Patent Application
20070012212
The present invention relates to the field of shotgun cartridges and more particularly to a shotshell which controls the shot pattern.
In a conventional shotgun, the barrel thereof is usually provided with a choke to control the distribution density (pattern) of the shot pellets at a predetermined shooting range. A full choke barrel provides the greatest degree of concentration of the pellets as they leave the shotgun barrel and is used for a long range shot. Other chokes of less constriction are improved cylinder and open.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide a wad structure for a shotshell which is more effective in longer range shooting, and which effect can be obtained by merely exchanging the type of shotshell as opposed to modifying the degree of choke. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pattern control device for the pellets which provides improvement over the devices illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,635,555; 5,299,502 and 5,413,050.
The shot pattern control wad structure of the present invention for use in a cartridge for a shotgun includes in typical fashion a case having a tubular outer wall and a wad structure located in the case between gunpowder and a charge of pellets. The wad structure of the present invention includes a base wad having a tubular cylindrical body open at a forward end thereof and having a closed rearward end face adjacent to the gunpowder. The cylindrical body is provided with slits longitudinally extending from the open forward end of the tubular cylindrical body. In addition, the wad structure further includes a shot container having a tubular cylindrical body with open rear and front ends for containing the charge of pellets. The tubular cylindrical body of the shot container is dimensioned to be slidably received within the base wad tubular cylindrical body. The open front end of the shot container is provided with an annular inwardly restricting extrusion passage for extruded passage of the charge of pellets therethrough.
The tubular cylindrical body for the shot container is preferably provided with slits longitudinally extending from the open rear end. These slits are symmetrically arranged annularly about the rear end of the tubular cylindrical body of the shot container. The depth of these slits may be varied, generally in the range of 0.25 to 0.75 inches, to thereby correspondingly regulate when the charge of pellets will extrude from the shot container forward through the inwardly restricting extrusion passage. In other words, the shorter the slits are, the less air turbulence will be created and the longer the charge of pellets will remain with the shot container. The longer these slits are the more turbulence is created about the rearward end of the shot container which causes the shot charge to extrude through the restricting extrusion passage sooner.
The base wad structure is similar to that of the prior art in that it is provided with slits which are symmetrically arranged annularly about the front or forward end of the tubular cylindrical body of the base wad so that the base wad structure flares out and departs from the shot container shortly after leaving the barrel of the gun, generally at 10 to 15 yards. These slits are generally selected to be approximately 1.5 to 2.0 inches in length. As is illustrated in
The aerodynamic and inertial forces act on the sleeve of the shot container 111 to slow its forward motion more rapidly than the shot. The shot is thus extruded into a uniform column 13 through the forward extrusion passage of the shot container 11 as the shot container 11 is withdrawn by the force of air. Thus the wad structure of the present invention compensates for the spraying effect of shotgun barrel choking systems and produces significantly more dense shot patterns. In fact, with the system of the present invention one is able to obtain a shot pattern which is 30 inches in diameter at 150 yards, whereas in most prior art systems a 30 inch diameter pattern can be attained only at a maximum range of approximately 40 yards. The result is that a more dense shot pattern is obtained and this reduces unnecessary wounding of game birds and insures a quick and sure kill even at long ranges of 150 yards or more.
The accompanying drawings show, for the purpose of exemplification, without limiting the scope of the invention or appended claims, certain practical embodiments of the invention wherein:
Referring to
The two-piece wad structure 14 includes a one-piece base wad 10 constructed of plastic and having a tubular cylindrical body 15 open at its forward end 16 and having a closed rearward end face 17 adjacent the gunpowder 24. Face 17 is also provided with an annular compression groove 18.
The second part of the wad structure 14 is comprised of shot container 30 which is also constructed of plastic and is provided with a tubular cylindrical body 31 with open rear and front ends 32 and 33 respectively for containing the charge of pellets 22. Tubular cylindrical body 31 is also dimensioned to be slidably received within the cylindrical body 15 of base wad 10. The open front end 34 of shot container 11 is provided with an annular inwardly restricting extrusion passage 35 for extruded passage of the charge of pellets 22 upon firing of the shotgun as previously explained.
The tubular cylindrical body 31 of shot container 11 has slits 40 longitudinally extending from the open rear end 32 are symmetrically arranged annularly about end 32, and the slits are approximately 0.25 to 0.75 inches long. The length of these slits correspondingly regulates when the charge of pellets 22 will extrude from shot container 11 through extrusion passage 35.
The shotshell illustrated in
Generally six slits 40 are provided in the tubular cylindrical body 31 thereby correspondingly providing six tabs therebetween which tend to flutter while the shot container 111 travels through the air. This fluttering causes resistance and slows up the container 11 so that the shot 22 will extrude forward through the inwardly restricting extrusion passage 35 to form the extruded shot column illustrated in
The longer the slots 40 are the more turbulence is created by the tabs provided between the slots 40 and the sooner the shot container 11 will extrude its contained pellets 22. Thus, for extremely long shots of 150 yards, the slits 40 will be made shorter so that the pellets 22 are retained in container 111 for a longer period of time before they extrude therefrom.
The base wade structure 10 is provided with slits 45 which are symmetrically arranged annularly about the forward end 16 and longitudinally extend from the open forward end 16 to a selected distance of approximately 1.5 to 2.0 inches in length, depending upon the gauge size of the shotgun shell 20. Generally five slits 45 are provided thereby providing therebetween five flaps which tend to peel open as illustrated in
An interlocking retainer mechanism 50 is provided between the base wad 10 and the shot container 11 in the form of annular shoulder 51 of shot container 111 which mates with annular protruding lip 52 of base wad 10. Thus when the combination of base wad 10 and shot container 111 are combined within the shot shell 20, and additionally in the barrel of a shotgun after leaving the shot shell they are always maintained together by this interlocking retainer mechanism until the combination has left the barrel of the shotgun. Upon leaving the barrel of the shotgun then the leaves provided between slots 45 of base wad 10 are then permitted to spread open and release the shot container 111 contained therein.
