US3115835A - Undershot wad for shotgun shells - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 31, 1963 N. D. CURRIE 3,115,835

UNDERSHOT WAD FOR SHOIGUN SHELLS Filed June 18, 1962 IN VEN TOR.

Norma/7 fl. 'u/w'e BY v Bildfiiid Patented Dec. 31, I963 free 3,115,%35 UNDERSHQT WAD FUR SHQTGUN SHELLS Norman D. Currie, Scandia, Kans. Filed June 18, 1952, Ser. No. 2%, l46 1 Qiaim. (Cl. 1612-42) This invention relates to a component utilized in the loading of shotgun shells, and more particularly, to a wad normally disposed beneath the shot or pellets contained within the shotgun shell.

It is the most important object of this invention to provide an undershot wad for shotgun shells which has a void formed therein, the wad being disposed beneath the shot of the shell, there being a closure for the void of such a material that when the shell is fired, the closure will rupture or fracture whereby to allow the shot of the shell to move into the void of the wad, thus relieving the pressure upon the sides of the shell casing.

A yet further aim of this invention is to provide an undershot wad for shotgun shells which is substantially cylindrical in configuration whereby the same may be easily disposed within a shotgun shell as the same is being loaded, the wad having a substantially centrally disposed void therein, there being a closure for said void, the closure serving to support the shot of the shell.

It is a yet further object of this invention to provide an undershot wad for shotgun shells which is configured in such a manner as to provide a void area for reception of the shot of the shell upon firing of the shell whereby excess pressures upon the casing of the shell will be relieved and the shot will be allowed to occupy more space than that occupied prior to the firing of the shell, all to the end that the shot may be fired with fewer deformed pellets whereby to improve the performance of the shotgun shell.

Other objects of this invention include details of construction of various types of undershot wads, as well as other structural features, which structural features thereof will become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a shotgun shell, parts of the casing being broken away to reveal details of construction;

FIG. 2 is a perspective, sectional view of an undershot wad for shotgun shells made pursuant to one form of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective, sectional view of another form of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective, sectional view of yet another form of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective, sectional view of an additional form of the invention.

The preferred form of undershot wad for shotgun shells is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing and designated by the numeral 19. This wad is adapted to be disposed within a shotgun shell designated as 12, whereby to improve the over-all performance of the shell. Such a wad as 19, or the wads made pursuant to further forms of the subject invention as described hereinafter, are adapted to be utilized with any gauge of shotgun shell and maybe constructed from any material which is suitable, it being preferred that a fibrous material be utilized.

The wad it} is in the form of a body 14 having a pair of opposed faces 16 and 1-8, there being a substantially concave void 26 formed in face 16, and a similar void 22 formed in face 18 of body 14.

The body 14- is generally cylindrical in configuration in order that the wad It may be accommodated within a conventional shotgun shell of any gauge and in this respect it will be appreciated that the circumference of the wad body 14 may be varied, depending upon the gauge of shell within which the same is intended to be utilized.

As shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing, the wad it is disposed within the shell 12 directly beneath the shot or pellets 24, the other internal components of the shell 12. including a filler wad 26; an over powder cup wad 28; a powder charge 3t}; an under powder cup wad 32.; a base wad 34; and a primer 36. All of the above-mentioned components are contained within a conventional shotgun shell casing 38 having a metal casing or head 40 disposed at the normally base end thereof, there being a crimped closure as at 42 at the other end of shell 12 whereby to retain the above-mentioned internal components within their predetermined positions.

As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, voids 20 and 22 are provided with closure means 44 and 46 respectively, said closure means consisting of flat discs of material which substantially overlie their corresponding faces 16 and 18 of body 14.

Closures 44 and 46 are made from a paper material and are of a sufficient thickness whereby the same may serve to fully support the major portion of pellets 24 as illustrated in FIGURE 1 for instance, but yet are of a sufficient weakness whereby to allow the fracturing thereof upon firing of the shell 12 whereby to permit the shot or pellets 24 to move downwardly as shown in FIGURE 1 and thereby occupy the void 2t} disposed therebeneath.

The modified form of invention illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawing takes the form of an undershot wad 50 having a body 52 provided with a central void 54, the void being formed by hollowing out the center of body 52 whereby to provide a pair of opposed end walls 56 and 58, and a continuous annular side wall 69.

The undershot wads 10 and 50 are constructed in such a manner that they may be disposed within shell 12 in a position with either face thereof supporting and underlying shot 24 inasmuch as the voids of said wads are formed adjacent each of the faces thereof, and thus it makes no difference which face is up when either wad It) or 59 is inserted within the casing 33 of shell 12. This, of course, results in economies in manufacture inasmuch as the wads such as 10 and 50, may be fabricated and thence disposed in suitable shell-loading apparatus in any position or condition, and subsequently inserted within the casing in any such position. The modified form of invention illustrated in FIG. 4 takes the form of a wad 70 having a body '72 substantially cylindrical in configuration, the body having a pair of opposed faces 74 and 76, there being a void 7 3 formed in face 76 of the body, and a closure disc overlying said face '76- and void 73 serving as a closure member for said void. It will be appreciated that inasmuch as a void 78 is provided in only one face of body 72 of wad 70, care must be taken to insure that wad 70 is inserted within a shell casing such as 38 with the void 78 facing upwardly, that is disposed beneath the shot such as 24, whereby to allow fracturing of the closure disc 80 upon firing of the shell and subsequent movement of the shot into the void 78.

