US3282636A

US3282636A - Ammunition shell holder

Info

Publication number: US3282636A
Application number: US399578A
Authority: US
Inventors: Preston D Rigterink
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-09-28
Filing date: 1964-09-28
Publication date: 1966-11-01
Anticipated expiration: 1983-11-01

Description

Nov. 1, 1966 P. D. RlGTERlNK 3,282,636

AMMUNITION SHELL HOLDER Filed Sept. 28, 1964 IN I v M11" INVENTOR. PAAS'TU/U 0. nary/MK ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,282,636 AMIWUNITION SHELL HOLDER Preston D. Rigterink, 1656 Wolverins St., Holland, Mich. Filed Sept. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 399,578 4 Claims. (Cl. 312-280) This invention relates to a device for holding armed rounds of ammunition in a ready position for loading a weapon, and more particularly to an ammunition holder of this nature which includes a provision for storing spent rounds of ammunition so that they may be used again in the future.

In the shooting of firearms for sport and recreation, and especially in target practice and trapshooting, participants are for the most part skilled in reloading their own ammunition. Consequently, it is desirable to save each cartridge casing after that particular round has been fired, so that the casing may later be reloaded and used again at a future date. Many, many rounds of ammunition are normally fired in a brief period of target shooting, however, and it is cumbersome and annoying to attempt to clean up all of these spent casings when the shooting is completed. By this time casings are scattered all about the area and retrieving them requires considerable stooping and groping in the dirt while the next shooter impatiently awaits his turn. Moreover, no provision is readily available for storing the individual casings as they are ejected from the gun. It would be far too bulky to place all of the casings in ones clothing, and shooting ranges normally provide only a small stand upon which to place ones fresh rounds of ammunition at the commencement of the shooting, and upon which there is no extra space for empty casings.

It is a major object of this invention to provide a shell holder which is capable, even when supported only upon a typically small shooting range stand or the like, of retaining a large number of separately spaced, loaded shells in a readily accessible upright position, on a h'ousing base that uniquely retains and stores empty shells deposited therein between shots.

The invention provides a most effective .and convenient solution of the difficulties described above, by holding the fresh or armed rounds of ammunition in a ready position for the shooter to use in reloading his weapon, uniquely positioned with respect to the empty shell storage chamber so that spent casings may be deposited with part of the same motion necessary to reach for the specially oriented and positioned, fresh shells with which to reload the weapon. Furthermore, these objectives are achieved by a device which is economical to manufacture, of low initial cost, which is durable and maintenance-free, and yet which is an attractive accessory piece of equipment. It has true simplicity of structure. Indeed, its very simplicity, in contrast to its unique functions is one of its chief attributes.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become increasingly apparent upon consideration of the following specification and its appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ammunition shell holder; and

FIG. 2 is a central section of the inventive device.

Briefly, this invention includes an enclosure defined by interjoined. side, top, and bottom portions which are further formed so as to define an opening which gives access into the interior of the enclosure. This access opening is preferably in the general form of an upright hopper or funnel-shaped apparatus, so as to be readily accessible from the top and also so that empty cartridge casings may be easily dropped into the interior of the enclosure.

3,282,636 Patented Nov. 1, 1966 ice . The device further includes a plurality of spaced chambers which are formed in the top portion of the enclosure, and which have a diameter which is slightly greater than that of the largest cartridge expected to be used, so that the cartridges may easily be inserted into and withdrawn from the chambers, which thus serve to hold the cartridges in a ready upright position spaced from each other.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in the perspective of FIG. 1 the ammunition shell holder is seen to comprise an enclosure 10, which includes a front side 12, a rear side 14, a pair of lateral sides 16 and 18, a bottom 20, and a top 22, which are all interjoined at their common boundaries in a conventional manner. The sides, top, and bottom portion-s may be formed. from any suitable sheet material, but in practice it has been discovered that plastic substances seem to lend themselves most readily to current manufacturing techniques and may be used to produce the most economical embodiment of the device.

As may best be seen in FIG. 2, the lateral sides 16 and 13 are actually five-sided pieces whose front extremity (i.e., that which joins front side 12) is in the form of a more of less pointed two-sided projection. Thus, when front side 12 is joined to the remainder of the enclosure it an access opening 24 is formed between the front and lateral sides and the top 22, which opening angles upwardly in the manner of a hopper or funnel (note FIG. 1.)

The top 22, which closes the upper extremity of the enclosure 10, preferably is formed from a somewhat thicker piece of material than are the sides and bottom of the device. A plurality of chambers 26 are formed into the top, and it is into these chambers that cartridges will be placed when the device is in use. Consequently, the chambers 26 should be of a diameter slightly larger than that of the ammunition which is to be used. For example, since trapshooting involves the use of shotguns, an ammunition holder which is practice has been found to give excellent results in this field possessed a top whose upper surface was six inches square, and which had chambers 26 which were inche in diameter and 1% inches deep. This particular size of chamber is very well suited for most conventional types of shotgun shells. Of course if other sizes were used, or if a rifle were being fired, the chambers 26 could be of a different size, in order to more closely accommodate a particular cartridge. The particular size of the upper suface area of the top 22 may of course also be varied according to particular applications, but since the normal round of trapshooting is twenty-five shots, it has been found that twentyfive of the chambers 26 having the dimensions previously given may conveniently be formed in the six-inch square top. A shell holder of this size fits securely and readily on the small conventional shell stands at a shooting range. Also, the lower portion of the enclosure 10, which supports the top 22 and the armed shells doubles as the empty shell storage chamber.

