A PELLET FOR AN AIR, GAS OR SPRING GUN

Abstract: A sabot (1) for use in combination with a pellet (4) for an air, gas or spring gun comprises a plurality of members (3) which extend in the direction in which the pellet is intended to be propelled, said members being provided with portions (40) which, when the sabot and pellet combination is in a gun barrel, extend inwardly to engage the pellet to prevent forward movement of the pellet in the sabot.

Description: 2GB2-32 4 PD1 A pellet for an air, gas or spring gun This invention relates to a sabot for use in combination with a pellet for an air, gas or spring gun and to a device for loading such a combination of a pellet and sabot into a gun. It is known to use a sabot in conjunction with a bullet supplied in a cartridge for use in firearms. In such a cartridge, the bullet is seated in the sabot and the sabot is seated in the leading end of the cartridge case. When the firearm is fired, the bullet together with the sabot is propelled along the barrel. Once the bullet and sabot have left the barrel of the firearm, the sabot is separated from the bullet by air resistance and rapidly falls to the ground. The bullet, which has a smaller diameter than the bore of the firearm and hence a reduced air resistance as compared with a conventional bullet, continues at a higher velocity and hence with a flatter trajectory. It is not, however, possible to use any of the known forms of sabot with a pellet for an air, gas or spring gun. This is because there is, of course, no cartridge case which serves to hold the bullet or pellet and sabot together until the moment at which the gun is fired. According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a sabot in combination with a pellet for an air, gas or spring gun wherein the sabot comprises a plurality of members which extend in the direction in which the pellet is intended to be propelled, said members being provided with portions which, when the sabot and pellet combination is in a gun barrel, extend inwardly to engage the pellet to prevent forward movement of the pellet in the sabot. ^ξ/CfRE _ OMF ^Ay wip Preferably said portions of said members extend inwardly to engage the pellet forward of the greatest diameter of the pellet. The portions may comprise pips provided on said members. Alternatively or in addition the pellet may be provided with one or more annular grooves or other indentations in its periphery and the members may be provided with one or more portions arranged to enter the groove(s) to prevent forward movement of the pellet in the sabot. Thus, once the pellet and sabot have been inserted into the gun barrel, the pellet is retained within the sabot by said portions. In one preferred embodiment, said members comprise a plurality of fingers extending from a base portion. In the relaxed state of such a sabot, the fingers extend both in said direction ' a d radially outwardly, freely allowing a pellet to be inserted in and removed from the base portion. However, when the pellet and sabot are inserted in a gun barrel, the fingers are bent radially inwardly about their junctions with the base portion so that the leading ends of the fingers close about the leading end of the pellet. When the pellet and sabot leave the barrel of the gun, the fingers spring apart and the high air resistance of the sabot causes it rapidly to separate from the pellet and fall to the ground. In a further preferred feature, each member is adapted to resiliently bear on a gun barrel bore at a location in the vicinity of the point of engagement of the member with the pellet. Engagement between the sabot and the pellet is thus improved. It is further preferred for the pellet to have a frusto- conically tapered trailing end which engages a corres- pondingly shaped portion of the sabot. This feature provides a wedging effect as the combination travels along the gun barrel, with the light weight sabot forced onto the heavier pellet by the pressure of f OMPI the propelling air. It is, however, preferred for a planar rear surface of the pellet to engage the sabot to limit this wedging effect to facilitate separation of the pellet and sabot in flight. In an alternative embodiment, the sabot is formed from two or more, but preferably two, pieces. The pieces are placed around the pellet and when the sabot and pellet are inserted in a gun barrel, the leading ends of the pieces extend radially inwardly within the greatest diameter of the pellet. When the pellet and sabot leave the barrel of the gun, air entering the gaps between the pellet and the sabot forces the pieces apart and away from the pellet, thus separating the sabot from the pellet. In a further alternative embodiment, the sabot comprises two portions connected by a flexible portion at the rear end of the sabot. When the sabot and pellet are inserted in a gun barrel, the two portions bear against one another so as to place the flexible portion under tension. Thus, when the sabot leaves the gun barrel, the two portions will rapidly .separate from the pellet. A problem which arises with guns is that the bullet or other pellet should desirably have a good seal with the surface of the bore in spite of variations in the diameter of the bore. Such differences are particularly marked when comparing an Imperial size bore with the equivalent metric size. Conventional pellets which are suitable for use in a standard Imperial size bore will not fit the equivalent metric bore, and vice versa. