Title: Bullet with an internally carried sub-projectile
Abstract: The invention relates to ammunitions for weapons of all calibers. The inventive ammunition includes a bullet which has the same caliber as the weapon or which is under calibrated, comprising a center part (2) and a rear part (1) which can carry a fin (12). The bullet has a hole (5) which is drilled in the front surface of the forebody (4) in accordance with the axis of the bullet, containing an internally carried sub-projective (6) which is more rigid than the body of the bullet and is provided on the surface with several longitudinal ribs (7). The invention can be used for ammunition with sub-projectiles in all calibers of hunting weapons with a shotgun or rifled barrel.
Patent Number: 6,845,717 Issued on 01/25/2005 to Sauvestre
| Inventors:
|
Sauvestre; Jean-Claude (64, rue de la Valleo, 18230 Saint-Doulchard, FR)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
018182 |
| Filed:
|
December 18, 2001 |
| PCT Filed:
|
June 16, 2000
|
| PCT NO:
|
PCT/FR00/01677
|
| 371 Date:
|
December 18, 2001
|
| 102(e) Date:
|
December 18, 2001
|
| PCT PUB.NO.:
|
WO00/79211 |
| PCT PUB. Date:
|
December 28, 2000 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Current U.S. Class: |
102/518; 102/510 |
| Intern'l Class: |
F42B 012/34; F42B030/00; F42B012/74 |
| Field of Search: |
102/501,506-510,514-518,398
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 1096558 | May., 1914 | Newton | 102/510.
|
| 1322662 | Nov., 1919 | Watson | 102/510.
|
| 1493614 | May., 1924 | Dickerman | 102/510.
|
| 3881421 | May., 1975 | Burczynski | 102/507.
|
| 4044685 | Aug., 1977 | Avcin | 102/507.
|
| 4245557 | Jan., 1981 | Knappworst et al. | 102/510.
|
| 4655140 | Apr., 1987 | Schirneker | 102/508.
|
| 4685397 | Aug., 1987 | Schuneker | 102/510.
|
| 4977834 | Dec., 1990 | Denis | 102/507.
|
| 5160805 | Nov., 1992 | Winter | 102/507.
|
| 5185495 | Feb., 1993 | Petrovich et al. | 102/510.
|
| 5365853 | Nov., 1994 | Petrovich et al. | 102/507.
|
| 6148731 | Nov., 2000 | Winter | 102/509.
|
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 395910 | Apr., 1993 | AT.
| |
| 395 910 | Apr., 1993 | AT.
| |
| 918208 | May., 1999 | EP.
| |
| 0 918 208 | May., 1999 | EP.
| |
| 2 555 728 | May., 1985 | FR.
| |
| 2 599 828 | Dec., 1987 | FR.
| |
| WO 9740334 | Oct., 1997 | WO.
| |
| WO00/79211 | Dec., 2000 | WO.
| |
Other References
International Search Report issued in connection with PCT/FR00/01677.
|
Primary Examiner: Keith; Jack W.
Assistant Examiner: Bergin; James S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis, L.L.P.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Ammunition for small-, medium- and large-caliber weapons, comprising a
bullet with the same caliber as the weapon or which is subcaliber, the
bullet comprising a profiled front part, a central part, a rear part, and
an internal core extending along an axis of the bullet, the internal core
being housed in an axial hole in a body of the bullet, the axial hole
being open at the front of the bullet, the internal core having rigidity
greater than that of the body of the bullet, the internal core extending
over the front part and the central part of the bullet, and the internal
core having at least one longitudinal rib on an outer surface, wherein the
front part of the bullet has a front face, and wherein a front face of the
internal core is set back from the front face of the front part of the
bullet.
2. The ammunition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the internal core consists
of one single homogeneous element.
3. The ammunition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the internal core consists
of a rod having symmetry of revolution, the rod having longitudinal ribs
over part of its surface.
4. The ammunition as claimed in claim 3, wherein the internal core has two
to six longitudinal ribs arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis.
5. The ammunition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the internal core is made
of steel, brass, copper or aluminum alloy.
6. The ammunition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body of the bullet is
made of copper or brass containing 5 to 40% zinc.