Having fully and completely described the structure of the ammunition shell holder, its use in operation should be obvious. Prior to entering the area of active shooting, the marksman inserts his live ammunition into the chambers 26 in the top 22 of the enclosure 10, one cartridge being inserted into each chamber. Each cartridge is then securely held in spaced relationship to every other cartridge.

As the firing commences, each time the gun must be loaded the empty, spent cartridges are removed from the Weapon and dropped into the access opening 24 as the shooter reaches for a fresh supply of live, armed cartridges from the chambers 26 in the top 22 of the device.

Thus, with very nearly the same motion previously required to merely load the firearm anew, the marksman may, through the use of the present invention, also place the spent cartridge casings in a place of containment and storage, so that the casings will not become lost. Moreover; no longer will a time-consuming and cumbersome search of the immediate area be required while other shooters are forced to wait before they may take their respective turns at shooting. Finally, through the use of the present invention the spent casings of two or more shooters will no longer become intermixed, as has frequently been the case heretofore.

It should now be apparent that the ammunition shell holder disclosed herein is subject to modification and alteration without departing from the spirit of the invention and the concept underlying it, and that consequently all such modifications and alterations should be considered as within the scope of the invention unless the appended claims by their express language state otherwise.

I claim:

1. A .firearm accessory for holding cartridges, comprising: an enclosure having interjoined side, top, and bottom portions forming a cartridge receiving space under said top portion; a plurality of upright spaced chambers formed in said top portion above said space for holding armed cartridges in fixed spaced relation relative to each other, said chambers each being of a predetermined size determined by the size of cartridges to be held thereby; the horizontal cross-sectional Width of said chambers in all directions being slightly greater than the diameter of said cartridges and the depth of said chambers being less than the length of said cartridges to allow the same to protrude upwardly from said top whereby said cartridges can be readily inserted and withdrawn therefrom; and an 4 access opening formed in at least one of said portions for admitting spent cartridges into said space, said access opening being located directly adjacent said top portion, whereby empty cartridges may be deposited therein with the same motion necessary for reaching toward said top portion to select live cartridges therefrom.

2. The device of claim 1 in which first and second side portions extend parallel to each other in one direction beyond the said top portion thereby providing an opening from the top.

3. The device of claim 2 in which first and second parallel side portions terminate at a third side portion, said third side portion having a depth less than the space between said top and bottom portions; and said first-and second side portions having top edges inclined downwardly from the said top portion to said third side portion thereby providing an opening from both the side and the top.

4. The device of claim 3 in which the third side portion inclines downwardly toward the space under said top.

port-ion causing cartridges deposited through said opening to slide under said top portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 652,778 7/ 1900 James 206l6 691,695 1/ 1902' Aderer 20617 2,505,898 5/ 1950 Jaffe et al 312290 X 2,795,323 6/1957 Amundsen 2063 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

F. DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A FIREARM ACCESSORY FOR HOLDING CARTRIDGE, COMPRISING: AN ENCLOSURE HAVING INTERJOINED SIDE, TOP, AND BOTTOM PORTIONS FORMING A CARTRIDGE RECEIVING SPACE UNDER SAID TOP PORTION; A PLURALITY OF UPRIGHT SPACED CHAMBERS FORMED IN SAID TOP PORTION ABOVE SAID SPACE FOR HOLDING ARMED CARTRIDGES IN FIXED SPACED RELATION RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER, SAID CHAMBERS EACH BEING OF A PREDETERMINED SIZE DETERMINED BY THE SIZE OF CARTRIDGES TO BE HELD THEREBY; THE HORIZONTAL CROSS-SECTIONAL WIDTH OF SAID CHAMBERS IN ALL DIRECTIONS BEING SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID CARTRIDGES AND THE DEPTH OF SAID CHAMBERS BEING LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF SAID CARTRIDGES TO ALLOW THE SAME TO PROTRUDE UPWARDLY FROM SAID TOP WHEREBY SAID CARTRIDGES CAN BE READILY INSERTED AND WITHDRAWN THEREFROM; AND AN ACCESS OPENING FORMED IN AT LEAST ONE OF SAID PORTIONS FOR ADMITTING SPENT CARTRIDGES INTO SAID SPACE, SAID ACCESS OPENING BEING LOCATED DIRECTLY ADJACENT SAID TOP PORTION, WHEREBY EMPTY CARTRIDGES MAY BE DEPOSITED THEREIN WITH THE SAME MOTION NECESSARY FOR REACHING TOWARD SAID TOP PORTION TO SELECT LIVE CARTRIDGES THEREFROM.