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a pellet and sabot combination which is suitable for use with bores which are not of exactly the same diameter. According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a sabot in combination with a pellet for an air, gas or spring gun, wherein the sabot / ^ T RE OMP Ar Y/IP is adapted to engage a gun barrel bore at the trailing end of the sabot and comprises a plurality of resilient members which extend in the direction in which the pellet is intended to be propelled and engage said pellet, said members being adapted resiliently to bear on the gun barrel bore in use and to spring away from the pellet to disengage the pellet when it leaves the gun barrel. The sabot is thus capable of adapting to variations in bore. The invention offers many advantages over earlier pellets: the sabot forms a good seal with the barrel with low friction and retains the pellet reliably. When the pellet and sabot leave the gun barrel the resilient members rapidly disengage the pellet and spread to provide high air resistance which results in the sabot separating rapidly from the pellet whereupon the pellet continues with substantially lower drag than is experienced by a conventional pellet fired from a gun of the same calibre. Greater range, accuracy and target penetration are thus assured. According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for loading a combination of a pellet and a sabot according to the invention in an air, gas or spring gun, comprising means for retaining said members of the sabot about the pellet so as to retain the pellet in the sabot whilst said combination is urged forwardly into the gun. The device preferably includes a member defining a bore having a diameter substantially equal to or slightly greater than that of the gun with which it is to be used and a reciprocable pusher for pushing the sabot and pellet combination into the gun. Certain embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of a sabot according to the invention, together with a pellet for an air, gas or spring gun ; OM Figure 2 is a section through the sabot of Figure 1 on line II-II, indicating in broken lines the configuration of the sabot when the combination of the sabot and the pellet are in the barrel of a gun; Figure 3 is a view of the sabot and pellet of Figures 1 and 2 in a gun barrel, viewed from the muzzle of the gun; Figure 4 is a plan view of a second embodiment of a sabot according to the invention, together with a pellet for an air, gas or spring gun; Figure 5 is a section through the sabot of Figure 4 on line V-V; Figure 6 is a plan view of a third embodiment of a sabot according to the invention, together with a pellet for an air, gas or spring gun; Figure 7 is a section through the sabot of Figure 6 on line VII-VII; Figure 8 is a section through a first embodiment of a loading device according to the invention; Figure 9 is an end elevation of a second embodiment of a loading device according to the invention; Figure 10 is a section through the device shown in Figure 9 on line X-X; Figure 11 is a sectional elevation of a third embodiment of a loading device according to the invention; and Figure 12 is a plan view of a portion of the device shown in Figure 11. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, a sabot 1 made of a resilient plastics material comprises an annular base portion 2 from which extend six fingers 3 in the direction in which a pellet 4 made, for example, of steel or copper-coated lead is intended to be fired. The fingers 3 are bendable about their junctions with the base portion 2 as indicated by the deflected position of the fingers shown by broken lines in Figure 2. Each finger 3 is angled at a line 5 roughly O one third of its length from its front end so as to include a portion 6 which extends inwardly when the sabot and pellet are in the bore 8 of a gun barrel 9. As is clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3, each finger is provided with a pip 40 of triangular cross- section on its inside surface, which engages the pellet forward of the maximum diameter of the pellet indicated by the circumference 7 in Figure 3, when the sabot and pellet are in a gun barrel, so as to retain the pellet within the sabot. Each finger further includes a pip 41 also of triangular cross- section on its outside surface. The engagement of the pips 41 with the bore- increases the pressure exerted by the pips 40 on the pellet. Because the fingers contact the bore at only a few points of the circumference, there is low friction between the bore and the sabot. When the combination of the sabot and pellet are inserted in a gun barrel, not only do the fingers bend relative to the base portion at their junctions with the base portion, but also the fingers bend at the line 5 so as to conform with the diameter of the bore. The base portion 2 of the sabot includes an outwardly extending annular flange 10 which engages the rear end of the barrel when the pellet and sabot are loaded, and engages the rifled bore 8 of the gun barrel as the pellet and sabot travel along the bore. The flange 10 may have a different cross-section from that shown, e.g. its forward surface may be curved. The inside surface of the base portion 2 includes a frusto-conically tapered surface 11 which contacts a frusto-conically tapered trailing end 12 of the pellet 4. This assists in the engagement between the pellet and sabot as they travel along the gun barrel by virtue of the fact that air or gas pressure behind the combination tends to force the light weight O Pl_ " plastics sabot onto the much heavier pellet so as to generate a wedging effect. Spin imparted to the sabot by the rifling of the gun barrel is thus in turn imparted to the pellet. The base portion 2 further includes an aperture 13 therethrough. This aperture may be omitted, or replaced by a small diameter aperture so as to increase the air resistance of the sabot after it has separated from the pellet. The aperture has a smaller diameter than the flat rear surface of