7. The ammunition as claimed in claim 1, wherein the internal core has a
substantially cylindrical outer surface having at least one outwardly
projecting rib extending parallel to the axis.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ammunition for small-, medium- and
large-caliber weapons, and more particularly to a novel type of core
bullet, particularly for hunting weapons, having improved efficiency,
essentially against soft targets.
2. Description of Related Art
Core bullet ammunition comprises a fin-stabilized subprojectile (core)
associated with a sabot (or launcher) with the same caliber as the weapon,
the entities lying in a crimped closed cartridge also comprising a primed
case and a propellant charge. Ammunition of this type is described for
example in patent FR-A-2 555 728.
Also known from other sources is various ammunition designed to deform upon
impact, for example expansion munitions such as in application WO
97/40334, the head of which has slots constituting deformation initiators.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,397 describes a bullet producing a similar effect by
means of a cap which can be driven into a cylindrical hole formed along
the axis of the head of the bullet, upsetting the walls outwardly. U.S.
Pat. No. 3,881,421 describes a bullet in which the head is hollowed out to
cause it to flatten upon impact with the target.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to bullet core ammunition and relates more
specifically to the subprojectile, also known as the core. It is desirable
for the core to deform upon impact with the target, but this deformation
needs to be controlled and must not result in excessive dislocation into
several small-sized core fragments which may prove dangerous. The subject
of the invention is a device which makes it possible to obtain controlled
deformation of the core upon impact with the soft parts of a target, while
at the same time providing the body of the core with sufficient rigidity
and cohesion to avoid the formation of multiple fragments and ensure the
destruction of the hard parts of said target.
The device of the invention essentially consists of a bullet with the same
caliber as the weapon or which is subcaliber, comprising a profiled front
part, a central part, and a rear part which may bear fins, containing,
along its axis, an internal core with rigidity greater than that of the
body of the bullet.
More specifically, the device of the invention consists of a projectile
with the same caliber as the weapon, or a subprojectile intended to be
used in combination with a launcher which has the same caliber as the
weapon, comprising a cylindrical insert with greater rigidity than the
remainder of the body of the projectile or subprojectile, placed along its
axis and extending at least up close to the front-face of the projectile
or subprojectile.
According to one embodiment, the bullet according to the present invention
comprises a profiled front part, a central part and a rear part which may
carry fins, and the internal core is preferably of a length such that it
extends over the front part and the central part of the bullet.
According to an alternative form of the present invention, the internal
core passes all the way through the bullet and extends from the rear part
to the front part of the bullet, and the rear part of the internal core
may act as a support for fins, in the case of a fin-stabilized bullet.
This internal core, or insert, constitutes a "supported internal core"
because it is inserted into the bullet and supported by it. In the
remainder of the description, for reasons of simplicity, it may be termed
"internal core" but is to be distinguished from the core that constitutes
the subprojectile of fin-stabilized subcaliber core bullets of the known
art.
According to one advantageous embodiment, the internal core is housed in an
axial hole which is open at the front of the bullet, and the front face of
the internal core is set back from the front face of the front part of the
bullet.
According to an alternative form of embodiment according to the present
invention, the internal core may protrude, that is to say that its front
end may extend out of the axial hole, and may even in certain instances
lie forward of the front face of the bullet. Such an arrangement may be
particularly advantageous in the case of fin-stabilized bullets.
The internal core may be made of a single element or of several consecutive
elements arranged contiguously along the same axis. It may be
advantageous, for example, to provide an internal core made of two
elements. According to an alternative form of embodiment, the internal
core may be of the controlled-fragmentation type and comprise elements
which disperse upon impact, for example balls of a diameter roughly equal
to that of the internal core. This form of embodiment makes it possible to
obtain calibration fragments at the time of impact, and thus improve the
lethality of the ammunition by creating secondary injuries.
The internal core, or insert, may be made, for example, of steel, copper,
brass or aluminum alloy with high mechanical strength.
