US 2013 0055611A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2013/0055611 A1 Blazek (43) Pub. Date: Mar. 7, 2013 (54) DEVICE FOR STRIPPING CARTRIDGES (52) U.S. Cl. ........................................................... 42/SO (76) Inventor: Timothy V. Blazek, Guilford, CT (US) (57) ABSTRACT Applicant has disclosed a method and apparatus to enhance feeding cartridges into the receiver of a bolt-action repeatin (21) Appl. No.: 13/457,757 rifle, E. a SAS magazine. In the preferred E. ment, Applicants invention strips the cartridges from the (22) Filed: Apr. 27, 2012 magazines and feeds the cartridges into the chamber by a spring-activated hinged flap, pinned in a mating recess in a Related U.S. Application Data breech bolt head, adjacent a well opening and the inserted magazine. The flap is biased by a spring, which tends to lower (60) Provisional application No. 61/517,885, filed on Apr. the flap away from the breech bolt head, when the breech bolt 27, 2011. is in a retracted position. As the breechbolt is pushed forward, the flap engages a rim of the next cartridge to be fed from the Publication Classification magazine and pushes the cartridge out of the magazine, over a feed ramp of the magazine, towards the rifle's chamber. The (51) Int. Cl. flap raises, against Spring pressure, as it contacts a feed ramp F4 LA 9/24 (2006.01) of the receiver, allowing the breech bolt to enter the locking F4 LA 9/64 (2006.01) area of the receiver. 1 O8 Patent Application Publication Mar. 7, 2013 Sheet 2 of 3 US 2013/0055611 A1 Patent Application Publication Mar. 7, 2013 Sheet 3 of 3 US 2013/0055611 A1 W123K) r F.C.. 6 US 2013/0055611 A1 Mar. 7, 2013 DEVICE FOR STRIPPING CARTRIDGES 0010 Prior to use, a firearm magazine must be loaded, charged, or filled with rounds. When a magazine is being RELATED APPLICATION loaded, it is necessary to depress all previously loaded rounds 0001. This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional to provide vacant space below the lips so an additional round Patent Application Ser. No. 61/517,885, filed Apr. 27, 2011. can be inserted or loaded into this space. Each time another Applicant claims priority from that application. Applicant round is loaded the spring is further compressed, requiring also incorporates by reference that application in its entirety. more insertion force. 0011 When a magazine is fully loaded, the spring is fully FIELD OF INVENTION compressed and exerts maximum upward force against the follower and rounds towards the lips. Sometimes though a 0002 This invention relates generally to bolt action rifles. spring is weakened. That can hinder Stripping the rounds. More specifically, it relates to devices for stripping cartridges 0012. Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present from detachable magazines into a bolt-action repeating rifle. invention to provide a mechanical device to help strip a car tridge off a detachable magazine. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 0013. It is another object to provide a cartridge stripper, 0003 Cartridges (also known as rounds) for firearms are attached to the breech bolt head, which cooperates with exist elongated. A typical cartridge includes a shellcasing, made of ing magazines. brass, which is filled with an explosive propellant. At its rear 0014. It is another object to provide a cartridge stripper, or closed end, the casing has a rim or flange containing a commensurate with the above-listed objects, which has few primer. Next to the rim is an extractor groove, an annular moving parts and is durable to use. groove machined into the casing which provides agrip for the guns extractor to pull the fired or unfired casing from the SUMMARY OF INVENTION chamber of the firearm. The front and opposite end of the 00.15 Applicant has disclosed a method and apparatus casing is open. A bullet, projectile, or head, usually of lead (nicknamed the "Cartridge Pusher') to enhance stripping car (optionally jacketed) is partially inserted into the open or tridges from a detachable magazine and feeding them into the front end of the case by crimping the casing onto the bullet. chamber of a bolt-action repeating rifle. In the preferred 0004 Some rifles have internally fixed magazines for “apparatus' embodiment, the Cartridge Pusher comprises a feeding cartridges into a chamber. For example, U.S. Pat. No. spring-biased extension (i.e., a hinged flap) pivotally attached 2,619,876 to Olson discloses a “magazine rifle” with an inter to a mating recess in the bottom of the breech bolt head, nal magazine. adjacent the well opening in which the magazine is inserted. 