US3755946A

US3755946A - Clip-on shell catcher

Info

Publication number: US3755946A
Application number: US00236738A
Authority: US
Inventors: F Tomlinson; H Shell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-03-21
Filing date: 1972-03-21
Publication date: 1973-09-04
Anticipated expiration: 1990-09-04

Abstract

A clip-on shell catcher for use on multiple shot semi-automatic guns having a shell ejection port and shell ejection mechanism, which consists of a clip-type spring or plate which is removably applicable to the side of the receiver of the semi-automatic gun to the rear of and in the lower portion of the ejection port of the gun. The top edge of the catcher, as installed on a semiautomatic gun, is spaced above and in close parallel proximity to the lower edge of the ejection port opening and thus restricts that opening so that the body of an ejected shell will pass through the opening but the base rim of the shell is held inside the receiver of the gun. The catcher does not restrict the entire port opening so that manual removal of an expended shell and reloading of the gun is facilitated.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Tomlinson et 211.

Sept. 4, 1973 CLIP-ON SHELL CATCHER [52] US. Cl 42/1 R [51] Int. Cl. F4lc 27/00 [58] Field of Search 42/1 R; 89/33 F [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,087,387 4/1963 Browning 42/1 R 3,270,617 9/1966 Seymour et al.... 42/1 R 3,390,610 7/1968 Jordan 42/] R 3,603,015 9/1971 Jensen 42/1 R 3,609,900 10/1971 Bemocco 42/1 R Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt Assistant ExaminerC. T. Jordan Att0rneyBobby D. Scearce [57] ABSTRACT A clip-on shell catcher for use on multiple shot semiautomatic guns having a shell ejection port and shell ejection mechanism, which consists of a clip-type spring or plate which is removably applicable to the side of the receiver of the semi-automatic gun to the rear of and in the lower portion of the ejection port of the gun. The top edge of the catcher, as installed on a semi-automatic gun, is spaced above and in close parallel proximity to the lower edge of the ejection port opening and thus restricts that opening so that the body of an ejected shell will pass through the opening but the base rim of the shell is held inside the receiver of the gun. The catcher does not restrict the entire port opening so that manual removal of an expended shell and reloading of the gun is facilitated.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Z l T 4 PATENTEDSEP 4 FIGURE l &

FIGURE GURE-4 FIGURE-3 CLIP-ON SHELL CATCHER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to firearms, and particularly to a device which is used to keep a singly fired shell from being completely ejected from a semiautomatic gun, to permit manual removal of the expended shell from the receiver of the gun and to permit reloading of the gun without removal of the catcher from the receiver of the gun.

Many trap, skeet, and other target ranges do not allow retrieval of expended shells from the shooting range gound, although many shooters choose to save expended shells for subsequent reloading and reuse. Therefore anyone using a semi-automatic gun in these sports may be prohibited from saving their expended shells for reloading and reuse. In addition, many of the expended shells which are retrieved from the ground following ejection from the semi-automatic gun are damaged beyond use from dampness or other physical damage, and further, many expended shells become lost which could otherwise be reused.

Other shell catchers or restrainers presently available have certain disadvantages, not suffered by the clip-on shell catcher herein described. The fork-type (Seymour, U.S. Pat. No. 3,270,617) and keeper rod type (Jensen, U.S. Pat No. 3,603,015) shell catchers are designed to attach to the bolt of the gun, and extend along the side of the receiver of the gun beside and in a spaced relationship to the ejection port opening; these catchers move rapidly and deliberately with the movement of the bolt, and in use are potentially dangerous to the shooters hand which holds the forend of the gun (on firing), or the shooters hand which holds the stock (on recoil). Another type shell catcher presently in use is the wire or spring-wire type, which can be installed on a semi-automatic gun by drilling two holes into the receiver at the top of the ejection port, and inserting a short length of suitably shaped stiff wire into the drilled holes; this catcher usually requires a gunsmith or other skilled person to drill the holes and to fit a spring wire to the gun, is easy to remove from the gun, but is often very difficult to reinstall. Still another type catcher consists of a suitable shaped wire which partially encircles the receiver of the gun as installed (Bernocco, U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,900); this catcher has the possible disadvantages of shooter distraction or interference with the line of sight or sighting picture of the gun, inability to reliably remain in an operative position on the gun, or potential damage to the receiver of the gun. Another type (Browning, U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,387) also may require gun modification and may interfere with the line of sight or sighting picture of the gun during use.

The Clip-On Shell Catcher here described is easy to install and to remove so that a shooter can enter various shooting events with minimum alteration to his gun; does not require modification to the gun; does not have any movement associated with its operation; and does not interfere with the operation of the gun, either because of its weight or because of its placement on the gun.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises a plate having a curved edge to engage the lower edge of the ejection port of a semi-automatic gun at the rear of the ejection port to prevent the base rim of a shell from being ejected from the gun when the bolt of the gun is opened following firing of the gun.

It is an object of the invention to keep singly fired shells in semi-automatic guns from being completely ejected so as to facilitate recovery of the expended shell for reuse.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clipon and clip-off type catcher which is easily installed, removed and reinstalled.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent as the detailed description proceeds.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the clip-on shell catcher.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the receiver of a semi-automatic gun with the Clip-on Shell Catcher installed on the receiver.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of one type of receiver with a clip-on shell catcher installed, showing the structural details of the preferred embodiment of the catcher.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a different type receiver showing another embodiment of this invention wherein the upper curved portion of the catcher is held in place by the use of a shouldered member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION One embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The material of construction can be sheet steel, plastic or other materials, and is, therefore, not critical so long as the material will flex enough to allow the lower channeled portion 11 of the catcher to flex and spring over the lower edge 21 of the receiver of the gun as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4, while the upper curved portion of the catcher, including lip 12, engages the receiver at the rear of and in the lower portion of the ejection port 22. Front tab 13 may be included to facilitate the smooth movement of the shell wall over the top surface of the catcher as the expended shell is ejected from the ejection port. The rear tab 14 may facilitate smooth movement of the bolt handle 23 of the gun over the top surface of the catcher and tend to prevent movement of the catcher toward the stock of the gun upon recoil. The distance between the front tab 13 and rear tab 14 is not critical except that the distance between the front tab 13 and the front of ejection port 22 must be large enough to allow loading of shells and removal of spent shell casings.

