The present disclosure generally relates to ammunition equipment, and more particularly to an inertia bullet remover for removing a bullet from an ammunition casing.
For various reasons, a person may desire to remove a bullet from an ammunition casing. For example, the person may desire to break down or disassemble an ammunition cartridge if it was determined to have been loaded improperly (e.g., wrong load of powder, incorrect bullet, etc.).
In one aspect, an inertia bullet remover is for removing a bullet from an ammunition casing. The inertia bullet remover comprises a frame and a carriage configured to carry the ammunition casing. The carriage is supported by the frame and movable with respect to the frame between a first position and a second position. The inertia bullet remover includes a guide supported by the frame and arranged to guide movement of the carriage between the first and second positions. A stop surface is arranged to stop movement of the carriage with respect to the frame in the second position. A carriage driver supported by the frame is arranged to force the carriage away from the first position toward the second position to cause the stop surface to stop movement of the carriage to cause the bullet via inertia to exit the ammunition casing carried by the carriage.
In another aspect, a method is for removing a bullet from an ammunition casing. The method comprises moving a carriage carrying the ammunition casing along a track from a first position to a second position; and stopping movement of the carriage in the second position to cause the bullet to exit the ammunition casing via inertia.
Other objects and features of the present disclosure will be in part apparent and in part pointed out herein.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
Referring to
The remover 10 includes a base 12, a carriage 14, and a carriage driver 16 for driving movement of the carriage with respect to the base. Using any one or more of fastener holes 18, the remover 10 can be mounted (e.g., in a vertical orientation) by fasteners to any suitable structure, such as a wall or a reloading bench. It will be appreciated that bullet removers may configured to operate in any other orientation without departing from the scope of this disclosure.
The base 12 includes a frame 13 and a track (broadly, “guide”) on which the carriage 14 is movable. In the illustrated embodiment, the track comprises two rods (broadly, “rails”) 20 extending from an upper rod connecting portion 22 of the frame 13 to a lower rod connecting portion 24 of the frame. The rods pass through openings in the rod connecting portions 22, 24 and are secured in position by nuts on opposite ends of the rods. The nuts on opposite ends of a rod 20 are tightened to oppose the rod connecting portions 22, 24 of the frame 13 to tension the rod and apply compression to the frame between the rod connecting portions, for reasons which will become apparent. The base 12 includes a stop 28 defining a stop surface for stopping movement of the carriage 14. The base 12 also defines a holder 30 (
In the illustrated embodiment, the container 32 includes two sleeves 32A configured to fit over ends of the rods 20 to locate the container on the base. The base 12 includes a resiliently deflectable latch 34 configured to hold the container 32 in position. To install the container 32, the container is moved onto the ends of the rods. The container 32 pushes the latch 34 rearward, and the latch temporarily deflects and then resumes its at rest positon after the bottom of the container passes a tooth 34A of the latch. The tooth 34A supports the bottom of the container 32 to hold the container in position on the rods 20. To remove the container 32, a user presses the latch 34 rearward to permit the container to be moved off the rods 20.
The carriage 14 is configured to hold an ammunition case or shell from which a user would like to remove a bullet. The carriage 14 includes followers 40 defining openings through which the rods 20 extend. The followers 40 permit and guide movement of the carriage 14 along the rods 20 for ejecting a bullet from a shell carried by the carriage.
The carriage 14 includes a carriage housing 42 on which a cartridge carrier 44 is mountable. The carriage housing 42 defines a cavity in which the carrier 44 is receivable. The carriage housing 42 includes a front opening that is closed by the carrier 44. The carrier 44 includes a carrier housing 44A defining a cartridge compartment 46 (
The carriage driver 16 is configured to move the carriage 14 from a starting positon (broadly, “second position”) (e.g.,
The cartridge driver 16 includes an actuator 60, a linkage 62, a carriage pusher 64, and a set of compression springs 66 (broadly, “biasing elements”) received on the rods 20. In the illustrated embodiment, the actuator 60 comprises a lever. The lever 60 has a distal end including a knob and a proximal end connected to a lever mount 68. The lever mount 68 is pivotally connected to the base 12 to pivot about a pivot axis A1. The linkage 62 includes first and second links 62A, 62B on opposite sides of the base 12. The lever mount 68 is pivotally connected to upper (first) portions of the links 62A, 62B to pivot with respect to the links about a pivot axis A2. Lower (second) portions of the links 62A, 62B are pivotally connected to the carriage pusher 64 to pivot about a pivot axis A3. In the illustrated embodiment, the carriage pusher 64 includes two collars slidable on the rods 20 to guide movement of the carriage pusher along the rods. The arrangement is such that as the lever 60 is pivoted away from the base 12 (e.g., from a home position to an actuated position), the lever and lever mount 68 pivot about the pivot axis A1, which causes the linkage 62 to pull the carriage pusher 64 upward, to move the carriage 14 toward a loaded position of the carriage. Before the carriage pusher 64 contacts the carriage 14, the carriage pusher moves across a small clearance space 70 (e.g., 2 mm) (
The remover 10 also includes a carriage retainer 74 for retaining the carriage 14 in a loaded position prior to releasing the carriage to eject the bullet from the shell. In the illustrated embodiment, the carriage retainer 74 comprises a ratchet mechanism configured to retain the carriage in progressive loaded positions at different compression states of the springs. The ratchet mechanism comprises a lever 76 pivotable about a pivot axis A4 (
The user can select the amount of compression applied to the springs 66 by the amount the lever 60 is pivoted away from its home position, and thus select the force at which the carriage 14 will be moved back to the starting position.