The body of the bullet may for example be made of copper or of brass
containing 5 to 40% zinc, or a metal alloy with the desired mechanical
properties, for example an aluminum or lead alloy. By comparison with
conventional techniques, the technique of the invention has the advantage
of allowing lead to be replaced completely or partially by another metal
or alloy deemed to be non-polluting. In the case of a fin-stabilized
bullet, the fins may be made of metal or polymer formed by working plastic
over the metal body of the subprojectile, and it may have stabilizing
fins.
According to an alternative form according to the present invention, the
internal core and the body of the bullet are formed from one and the same
base material, for example copper or brass. In this case, of course, the
rigidity of the internal core is enhanced by known means so that it is
greater than that of the body of the bullet. The internal core can then be
manufactured at the same time as the bullet, from the same material.
The supported internal core, or insert, generally has the shape of a rod
having symmetry of revolution and a constant, increasing or decreasing
cross section, coaxial with the projectile, as shown in the appended
figures. It may be advantageous to provide ribs on the cylindrical surface
so as to improve the attachment of the insert to the body of the bullet.
These ribs may be annular or helical or, as a preference, may be
longitudinal ribs, there being two to six of them over part or all of the
length of the cylinder, symmetrically with respect to the axis. In
addition, the longitudinal ribs may serve to form rupture initiators on
the front face of the bullet when the cylindrical insert is fitted by
forcibly introducing it into the hole already bored along the axis of the
bullet. If the bullet is obtained by cold deformation, the supported
internal core, previously placed along the axis of the blank of the
bullet, will impress its longitudinal ribs into the body material offset
by means of a press and will thus create the desired rupture initiators.
These rupture initiators, by collaborating with the internal core,
encourage the head of the bullet to deform upon impact by forming "petals"
or by "mushrooming" into as many elements as there are ribs, around the
central internal core which maintains its overall shape and acts as a
structure holding the entirety together. They may be associated in
combination with circular or longitudinal grooves made on the periphery of
the bullet, preferably in the region to be "mushroomed", that is to say
the region in which controlled deformation is brought about.
According to another alternative form, it is possible to provide two
inserts or internal core elements arranged along the axis of the
projectile, one behind the other in the hole bored in the subprojectile or
in the body of the bullet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWINGS
As indicated above, the bullet may be of the spin- or fin-stabilized type.
Spin-stabilized bullets are used in a weapon with a rifled barrel, so that
the rifling of the barrel, by collaborating with a peg secured to the
bullet, causes the latter to rotate about its axis. Fin-stabilized bullets
can be used in smooth bore weapons.
The characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent in
greater detail in the description below which relates to some non-limiting
examples with reference to the appended drawings which depict:
FIG. 1: a schematic view in part section of a spin-stabilized full-caliber
bullet with an internal core according to the invention, for a hunting
rifle.
FIG. 2: a cross section of the internal core of the bullet of FIG. 1, on a
larger scale.
FIG. 3: a profile view, in part section, of the bullet of FIG. 1, following
impact and penetration.
FIG. 4: a view in the direction of the arrow A of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5: a simplified half view in part section of a subcaliber bullet with
supported internal cores according to the invention, for a hunting gun.
FIG. 6: a profile half view in part section of the subcaliber bullet of
FIG. 5 following impact and penetration.
FIG. 7: a view in the direction of the arrow B of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8: a simplified half view in part section of an alternative form of
the subcaliber bullet of FIG. 5, comprising a protruding internal core.
FIG. 9: a view in part section of an alternative form of the full-caliber
spin-stabilized bullet of FIG. 1, comprising an internal core element
associated with balls.
FIG. 10: a view in part section of an alternative form of the full-caliber
spin-stabilized bullet of FIG. 1, having a two-element internal core that
passes all the way through.
FIG. 11: a profile view in part section of the bullet of FIG. 10 following
impact and penetration.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown by FIG. 1, the full-caliber bullet comprises, at its rear part, a
narrowed base (1), at its central part a body (2) on which circular
grooves (3) are formed, at its front part, an ogive (4), all of this being
partially introduced into a primed case containing a charge (not
depicted).
A hole (5) is bored in the front face of the ogive (4) along the axis of
the bullet and contains the supported internal core (6) provided on its
surface with several longitudinal ribs (7). A conical mouth (9) makes it
easier to initiate the "mushrooming".