The front and rear edges of spring wall 15 may be of various shapes without affecting the operation of the shell catcher.

The width of the curved portion between lip 12 and spring wall 15 is such that the height of the top surface of the catcher is spaced above and in close parallel proximity to the lower edge of the ejection port 22, to partially restrict the ejection port opening so that the shell wall will pass through the opening, but the base rim of the shell will be caught between the catcher and the top of the ejection port. This critical height could also be set by suitable adjustment of

tabs

13 and 14 or by partially filling the inside curvature of the top of the 3 catcher with solid material, a short length of rod stock or various other means.

As shown in FIG. 3, a bevel may be provided on the curved portion of the catcher which engages the lower portion of the ejection port along lip 12. This may be desired to avoid possible interference between the bolt and receiver of the gun during operation of the gun.

Lip 12 as shown in FIG. 3 may be replaced by one or more shouldered members 16 as shown in FIG. 4, for another type receiver which may have a channel or holes in the lower edge of the ejection port.

Various modifications could be made to the lip, tabs, or shouldered members so long as the purpose thereof is to hold the upper curved portion of the catcher above and in close parallel proximity to the lower edge of the ejection port 22 and at the proper height to allow passage of the body of an expended shell but to prevent passage of the base rim of the expended shell.

It may be desirable to coat the shell catcher with a suitable material to provide an attractive appearance, an appearance which matches the receiver or corrosion resistance, or to prevent possible marring or scratching of the receiver. Suitable coatings may be applied to the catcher using Teflon, gun black materials, or gun bluing materials.

The plate used to form the invention need not be a solid plate, as it may be desirable to use a plate with one or more openings therein to minimize weight or for decorative purposes.

In its operative position, the invention hereinbefore described is installed on the receiver of a semiautomatic gun to the rear of and in the lower portion of the ejection port of the gun substantially as shown in FIG. 2. The ejection port opening is restricted by the invention only to the extent necessary to retain an ejected shell. The foreward portion of the ejection port remains unrestricted so that the shooter may manually remove an expended shell following firing of the gun by grasping the body of the shell and sliding the shell forward until the base rim of the shell clears the invention and can be removed through the unrestricted portion of the ejection port. To insert a new shell into the receiver for firing, the shooter inserts the shell, base rim first, into the foreward unrestricted portion of the ejection port, then slides the shell toward the backward portion of the ejection port, and rotates the shell into position within the receiver with the base rim toward the rear of the receiver.

Because of the clip-on, clip-off characteristic, the Clip-On Shell Catcher can be easily removed in the event the shooter wishes to engage in rapid multiple firing, and similarly easily reinstalled for catching expended shells during single firing of the gun.

The invention described herein is the easiest to install and remove of any presently known shell catchers because of its spring clip action, and it is needed by those shooters who reload shells for reuse and wish to use one gun for various events in trap, skeet, and other target shooting. Other details of construction and use may be applied as might occur to one skilled in the art and have therefore not been shown in complete detail. Other embodiments of the invention might be developed without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A shell catcher for catching shells expended from a semi-automatic gun having a recelver including an ejection port which comprises, a plate having a first curved portion on one edge thereof for engaging that portion of the receiver of the gun defining the lower edge of the ejection port thereof, and having a second curved portion on an edge opposite said first curved portion for engaging the lower surface of the receiver of the gun, said second curved portion tensioned to frictionally resist removal.

2. A shell catcher as recited in claim 1 further comprising a tab-shaped member formed on said plate on one edge thereof at an end of said first curved portion, to maintain said first curved portion in a spaced relationship to the lower edge of the ejection port.

3. A shell catcher as recited in claim 2 further comprising a beveled portion on said plate on the edge thereof having said first curved portion.

4. A shell catcher as recited in claim 1 further comprising a Teflon coating on said plate.

5. In a semi-automatic gun having a shell ejection mechanism, a receiver including an ejection port, and a shell catcher, the improvement comprising, a plate having a first curved portion on one edge thereof for engaging that portion of the receiver of the gun defining the lower edge of the ejection port thereof, and having a second curved portion on an edge opposite said first curved portion for engaging the lower surface of the receiver of the gun, said second curved portion tensioned to frictionally resist removal.

6. The combination as recited in claim 5 further comprising a tab-shaped member formed on said plate on one edge thereof at an end of said first curved portion, to maintain said first curved portion in a spaced relationship to the lower edge of the ejection port.

7. The combination as recited in claim 6 further comprising a beveled portion on said plate on the edge thereof having said first curved portion.

8. The combination as recited in claim 5 further comprising a Teflon coating on said plate.

Claims

1. A shell catcher for catching shells expended from a semiautomatic gun having a rece1ver including an ejection port which comprises, a plate having a first curved portion on one edge thereof for engaging that portion of the receiver of the gun defining the lower edge of the ejection port thereof, and having a second curved portion on an edge opposite said first curved portion for engaging the lower surface of the receiver of the gun, said second curved portion tensioned to frictionally resist removal.