the pellet. The engagement of the sabot with the flat rear surface limits the wedging effect between surface 11 of the sabot and surface 12 of the pellet to permit rapid separation of the sabot and pellet after leaving the gun barrel. It will be appreciated that the sabot should preferably be as light as possible as compared with the pellet, in order to improve the separation of the sabot and pellet and to minimize the amount of momentum lost. On the other hand, the angle of the tapered surface 11 relative to the axis should be such as to provide sufficient grip to spin the pellet as the combination travels along the rifled bore. Such spin is necessary to stabilise the pellet in flight. An included semi- angle of about 75° has been found to give good results. A second embodiment of a sabot is shown in Figures 4 and 5 in combination with a bullet-shaped pellet 4 similar to that shown in Figures 1 to 3. The sabot comprises two halves 14 each made of a resilient plastics material. The gaps between the halves have been exaggerated for the sake of clarity. Each half includes a generally triangular portion 15 adjacent its leading end, each portion 15 extending inwardly to contact the pellet forward of the maximum diameter of the pellet 4. This occurs whether or not the pellet and sabot are compressed within a gun barrel. The outside diameter of the sabot tapers continously from a line 16 of maximum diameter adjacent the leading end to the rear of the sabot, wher triangular section, outwardly extending flange 10 is provided. By virtue of the resilience of the halves 14, they can be compressed within a gun barrel, so that the sabot contacts the bore along the line 16. It will be appreciated that as the sabot is radially compressed, the portions 15 will move over the tapering surface of the pellet towards its leading end. The sabot will thus function in a similar manner to that shown in Figures 1 to 3. When the sabot and pellet are loaded in a gun barrel, the flange 10 engages the rear of the barrel and the line 16 of greatest outside diameter of the remainder of the sabot resiliently contacts the bore. As the combination travels along the barrel, the sabot engages the bore at line 16 and at the flange 10. As soon as the combination leaves the barrel, air pressure entering the gaps between the halves 14 forces the halves of the sabot apart and away.from the pellet 4, leaving the pellet 4, now having a reduced air resistance as compared with the combination of the pellet and sabot, to continue towards the target. A third embodiment of a sabot is shown in Figures 6 and 7, similar to that shown in Figures 4 and 5. The sabot differs from that shown in Figures 4 and 5 in that the rear ends of the two halves 14 are joined together by means of a hinge 42 of reduced cross-section. In addition, the surfaces of the two halves which confront one another are shaped so as to meet at a point 43 when the sabot and pellet are loaded in a gun barrel. Thus, when the sabot and pellet are loaded, the hinge 42 is placed under tension so that, as soon as the combination leaves the gun barrel, the two halves are forced apart. The air resistance of the sabot as compared with the embodiment of Figurs 4 and 5 is thus increased, whereby the sabot separates more rapidly from the pellet. / _2H - Referring now to Figure 8, a first embodiment of a device for loading a sabot and pellet in a gun comprises a tubular barrel 17 having substantially the same or a slightly greater bore than the gun with which it is to be used. An outwardly projecting annular stop 18 is provided on the outside of the barrel 17. A plunger 19 includes a pusher member 20 which enters the barrel 17 so as to be slidable therealong and to engage the rear end of a sabot and pellet combination inserted in the front end of the barrel 17. The plunger 19 further includes a manually engageable portion 21 which surrounds the barrel 17 and includes an annular inwardly extending stop 22 for engagement with the stop 18 in the rearmost position of the plunger 19. In order to load a gun using the device shown in Figure 8, the pellet 4 is first placed within the sabot 1 which is in the relaxed state shown in Figure 1 and in solid lines in Figure 2. The combination is then pushed into the leading end of the barrel 17 of the device, so that the fingers of the sabot are compressed about the pellet. Whilst the fingers may be compressed so as to be in contact with the pellet, this is not essential. It is sufficient for the fingers to be compressed so as to prevent the pellet from escaping from the sabot and to enable the combination to enter the bowel. Insertion of the combination beyond the illustrated position is prevented by engagement of the sabot with the pusher 20 and engagement between the stops 18, 22. The nose of the pellet and sabot combination is then inserted in the rear end of a gun barrel, whereafter the plunger 19 is moved forwardly, so that the pusher member 20 pushes the pellet and sabot combination into the gun barrel until the flange at the rear of the sabot engages the rear end of the gun barrel. Further forward movement of the plunger is limited by engagement of the base of the plunger with the rear of the tubular barrel 17. Referring now to Figures 9 and 10, there is shown a second embodiment of a loading device, capable of containing a plurality of sabot and pellet combinations. The device includes a loading member 23 having a bore 24 therethrough of substantially the same diameter as the bore of the gun with which the device is to be used. A magazine disc 25 is rotatably mounted in the member 23 by means of a pin 26, a portion of the disc extending outside the member 23. The disc 25 has a plurality of bores 27 therethrough, each bore 27 having the same diameter