US3550531A - Shotgun shell - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent [72] Inventor Joseph 11. Carter 714 Medford Drive, Rockford, Ill. [21] Appl. No. 730,144 [22] Filed May 17, 1968 [45] Patented Dec. 29, 1970 [54] SHOTGUN SHELL 13 Claims, 11 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 102/42, 102/43. 102/95 [51] 1nt.C1 F42b7/06, F42b 7/08 [50] FieldofSearch 102/42, 42C, 43, 43C, 4312, 95. 38

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 395,897 1/1887 Hartley&Hobbs 102/42 3,208,382 9/1965 Footeetal 102/42 3,217,648 11/1965 Footeetal.... 102/42 3,266,421 8/1966 Comerford 102/42 3,269,311 8/1966 Comerford 102/95X 3,279,375 10/1966 l-lerter 102/42 3,298,313 1/1967 Comerford... 102/42 3299813 l/1967 Rickey 102/42 3,352,239 11/1967 Schinnerer 102/95 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,147,004 7/1957 France 102/43 1,462,930 11/1966 France......... 102/43 977,116 12/1964 GreatBritain 102/43 OTHER REFERENCES Reprint: Guns and Ammo; The Shotgun Shell of the Future, April 1967: 6 pages; 102/42(C).

Primary Examiner-Robert F. Stahl Attorney-Andrew F. Wintercorn ABSTRACT: This plastic shell has a radiused leading end for easy entry into the firing chamber and is fluted longitudinally externally to cushion shock in firing and insure easier removal after firing. lts butt end is recessed annularly on the inner side and has evenly circumferentially spaced holes in the outer side leaving resilient webs therebetween to cushion shock in firing and eliminate possibility of fracturing. A conical shaped plastic overshot cover gives conical form to the forward end of the shot mass for a better shot pattern, this cover having a peripheral forwardly extending flange fitting closely in the open end of the shell, the flange being slotted lengthwise on one portion to insure sidewise movement out of the path of the shot mass or else the whole cover being made of hard fracturable plastic and provided with weakening grooves to insure shattering into small bits when the shell is fired, to avoid interference with the shot mass. Small circumferentially spaced conical projections on the flange, in either case, scratch the bore of the softer plastic shell to fasten the cover well enough without need for swaging or crimping the open end of the shell. A plastic combination shot carrier wad between the shot and the powder has a cup-shaped front end portion to receive the shot mass, this end portion being slitted longitudinally a short distance at the open end at circumferentially spaced points to enable. the portions therebetween to flex outwardly under air pressure after firing of the shell to strip clear of the shot mass, a rear wad portion that serves as a gas seal in relation to the powder being connected with the cupped portion by resilient spacer struts in evenly circumferentially spaced relation, all inclined at the same small angle in the same direction relative to a plane through the axis of the shell to cushion the firing thrust and act as a spring means to help propel the shot mass out of the gun barrel.

PATENIEUnEc29|9m 3,550,531

INVENTORI' Joseph H. Carter SHOTGUN SHELL This invention relates to a new and improved shotgun shell comprising three novel components, all contributing to a new and better shells that can be reloaded by anyone with or without sophisticated equipment, namely:

I. An improved plastic shellor case having a radiused leading end to facilitate entry into the firing chambers, the shell being made of a tough, high-density plastic material such as high-density polyethylene, polycarbonate, ethyl cellulose, phenoxy, et cetera, enabling the shell to withstand repeated reloading and firing and making it feasible to incorporate a hollowed cushioned base or butt portion on the shell to convert shock to useful energy and reduce recoil and also greatly reduce likelihood of fracture, the interior of the shell being smooth, but the external surface being fluted longitudinally both for shock absorption and to facilitate removal from the firing chamber;

2. An improved thin-walled slitted shot carrier and wad designed to protect the shot and the gun-barrel and, through improved design, prevent the shot from being forced through slits in the carrier and coming into contact with the barrel, the slitting from the open end being relatively short, and designed only to open the carrier enough to strip clear of the shot, while the wad portion is designed to convert shock to energy in firing and reduce recoil;