0005. Other rifles, such as the AR-15 bolt-action rifle, use When the rifle's breech bolt is pushed forward, the Cartridge detachable magazines instead to feed cartridges. Detachable Pusher engages the rim of the next cartridge to be fed into the magazines usually are elongated containers, generally rect chamber, pushing the cartridge out of the magazine, over the angular in cross-section, which are attached to the underside feed ramp, towards the chamber. The Cartridge Pusher raises, of the rifle (i.e., inside a well opening of the receiver). Such against Spring pressure, as it contacts the receiver's feed magazines are commonly made of aluminum alloys, plastic, ramp, allowing the breech bolt to enter the locking area of the steel, or a combination. receiver. 0006 Detachable magazines are usually closed on the sides and open on an upwardly facing top. The open top has a BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS rectangular opening and includes two round-retaining mem 0016. The above and other objects and advantages of the bers, known as feed lips, which project into or partly close the present invention will become more readily apparent upon opening. An internal spring urges a follower or lifter (i.e., a reading the following description and drawings in which: shaped piece of plastic or metal) toward the open side. The 0017 FIG. 1 depicts a preferred embodiment of Appli spring-loaded follower in turn urges the rounds as a group up cant's Cartridge Pusher pivotally attached to the bottom of a against the lips. The lips act as a stop for the rounds so that breech bolt head; they are not expelled from the magazine. (0018 FIG. 2 is a close-up of FIG. 1 with portions 0007 Rounds are stacked or oriented in the detachable magazine Such that the longitudinal axes of the rounds are removed; substantially parallel and perpendicular to the direction of 0019 FIG.3 depicts the Cartridge Pusher initially engag travel of the spring and follower. Adjoining rounds are ori ing the next cartridge in a magazine attached to the underside ented side-by-side and in the same direction, i.e., the bullets of a rifle; of adjacent rounds are next to each other, as are the cases. 0020 FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an encircled portion of 0008. The rounds are usually stacked in the magazine, FIG.3: either in a single straight column or in a staggered (ZigZag) 0021 FIG.5 depicts the Cartridge Pusher while a cartridge column (also called double-stacked or high-capacity) fash is being stripped from the magazine and fed into the rifle’s ion. The double-stacked magazines, being wider, have a receiver; and higher round capacity compared to single-column magazines 0022 FIG. 6 depicts the position of the Cartridge Pusher of the same overall length. after the cartridge has been stripped and fed into the receiver. 0009. At the top of such magazines, the lips alternately retain the left and right top-most round, as the rounds are fed DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED up and picked off. The top-most round is held in place by only EMBODIMENT(S) one of the lips. Hereafter the term “magazine' will mean 0023 Referring to The drawings in detail, Applicant has magazines where the lips alternately retain the top-most disclosed a mechanical device 100 to enhance stripping car round. tridges (e.g., 102) out of a detachable, double-stack magazine US 2013/0055611 A1 Mar. 7, 2013 104 and to enhance feeding the cartridges into the firing b. removably attaching the inserted magazine to the chamber 106 of a bolt-action repeating rifle 108. O.F. Moss receiver; and berg & Sons, Inc. (“Mossberg) is the Assignee of this inven c. assisting stripping the cartridges from the magazine and tion. Mossberg markets this device as the “Cartridge Pusher.” assisting feeding the cartridges into a chamber of the 0024. The Cartridge Pusher 100 comprises: a hinged bolt-action repeating rifle by a spring-biased hinged extension or flap 110 pinned, by a cross pin 112, into a mating flap, pinned in a mating recess in a breech bolt head, recess 114 (preferably machined) into the lower portion of the adjacent the well opening and the inserted magazine, via breech bolt head 116; wherein the flap 110 can pivot upon the the following steps: cross pin 112; and wherein the flap is actuated or biased by a i. lowering the flap, by spring biasing, away from the spring 120 contained in another recess 122 (preferably breech bolt head when the breech bolt is in a retracted machined) into the bottom of breech bolt head 116. position; 0025. The flap 110 acts as an extension of the breech bolt ii. pushing the breech bolt head forward; head 116 down into the magazine 104 to provide reliable iii. as the breech bolt head moves forward, engaging the stripping and feeding of the cartridges contained in the maga spring-biased flap with a rim of a next cartridge to be zine.