as the bore 24 and each being capable of registering with the bore 24 as the disc is rotated. A manually operable plunger 28 is provided in the bore 24. Thus, as many sabot and pellet combinations as is desired are inserted in the magazine disc 25, one in each bore 27. As the disc 25 is indexed, each combination is presented in turn to the plunger 28 which is used to push the combination into the gun barrel in the manner described above. Referring now to the embodiment of Figures 11 and 12, a loading device is shown having a barrel 29 capable of containing a plurality of sabot and pellet combinations, the nose of each pellet other than the leading one contacting the rear end face of the pellet in front through the aperture 13 in the sabot if provided. The barrel 29 includes a flared trailing end 30 which facilitates the loading of the sabot and pellet combinations. A manually operable plunger 31 includes an inwardly projecting annular stop.32 at its rear end which engages an outwardly projecting annular stop 33 on the barrel 29 at the rearmost point of travel of the plunger and an outwardly projecting annular stop 34 on the barrel at the forwardmost point of travel of the plunger relative to the barrel. The plunger 31 further includes a pair of resilient arms 35 which extend through slots 36 in the barrel so - li ¬ as to engage the rear end of the leading sabot and pellet combination in the barrel. The device is further provided with a compression spring 37 on which is provided a contact member 38 for engaging the rearmost pellet and sabot combination. The trailing end of the spring is held in place by use of a cap 39 which is secured to the flared end 30 of the barrel. Thus, the device is loaded by inserting a plurality of sabot and pellet combinations into the barrel 29 through the flared end 30. The spring 37 together with the members 38, 39 is then put into place. Each time the plunger is moved forward from its rearmost position, a sabot and pellet combination is pushed from the leading end of the barrel. When the plunger 31 is moved rearwardly the arms 35 engage inclined surfaces ' at the rear of the slots 36 so that the arms 35 come out of the slots 36 whereupon another pellet and sabot combination is pushed forwardly by the spring 37. It will be appreciated that whilst the sabot according to the invention has been illustrated in combination with a bullet-shaped pellet, it could be adapted for use with any desired form of pellet, for example a ball. Whilst the pellet is preferably made of steel which is not damaged during storage, lead pellets could also be used. Alternatively, other metals, e.g. copper, or alloys may be used, or plastics with a metal filler. In a modification, webs in the form of thin collapsible membranes may be provided between the fingers 3. These help the fingers to spring out when the pellet and sabot leave the gun barrel and provide increased air resistance to the sabot to assist in separating the pellet and sabot. The embodiments in which the aperture 13 is omitted have the advantages that the base portion 2 is strengthened and the air resistance to the sabot is again increased.

Claims: Claims 1. A sabot in combination with a pellet for an air, gas or spring gun wherein the sabot comprises a plurality of members which extend in the direction in which the pellet is intended to be propelled, said members being provided with portions which, when the sabot and pellet combination is in a gun barrel, extend inwardly to engage the pellet to prevent forward movement of the pellet in the sabot. 2. A combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein said portions of said members engage the pellet forward of the greatest diameter of the pellet. 3. A combination as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said portions comprises pips provided on said members. 4. A combination as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said plurality of members extend from a base portion and are bendable about their junctions with the base portion. 5. A combination as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said members are adapted to resiliently bear on a gun barrel bore in use. 6. A combination as claimed in claim 5, wherein each member is adapted to resiliently bear on a gun barrel bore at a location in the vicinity of the point of engagement of the member with the pellet. 7. A combination as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the pellet has a frusto-conically tapered trailing end which engages a correspondingly shaped portion of the sabot. 8. A combination as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pellet has a planar rear surface engaged by the sabot. 9. A sabot in combination with a pellet for an air, gas or spring gun, wherein the sabot is adapted to engage a gun barrel bore at the trailing end of the sabot and comprises a plurality of resilient members which extend in the direction in which the pellet is intended to be propelled and engage said OMPI pellet, said members being adapted resiliently to bear on the gun barrel bore in use and to spring away from the pellet to disengage the pellet when it leaves the gun barrel. 10. A device for loading a combination of a pellet and a sabot according to the invention in an air, gas or spring gun, comprising means for retaining said members of the sabot about the pellet so as to retain the pellet in the sabot whilst said combination is urged forwardly into the gun. 11. Sabot and pellet combinations substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accom¬ panying drawings.

Inventors: ROBINS MICHAEL JOHN, ROBINS, MICHAEL, JOHN
Applicants: ROBINS MICHAEL JOHN, ROBINS, MICHAEL, JOHN
Application year: 1982
Main classification: F42B11
IPC codes: F41A9, F42B7, F42B14