3. An improved plastic overshot cover which has a conical pocket to receive some of the shot in the carrier sleeve and form it to a conical ended mass, which in the firing of the shell assures better aerodynamic environment for the shot mass and ultimately a far better shot pattern, the cover having a peripheral forwardly extending flange to position it in the open end of the shell, this flange being slotted to insure lateral movement out of the path of the shot upon firing as air spills through the slot or slots, causing the cover to veer off laterally out of the way of the shot mass;

4. Another improved plastic overshot cover of the same general shape as the first mentioned cover with a view to obtaining the same improved aerodynamic environment for the shot mass and ultimately a better shot pattern, this cover, like the first mentioned one, being transparent to allow inspection of the shot, but being designed with weakening grooves so as to fracture into small bits immediately upon firing of the shell, thereby more effectively eliminating interference with the shot, this cover, like the first e mentioned one, being furthermore of a harder plastic than the shell case and designed with a view to being fastened in the shell by a series of sharp projections on the outer edge of the pheripheral flange that cut into the softer material of the shell, so that there is no need for swaging or crimping the open end of the shell inwardly to confine the charge, as this avoids distortion of the shot mass at the outset and avoids reduction of the power of the charge by the amount of power required to spread or uncrimp the open end of the shell in the instant of firing.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. I is a perspective view of one of my improved shot-gun shells shown nearly full size;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section, on a larger scale;

FIG. 2A is a rear end view of the shell of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 3 and 3A are perspective views of two forms of overshot covers of different designs, the one shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 being like that of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a face view of the cover shown in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 and 5A are ad side and face views, respectively, of the cover shown in FIG. 3A, and

FIGS. 6-68 are, respectively, a side view, end view and cross section of the combination shot-carrying shock-absorbing plug or wad seen in longitudinal section in FIG. 2, the cross section FIG. 68 being taken on the line B-B of FIG. 6.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring first to FIGS. I and 2, the reference numeral 10 designates a shotgun shell assembly, made in accordance with my invention, in which 11 designates a plastic shell or case made preferably of any tough high-density plastic material. the butt end 12 of the shell having the usual primer case 13 entered in place in the usual way in a center hole 14. This primer case is readily removable from the shell after the shell has been fired, to be replaced by a new one when making the shell ready for a fresh charge of powder 16 and shot I7. The shot are separated from the powder by an improved thin-walled, slitted, spring action combination shot carrier and wad 18 that is illustrated in FIGS. 6-68, the details of which will be described later. I9 is an improved over shot cover of molded plastic material, preferably of crystal styrene, although any plastic material having similar hardness greater than that of the shell or case II may be used, this cover 19 being further illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 and described in greater detail hereinafter. The outer side of the open end 20 of the shell or case 11 is rounded on the maximum radius, making it easy to enter the shell into a firing chamber. Covers I9 may rely on their close friction fit in the mouth of the shell to hold the same in place, but, like the cover I9 shown in FIGS. 3A, 5 and 5A, they are preferably self-retaining, up to the time of firing the shell, these covers both having means for staking the same in place in the bore of the shells as they are assembled in place therein.

Referring to, FIGS. 3 and 4, the overshot cover I9 is preferably molded of crystal styrene or similar hard plastic material, in the form of a hollow cone 2], with an upstanding flange 22 annularly of the bottom thereof and surrounding the same to provide elongated bearing engagement within the bore of the shell l1,-immediately behind the open end 20. In order to be sure that the cover 19, immediately after will veer off to one side out of the path of the shot 17, I provide one or more longitudinally extending slots 23, these in the case of a plurality of slots being in closely spaced parallel relation, extending nearly the full height of the flange on one side. As a result, air spilling through the slot or slots 23 immediately after leaving the barrel, causes the cover to tumble over and veer off to one side instead of interfering with the shot mass. Where two or more of these slots are provided the material in a small narrow strip 24 between two slots could be broken away to increase this air spilling effect to better insure the veering off to one side of the cover.