FIG. 2 shows the position of four ribs (7) on the surface of the supported
internal core (6) arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis and
uniformly distributed around the periphery of the said core. The ridges of
these ribs (7) bear against the interior wall of the hole (5). They have
the advantage of causing the formation of rupture initiators in the
thickness of the ogive (4) on the periphery of the hole (5) when the
internal core forcibly inserted into the hole (5) is fitted during
manufacture.
The ogive (4) may have one or more circular grooves (8) which facilitate
the speed and ability of the petals (10) to roll back, as specified by
FIGS. 3 and 4 so as better to control the deformation on impact and during
the hit.
As FIG. 5 shows, the subcaliber bullet (11) is equipped with fins (12) at
its rear part, and is enveloped by a launching sabot (13) depicted in
dotted line, all this being in a primed case filled with charge, not
depicted.
A hole (14) is bored in the front face of the bullet (11), along its axis,
and contains two supported internal cores mounted in tandem as shown by
FIG. 5. The rear supported internal core (15) has a helical furrow (17) in
combination with the partial screwthread of the hole (14). The front
supported internal core (16) bearing against the rear supported internal
core (15) has several ribs (18) on its surface.
The ribs on the surface of the internal core (16) may number three,
arranged symmetrically with respect to the axis. The ridges of these ribs
press against the interior wall of the hole (14). The helical furrow (17)
is formed at the surface of the rear supported internal core (16).
The front face (19) of the subcaliber bullet (11) may have an appropriate
shape, collaborating with the metal insert to control the deformation upon
impact. This annular front region (19) may, for example, have one of the
shapes depicted in FIGS. 5a to 5h of French Patent 2 599 828. An
illustration of the result obtained upon firing is specified in FIGS. 6
and 7.
According to an alternative form of the fin-stabilized bullet of FIG. 5,
the supported internal core is produced in protruding form, as indicated
in FIG. 8 which shows the internal core, the front end of which extends
beyond the front face of the bullet. In this embodiment, the internal core
(20) comprises a head (21) of frustoconical shape, the small base facing
forward. The two parts (20) and (21) of the internal core may of course
consist of one and the same homogeneous part.
As shown by FIG. 8, a space separates the front face (22) of the bullet and
the edge of the head (21) of the internal core, to make it easier for the
bullet to deform upon impact with the target.
In the alternative form of full-caliber spin-stabilized bullet depicted in
FIG. 9, the internal core comprises a front core element (23) associated
with balls (24).
The rear element consists of several metal balls (24). The diameter of the
balls is roughly equal to that of the internal core, which means that the
balls are held in place in the axial hole (5) by the front element (23).
Upon impact with the target, deformation of the head of the bullet is
similar to that depicted in FIG. 3, and has the effect of causing the
front element (23) of the internal core to detach and release the balls
(24).
FIG. 10 depicts a spin-stabilized bullet with the same caliber as the
weapon, similar to the one in FIG. 1, comprising a base (1), a body (2)
provided with circular grooves (3) and a profiled front part (4), all this
having passing all the way through it a hole (25) in which an internal
core comprising a rear element (26) and a front element (27) is placed.
The rear element (26) of the core has a screwthread (28) collaborating with
the tapping (29) formed on the interior surface of the hole (25). This
arrangement allows the rear element (26) to be secured into the body of
the bullet. By contrast, the front element (27) of the internal core is
forcibly inserted into the front part of the hole (25).
Upon impact with the target, the rear element (26) of the internal core
remains secured to the body of the bullet, the front part of which is
folded from the middle outward, as shown in FIG. 11, while the front
element (27) of the internal core has been released.
Tests carried out using ammunition according to the present invention,
fired against blocks of plastics material (PLASTILINE.RTM.), demonstrated
excellent effectiveness, particularly controlled deformation of the bullet
upon impact with the target, as shown by FIGS. 3, 6 and 11, better than
that of conventional lead ammunition.
The invention can be applied to core bullet ammunition for hunting weapons
of all calibers, with smooth bore or rifled barrel.
*