When the user desires to release the carriage 14 to cause the bullet and powder to eject from the shell, the user pivots the lever 60 back to its home position. As the lever 60 approaches the home position, the linkage 62 moves the carriage pusher 64 back across the clearance space 70 to be out of the carriage travel path. After the cartridge pusher 64 is moved out of the carriage travel path, releases 86 in the form of protrusions on both links 62A, 62B of the linkage 62 press on wings 76A of the spring-biased lever 76 to move the catch 80 rearward to disengage the catch from the carriage 14. The teeth 82A-82C are therefore no longer blocked by the catch 80, and the springs 66 are permitted to forcefully propel the carriage 14 toward its starting position. The carriage 14 moves rapidly toward the starting position and impacts the stop 28 of the base 12 to stop the carriage in the starting position. The rods 20, in tension and applying compression to the base 12, assist in reinforcing the base and absorb force from the impact of the carriage 14 against the stop 28. The inertia of the bullet and powder causes the bullet and powder to be ejected from the shell, which is held in position on the carriage 14 by the shell holder 50. The bullet and powder move through a lower opening in the carriage, through an opening in the base, and pass into the container 32 for collecting the bullet and powder in the container. The cartridge carrier 44 closing the front opening of the carriage housing 42 prevents powder from escaping the carriage 14 except through the lower opening to the container 32. The bullet and powder can be removed from the container 32 by removing the container from the base 12 and dumping the container. The carrier 44 is removed from the carriage housing 42, the empty shell is removed from the carrier 44, and another cartridge is installed in the carrier. The process can be repeated to remove bullets and powder from additional cartridges.
It will be appreciated that the container 32 can be replaced by any other receptacle or series of receptacles, such as a tube or bucket, and the replacement receptacle(s) may or may not be physically attached to the remover 10, without departing from the scope of this disclosure. For example, as shown in
It will be appreciated that the remover 10 provides spring propulsion of the carriage and a mechanical advantage in compressing the springs 66. Accordingly, users can easily generate an amount of force needed to eject a bullet from a shell. Moreover, standard shell holders can be used for holding the cartridges. The remover 10 is universal in that the remover can remove a bullet from essentially any type of ammunition cartridge with the use of an appropriate shell holder.
A second embodiment of a cartridge carrier 144 will be described with reference to
The primary difference between the first and second embodiments of the carriers 44, 144 is the manner in which the ammunition cartridge is supported by the cartridge carrier. In the second embodiment, instead of using standard shell holders (e.g., 50 in
The arrangement is such that an ammunition cartridge can be installed on the cartridge carrier 144 by pushing the bullet end of the cartridge downward into the top of the cartridge receiving space. The tapered shape of the bullet causes the jaws 151 to move away from each other. The jaws 151 deflect outward and ride on the ammunition casing until the groove of the ammunition casing is moved into registration with the lips 151A of the jaws. The jaws 151 move into the groove and thus retain the ammunition casing in position with respect to the cartridge carrier 144. After the bullet is removed from the ammunition casing, the casing can be removed from the collet 150 by pushing the casing upward opposite the insertion direction. The jaws 151 include tapered lower surfaces 151B that cam on the ammunition casing to assist in spreading the jaws to permit removal of the casing. It will be appreciated that other types of collets (broadly, “ammunition casing holders”) can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
It will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions and methods without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/941,431, filed Nov. 27, 2019, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3898908 | Isenhower | Aug 1975 | A |
4028989 | Vassallo | Jun 1977 | A |
20160076865 | Ramí Porté | Mar 2016 | A1 |
Entry |
---|
Photos of Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ Bullet Puller, 6 pages. |
Screenshots of Video “RCBS Bullet Puller vs Hornady Cam Lock Bullet Puller”, Video posted to YouTube Mar. 20, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McRLPrPoBXI, 5 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20210156657 A1 | May 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62941431 | Nov 2019 | US |