The cover 19' shown in FIGS. 3A, and 5 and 5A, is also made of crystal styrene or similar plastic material, partly for the added hardness, which is important from the standpoint that this cover 19'. like the cover 19,.is designed to be staked in place in the bore of the softer plastic shell 11, either by means of a plurality of equally circumferentially spaced small conical shaped projections 25. These projections scratch the softer plastic material of the shell and thereby imbeds themselves sufficiently in the wall of the shell to fasten the cover in place securely enough for all practical purposes, so that there is no need at all for swaging or crimping the outer end of the shell inwardly. The important difference in the cover 19 over cover 19 is that it is adapted to be readily shattered or fractured into small bits upon firing of the shell, and for this purpose the conical center portion 21' has equally spaced radial weakening grooves 26 provided therein, the outer ends of which are in register with longitudinally extending weakening grooves 27 provided in the inner or outer side (or both sides, or partially on both sides) of the flange 22'. the grooves 26 being approximately .020 inch deep in relation to a wall thickness of approximately .030 inch, whereas the grooves 27 are .010 inch deep in relation to a wall thickness of approximately .020 inch. While I have shown external grooves 27, it is realized that internal ones are preferred from the standpoint of excluding moisture. In either case, there is only a little more structural strength in the cover 19' than is necessary for it to perform its intended function of covering and shaping the front end portion of the shot mass to a conical form and retaining it up to the time the shell is fired. At that point,'due partly to the weakening by grooving and partly to the fact that the plastic material employed is more readily fractured, and also partly on account of the way in which the cover is secured by the projections 25, or the equivalent, the covers 19' shatter into small bits when these shells are fired, and hence, there is no interference whatever with the shot mass, and an improved shot pattern is therefore assured.

The covers 19 and 19' may e may be of clear transparent plastic material, which is considered advantageous because it permits inspection of the shot before a shell is entered in the firing chamber. Both covers are designed to be inserted by finger pressure to the point of engagement with the shot carrier, the shot being crowded thereby out into the conical pocket in the cover. Obviously, therefore, much less force is wasted in the firing of the shell to expel the shot and wad than if the open end of the shell or case 11 was swaged or crimped inwardly and had to be spread open.

Coming next to the combination shot carrier wad 18 shown in FIGS. 6-68, these are molded of a tough plastic material and will be made available in different lengths to suit different requirements, as, of course, some loads use more powder charge than others and some use more shot than others, and, of course, one may want to increase the powder charge and reduce the shot, or vice versa, or change the amount of the powder charge, leaving the amount of shot the same as before, or vice versa. Hence, a variety of these wads 18 will be made available to fill a corresponding variety of requirements. In each case however, the hollow cylindrical cup-shaped front carrier portion 28 has the side walls thereof split longitudinally inwardly from the open end at intervals, as indicated at 29, only far enough (about one-third the length of portion 28) for the panels 30 defined therebetween to flex outwardly under air pressure after firing of the shell to strip clear of the shot mass, and accordingly avoid interference with its direction toward the target, again with a view to obtaining the best possible shot pattern. The slits 29 have the edges thereof beveled outwardly, as indicated at 31, to facilitate the outward flexing while leaving the bore of the cup-shaped front carrier portion 28 smooth, so there is no opportunity for shot to force their way through the slits and come into rubbing contact with the bore of the barrel in the firing of the shell, such contact being detrimental because of the wear on the barrel and the accompanying damage to the shot. The rear wad portion 32 of the combination shot carrier of wad 18 is defined by two coaxially spaced cylindrical plugs or wads 33 and 34, the rear one of which has a dished or cupped outer face so as to define a circumferentially extending feather edge 35, serving as a gas seal in relation to the powder 16. The resilient spacer struts 36, which are molded integral with the wads 33 and 34, are evenly circumferentially spaced, and all inclined longitudinally at the same small angle and in the same direction each relative to a plane through the axis of the shell, so as to flex enough to cushion the firing thrust and accordingly relieve the kick which the operator would feel on his shoulder in the firing of the shotgun. These struts, while absorbing the initial shock of the explosion between the powder and shot mass, give in a spiral fashion and act as a spring means to help propel the shot mass as it moves forwardly through the gun barrel. In other words, the struts with their spring-back action, convert shock to useful energy in the form of added thrust against the shot mass as the combination shot carrier and wad 18 is expelled from the shell case under the force of the expanding gases within the shell case.

