive charge is used to expel a projectile or It is an established fact that all classes offirearms have a tendency to lift at the muzzle when fired, and this is true to an exaggerated extent in some classes of of firearm, and will essentially prevent the rearms as for instance in machine guns, rapid firing guns, and pistols, althoughit is true to a more or less extent of all weapons of this character. understood that when firing at point blank range, it is customary to aim below the target or thing to be hit, and calculate for the lift of the muzzle. Obviously this calculation cannot be accurately made, and the result is more or less a matter of guess. My

invention is intended to obviate this difficulty, and further to provide an extremely simple and reliable device or attachment which can be applied to any existing type muzzle lift of the firearm when the latter is discharged. I have found by repeated and practical experiments that if the barrel of the firearm at the muzzle is provided withan extension on the underside, it will overcome this tendency to lift, and make the weapon fire straight to the point I at which it is aimed, and by regulating this extension as to length and as to the length of its radius with relation to the bore of the weapon, the amount of depression of the gun when fired can be accurately determined. Furthermore, my experiments have shown that this extension can be made to deflect the muzzle slightly either to one side or the other if desired, but the obvious,

and principal use is to have the extension on the under side of the barrel so that the impact of the gases as they leave the barrel at the time of discharge will strike the extension and have a tendency to depress the muzzle, thus compensating for the natural This is 'sothoroug y tendency to lift at the discharge. In carrying out this idea I find that it is better tohave the extension made with a longer radius than is represented by the wall of the bore of the weapon,-so that there is some impact of gases as they expand rapidly after Patented Feb. 22, 1921.

leaving the muzzle and strike the extension. I

The extension can be made as apart of the muzzle or it can be separately attached thereto, all of which will be clearly under stood from the description which follows.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rifle provided with my improved attachment.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the attachment in its removable form as applied to the barrel of a firearm.

Fig. 3 is an end view thereof.

Fig.4 is a broken perspective showing the extension embodying my improvement inte ral with the barrel of a weapon, and

ig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a flash diminishing tube formed to embody my invention.

I have shown a simple form of the invention as applied to a rifle, but the illustration is by way of example and not with the idea of limiting the invention to the structure shown, as it will be obvious to the mechanic that the extension can be provided for in many ways without in the least affecting the invention.

In one form of the invention I provide a ring or ferrule 10 which screws to the threaded end 11 of the barrel of the firearm, and a lipor extension 12 projects forward from the under side of the rlng so as to receive the impact of air and gases as they expand on leaving the muzzle of the weapon. It will be noticed by reference'to Figs. 2 and 3 that the lip or extension 12 corresponds in curvature to the curve of the barrel, and that there is a step-down as shown at 13 between the bore of the barrel and the inner surface of the lip or extension 12, that is to say, that the inner wall of the lip or.

extension 12 represents a longer radius from the center of the bore of the barrel than does the wall of said bore, and I have found in practice that the changing of this radius has considerable effect onthe action whenthe weapon is fired.

Where the attachment is screwed or otherwise detachably fastened to the barrel, it can be turned a little to the right or left, and this will cause a slight movement of the muzzle in a corresponding direction, and the impact of the expanding gases will obviously be stronger in the same direction so that if the tendency is for the weapon to rise and also move to the right as quently the case, the extension can be made below the muzzle and a little .to the left, and thus the aforesaid tendency will be counteracted.

In Fig. 4 I have shown an extension 12 which in integral with the barrel 14 of the weapon, and in this construction the action is precisely as already stated.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a barrel fitted with a. tube 15 which is screwed thereto and which is sometimes used to diminish the flash of a firearm, which it does by permitting the gases to expand and confining them during such expansion. If the upper and forward part of this tube is cut away as at 16 an extension 17 is produced which has the effect above noted, although the action is not as good as in the cases where the extension is connected directly to the muzzle of the Weapon. The structure shown in Figs. 1 to 4 acts better as a flash condenser than the usual tubular flash absorbers.

So far as my invention is concerned, however, it does not materially matter how the extension or lip is provided, but it is an established fact that the provision of an extension or li-p as stated will have a tendency to deflect the muzzle of the weapon to which it is attached as herein stated.

Attention is called to the fact that there is no chance for the gases to escape around the base of the lip or extension, while they may 1s frefrom, said lip being essentially parallel with! the bore of the firearm but offset with relation thereto, the space above the lip being left free and unobstructed.

2. An accuracy attachment for firearms comprising a lip or extension directly on the extreme end of the barrel and entirely forward thereof and projecting forward therefrom generally parallel with the bore but offset with relation thereto and arranged to provide free escape for the gases issuing from the barrel in all'directions opposite the lip.

3. An accuracy attachment for firearms comprising a lip or extension rigid on the extreme end of the barrel and lying entirely forward thereof, said li being transversely curved, offset with relatlo'n to the bore of the barrel so that the inner wall of the extension possesses a longer radius with relation to the axis of the barrel than does the wall of the bore of said barrel, and the space above the lip being left free and unobstructed.

ALVIN M. CRAIG.

Witnesses WARREN B. HUTCHINSON, M. G. ODoNNnLL.

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