The further form of invention illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawing takes the form of a wad having a body 92 of substantially cylindrical configuration, having opposed faces 94- and 96, there being a void 98 provided in face 96. A closure member 100 is provided for void 98, the member 100 taking the form of a conical disc of material disposed in overlying relationship to face 96 and void 98, the apex 102 of conical disc 100 extending away from the body 92 and into the shift 24 of the shell 12.

Here again, it will be noted that inasmuch as only a single void is provided in the body 92., care must be exercised to insure that the wad 94 is disposed within 3 the shell 12 with the void 98 positioned in underlying relationship to the shot 24, whereby to allow fracturing of the closure member 100 upon firing of the shell and thus subsequent movement of the shot or pellets 24 into the void 93.

It will be appreciated that in all forms of the invention hereinabove described, there is provided an undershot wad which has a void in at least one face thereof, the void being disposed beneath the shot or pellets of the shotgun shell and there being a closure member for the void which underlies and supports the shot of the shell.

The provision of the void in the face of the wad adjacent the shot, and the closure member overlying the void, allows the wad to support, through its closure member, the shot of the shell subsequent to the loading thereof and during transportation and handling of the shell. However, when the shotgun shell is fired in the conventional manner, and the powder charge 30 ignited and caused to explode, such explosion ruptures or fractures the closure member which overlies the void in the face of the wad adjacent the shot of the shell whereby to allow the shot or pellets to move inwardly and thus into the void in the wad. This movement, resulting from the fracturing of the closure disc, is accomplished at virtually the instant of the explosion of the powder and prior to the movement of the charge of shot from the shell. This movement of the shot into the void, allows the total charge of shot to occupy more space in the shell than that occupied prior to the explosion Which in turn reduces the pressure of the shot upon the casing of the shell, which in turn allows a reduction of the side pressure. Furthermore, the expansion of the space occupied by the shot, as above described, prevents a deformation of the shot or pellets and also tends to elongate the charge of shot as it moves from the shell and through the bore of the gun from which the shell is being fired. This elongation of the shot charge permits the column of shot to move through the barrel and choke, if any, with less friction and less engagement with the bore of the gun resulting in less deformation of the shot as it moves from the gun.

Tests have been conducted with wads such as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and it has been found that the provision of an undershot wad with a void therein, functioning in the manner above described, achieves a more uniform and concentrated pattern of shot; a greater velocity for the shot pellets as a result of the reduced engagement with the bore of the gun; a reduced recoil of the gun upon the firing thereof result ing from a reduction in weight of the wad used beneath the shot charge; and a shorter wad flight, also resulting from the specific construction of the wad from a light fibrous material.

It has also been found that the undershot wad hereinabove disclosed and described is capable of superior performance with any choke inasmuch as the construction thereof allows the shot or pellets to move into the void upon the firing of the shell and prior to the pellets moving through the barrel of the gun and thus the choke, if any, which may be utilized in connection therewith, the foregoing being true regardless of the muzzle construction of the gun.

Additionally, the undershot wad gives a better polishing action than those heretofore known as a result of the outward movement of the cylindrical wall of the wad caused by the shot moving into the void. Thus, the wall of the wad is forced against the bore and through such engagement, achieves a desirable and efiicient polishing action upon the interior of the bore.

Tests have also shown that shells utilizing a wad such as hereinabove described, have a longer effective range due to the increased density of the shot resulting from the provision of the void in the wad, and that the shot will furthermore achieve a higher velocity.

Thus, the performance of the shotgun shell is directly improved by the provision of an undershot wad such as hereinabove described which is light in construction and Which has a void formed therein whereby to receive a portion of the shot charge upon firing of the shell through the break-away feature incorporated in the closure member normally overlying the void, the specific improved results being hereinabove referred to.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

An undershot wad for a shotgun shell having a casing, a powder charge and a load of shot in the casing and a wad overlying the powder charge, said undershot wad being positioned above the over powder wad and comprising a cylindrical body having a pair of opposed faces, there being a concave void formed substantially centrally of each of said faces, said body extending between said voids whereby to separate the voids and render the same incommunicable, said voids each defining an annular shoulder on the respective face of the body within which the void is formed; and a flat, disc-like closure member overlying each of said voids, the marginal edge of each of said closure members being in contact with its corresponding annular shoulder, one of said closure members underlying the shot of the shell and supporting said shot when the shell is unfired, said closure member being formed of a material which will fracture upon firing of the shell whereby to allow the shot to move into the void therebeneath and thereby occupy a greater amount of space within the shell than prior to the firing thereof, the other closure member being of a similar material as that forming said one closure member whereby the undershot wad may be inverted when initially placed within said casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 997,566 Leach July 11, 1911 2,144,780 Schuricht et al. Jan. 24, 1939 2,582,125 Holmes Jan. 8, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 652,108 Germany Oct. 25, 1937 673,572 Great Britain June 11, 1952 1,026,819 France Feb. 11, 1953 1,177,916 France Dec. 8, 1958 438,808 Italy Aug. 28, 1948 1,058,302 France Nov. 4, 1953

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