In conclusion, the shell case 11, which as shown at 37 in FIG. 1, is fluted longitudinally on the exterior to further cushion the shock in the firing of the shell and make it easier for the operator to remove the shell after firing, has the butt end wall 38 of sufficient thickness at the center to accommodate the primer 13, but recessed annularly on the inner side, as indicated at 39, to provide additional space for the powder charge 16, while on the outer side a series of evenly circumferentially spaced holes are provided. leaving resilient webs 41 between these holes and the annular groove 39 to close the butt end of the shell case. Here again, the object is to cushion the shock in firing, and, so far as possible, convert this force to useful energy in the expulsion of the load and eliminate the possibility of the shell fracturing.

it is believed the foregoing description conveys a good an derstanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, this is only for the purpose of illustration, and it is to be understood that various modifications in structure will occur to a person skilled in this art.

I claim:

1. In a firearm shell, a casing including an annular wall, a base including an extractor rim and a primer positioning hole, means fastening said base to said casing. a cushioned shot container within said casing comprising two cushioning wads in coaxially spaced relation with resilient cushioning means therebetween, the inner one of said wads having a circumferentially extending continuous gas sealing skirt portion extending rearwardly therefrom, said shell having a powder charge therein between the base and the inner wad, the forward one of said wads being plastic and having the shot container integral therewith and open at its forward end, shot within said container spaced thereby from the annular wall of the casing, and releasable closure means normally retaining said shot and shot container in said casing, the resilient cushioning means comprising solely a plurality of flexible resilient shock absorbing struts disposed in evenly circumferentially spaced relation longitudinally of said casing between and connecting said wads, all inclined transversely relative to the axis of said container at the same small angle and in the same direction each with respect to a plane through the axis of said container.

2. in a firearm shell, a casing including an annular wall, a base including an extractor rim and a primer positioning hole, means fastening said base to said casing, a cushioned shot container within said casing comprising two cushioning wads in coaxially spaced relation with resilient cushioning means therebetween, the inner one of said wads having a circumferentially extending continuous gas sealing skirt portion extending rearwardly therefrom, said shell having a powder charge therein between the base and the inner wad, the forward one of said wads being plastic and having the shot container integral therewith and open at its forward end, shot within said container spaced thereby from the annular wall of the casing, and releasable closure means normally retaining said shot an shot container in said casing, the releasable closure means being a closure of hollow conical form arranged with the point of the cone forward to give conical form to the forward end of the shot mass in said container, the closure having the base end of the cone abutting said container in said casing and having a substantially cylindrical flange positioning the same in coaxial relation to said container by contact with the inside of said casing in its open end, said flange having an air spilling opening provided therethrough which defines edges longitudinally of said flange for unbalanced air impingement on one side of said closure for the purpose described.

3. In a firearm shell, a casing including an annular wall, a base including an extractor rim and a primer positioning hole, means fastening said base to said casing, a shot container within said casing between a powder charge in the base and the open end of said shell and having an open forward end, said open end of said casing having an unrestricted smooth cylindrical bore, shot filling said container and projecting in a conical mass from the open front end thereof, a hollow conical closure in said casing enclosing therein said conical shot mass in front of said container and detachably secured in the open end of said casing, said hollow conical closure having abutment with said container in said casing and having a substantially cylindrical flange positioning the same in coaxial relation to said container by contact with the inside of said casing in its open end, and means on the periphery of said flange on said closure detachably securing the closure to said casing.

