Patent ID: 6367387
Filing Date: 2002-04-09
Classification: F42B

Abstract:
A shot gun cartridge for a rifled barrel of a shot gun, comprising:(a) a cartridge case stationarily disposable in a shot gun and having a forward end locatable adjacent to an entry end of a rifled barrel of the shot gun; (b) a thrust cage having a back end, an annular tubular body attached to and extending forwardly from the back end, and a front end on the annular tubular body defining a front opening, the thrust cage being disposed in the cartridge case with the front end of the thrust cage located adjacent to the forward end of the cartridge case, the thrust cage being movable relative to the cartridge case forwardly toward the entry end of the rifled barrel of the shot gun in response to a blast generated in the cartridge case rearwardly of and transmitted to the back end of the thrust gage; and (c) a sub-calibered bullet disposed in the thrust cage, the sub-calibered bullet including (i) a shell jacket disposed in the annular tubular body of the thrust cage and having a front face disposed adjacent to the front end of the thrust cage, a rear face spaced forwardly of the back end of the thrust cage, respective forward and rearward portions connected together in a tandem arrangement with one another and extending between the front and rear faces, and an axial bore defined through the shell jacket by the forward and rearward portions and longitudinally extending between the front and rear faces, the bore having a larger maximum cross-sectional size in the forward portion than in the rearward portion of the shell jacket and defining front and rear openings in the shell jacket at the front and rear faces thereof, and (ii) a bullet core including a front portion having a forwardly tapering configuration so as to provide a head extending forwardly through the bore in the forward portion of the shell jacket, a back portion larger in cross-sectional size than the front portion of the bullet core and the bore in the rearward portion of the shell jacket so as to provide a back plate, and an intermediate portion smaller in cross-sectional size than the bore in the forward and rearward portions of the shell jacket so as to provide a shaft extending through the rear opening of the shell jacket and between and interconnecting the head and back plate and adapted to guide slidable movement of the bullet core relative to the shell jacket from a pre-blast position providing an initial loaded form of the bullet, in which the shaft extends through and rearwardly of the rear opening of the shell jacket and supports the back plate at a location spaced rearwardly of the bore and the rear face of the shell jacket and adjacent the back end of the thrust cage with the head disposed substantially within the bore in the forward portion of the shell jacket and extending forwardly through the front openings of the shell jacket and thrust cage, to a post-blast position providing a final form of the bullet shot from the gun, in which the back plate is disposed rearwardly of the bore of the shell jacket and exteriorly of and flush against an abutment defined by the rear face of the shell jacket and the head projects forwardly of the front face of the shell jacket and the front opening therein, in response to the thrust cage being moved forwardly relative to the cartridge case in response the blast generated in the cartridge case rearwardly of the back end of the thrust cage.