4. A firearm shell as set forth in claim 3 wherein the open end of said casing is unrestricted and there is means on the periphery of the flange on said hollow conical closure detachably securing the closure to said casing.

5. A firearm shell as set forth in claim 3 wherein said casing is plastic and the open end of said casing is unrestricted and there is projecting means on the periphery of said flange on said closure which by impression in the softer plastic of said casing in the open end of the latter serves to secure a said closure in place detachably until firing.

6. A firearm shell as set forth in claim 3 wherein said casing is plastic and the open end of said casing is unrestricted and said closure is of harder plastic than said casing and has sharp projecting means which by cutting into the softer plastic of said casing in the open end of the latter serves to secure said closure detachably in place until firing of said shell.

7. A firearm shell as set forth in claim 3 wherein said casing is plastic and there are projecting means on the periphery of said flange on said closure which by impression in the softer plastic of said casing in the open end of the latter serve to secure said closure in place detachably until firing.

8. A firearm shell as set forth in claim 3 wherein said casing is plastic and said closure is of harder plastic material than said casing and has a sharp projecting means which by cutting into the softer plastic of said casing in the open end of the late latter serve to secure a said closure detachably in place until firing of said shell.

9. A firearm shell as set forth in claim 3 wherein said conical closure is of clear transparentplastic material permitting inspection therethrough of the shot mass in said container through the open end of said shell.

10. A firearm shell as set forth in claim 9 wherein said conical closure is of a plastic material that is brittle and easily fractured along predetermined radial lines whereby to break into small bits upon firing of said shell.

11. A firearm shell as set forth in claim 9 wherein said conical closure is of a plastic material that is brittle and has weakening grooves provided therein so that said closure is more easily fractured whereby to be break into small bits upon firing of said shell.

12. In a firearm shell, a casing including an annular wall, a base including an extractor rim and a primer positioning hole, means fastening said base to sad said casing, a shot container within said casing between a powder charge in the base and the open end of said shell and having an open forward end, said open end of said casing having an unrestricted smooth cylindrical bore, shot filling said container and projecting in a conical mass from the open front end thereof, and a hollow conical closure in said casing enclosing therein said conical shot mass in front of said container and detachably secured in the open end of said casing, said hollow conical closure having abutment with said container in said casing and having a substantially cylindrical flange positioning the same in coaxial relation to said container by contact with the inside of said casing in its open end, said flange having an air spilling opening provided therethrough which defines edges longitudinally of said flange for unbalanced air impingement on one side of said closure for the purpose described.

13. In a firearm shell. a casing including an annular wall. a base including an extractor rim and a primer positioning hole, means fastening said base to said casing, a cushioned shot container within said casing comprising two cushioning wads in coaxially spaced relation with resilient cushioning means therebetween, the inner one of said wads having a circumferentially extending continuous gas sealing skirt portion extending rearwardly therefrom, said shell having a powder charge therein between the base and the inner wad, the forward one of said wads being plastic and having the shot container integral therewith and open at its forward end, shot within said container spaced thereby from the annular wall of the casing, and releasable closure means normally retaining said shot and shot container in said casing, the resilient cushioning means comprising solely a plurality of flexible resilient shock absorbing struts disposed evenly in circumferentially spaced relation longitudinally of said casing between and connecting a said wads, all inclined transversely relative to the axis of said container at the same small angle and in the same direction each with respect to a plane through the axis of said container, the shot container being thin walled ands and slrtted longrtudrnally at a plurality of evenly circumferentially spaced points about one-third of the length thereof from the open end with a view to initially confining the bulk of the shot mass therein after firing while permitting eventual spreading of the slitted end portion by wind pressure in the open end of said portion for thereafter stripping the container from said shot mass.

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