Abstract:
Several shot shell pellets are connected by a tether strung through a hole or pinched in center of each pellet. Several shot pellets are connected in this manner with only the pellets at the end of the tether being fixed to the tether. The tether may be string, twine, thread, or elastic material, or may be connected through various other means. Differently shaped and sized shot pellets may also be used, and different numbers of shot pellets may also be tethered in this fashion.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 61/623,304 filed Apr. 12, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The field of the invention is fettered shot for use in shotgun shells and other ammunition. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Various methods and styles of fettered or attached shot have been described in the prior art. Examples are disclosed in the following patents:
   Bertram U.S. Pat. No. 5,315,932   Tainton U.S. Pat. No. 1,536,164   Huntington U.S. Pat. No. 1,198,035   Forbes U.S. Pat. No. 2,354,451   Steinmetz U.S. Pat. No.1,211,001   Campbell U.S. Pat. No. 3,085,510   Whelton U.S. Pat. No. 1,488,182   Christian U.S. Pat. No. 46,6034   Boyd U.S. Pat. No. 347,988
 
Fettered shot has certain advantages when used in ammunition. The shot is allowed to spread apart after it is discharged from the barrel of a firearm, thus increasing the area over which shot may hit a target, be it a game animal, military object, or some other target. Fettered shot, however, limits the area over which the shot will spread and tends to focus or restrain the shot, thus maximizing the advantages of spreading and focusing the shot as it impinges on the target. Fettered shot also has advantages in hitting rotating targets (such as propellers on aircraft or blades on helicopters), thus tending to induce maximum disruption of such moving objects.
 
One disadvantage of tethered shot is that it takes more time and effort to construct the tethered shot than simply placing loose shot in the shot shell. This is so because the individual pellets must be attached or connected to other individual shot pellets.
   
 
         [0013]    It is, thus, desirable to have an easier, quicker way to tether shot pellets while maintaining the accuracy of fettered shot and the variety of desired patterns that may be created using tethered shot pellets. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0014]    Several shot pellets are connected by a wire that is strung through a hole in center of each shot pellet. The individual pellets may be secured to the wire or allowed to move on the wire, allowing the tethered shot pellets to form smaller, less dispersed, patterns that still disperse sufficiently to maximize the probability of hitting a target. String, twine, thread, or elastic tethering may be used as tether material instead of wire. The locations of the secured pellets may be varied as desired for optimizing results in different situations. Differently shaped and sized shot pellets may also be used, and, of course, different numbers of shot pellets may be tethered in this fashion. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, which are incorporated by reference herein and wherein: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  shows a prior art shot shell with untethered shot pellets. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  shows a prior art shot shell with tethered shot pellets. 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  shows tethered shot pellets of the invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of a shot pellet of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0020]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , a packed shotgun shell  1  contains buckshot or shot pellets  2  which are placed at the forward-most portion of the shell  1 . The number of pellets  2  that may be placed or packed in the forward-most portion of the shell  1  depends upon the size of the pellets  2 , as may be seen by comparing  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Specifically, the smaller the pellets  2 , the greater the number of pellets  2  that may be packed in the shell  1 .  FIG. 1  shows shot pellets  2  packed at random in the shell  1 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , tethered shot pellets may also be packed in the shot shell  1 . 
         [0021]    The individual pellets  2  are frequently made of lead, but may be made of other materials. For example, the pellets  2  may be made of steel, plastic, metal alloys, and other desirable materials. The pellets  2  may but need not be spherical. For example, the pellets  2  may be formed in the shape of a cube, a pyramid, a cuboid, a cone, a cylinder, a pyramidal prism, a square based pyramid, a square based prism, combinations thereof, and other shapes. As shown in  FIG. 4 , central holes  3  are formed in the pellets  2 . The holes  3  may be formed by molding or casting, or they may be created mechanically, such as by drilling or piercing, after the pellets  2  are formed. The holes  3  may have a circular cross section. Alternatively, the holes  3  may have a cross section that is rectangular, triangular, square shaped, et cetera. 
         [0022]    A tether  4  comprising wires, threads, twine, synthetic material, and/or other desirable materials, is inserted in the central holes  3  in the pellets  4  to connect the individual shot pellets  2 . The pellets  2  may be deformed or pinched so as to fix the location of the pellets  2  on the tether  4 . Alternatively, the pellets  2  may be allowed to move or float along the tether  4 . The tether  4  may, of course, be secured to the walls of the hole  3  by other means, such as placing additional material in the hole  3  once the tether  4  has been inserted in the hole  3  or by attaching the tether  4  to the outer perimeter of an individual pellet  2  by other means know in the art. It is also possible to use elastic tethers  4  to allow the pattern of the pellets  2  to expand and contract as they approach the target. 
         [0023]    Different numbers and arrangements of fixed and floating pellets  2  may be used. Thus, a series of tethered pellets  2  may, for example, have five (or some other number) pellets  2  fixed on the tether  4  and four (or some other number) pellets  2  floating on the tether  4 . Alternatively, all of the pellets  2  may be fixed on the tether  4  or all of the pellets  2 , except the pellets  2  at the end of the tether  4 , may be allowed to move or float on the tether  4 . People of skill in the art will appreciate that all the pellets  2  on the tether  4  need not have the same shape, be made of the same material, or have identical holes  3 . For example, one pellet  2  on the tether  4  may be made of lead, be spherical, and have a hole  3  with a circular cross section while another pellet  2  on the tether  4  may be made of plastic, be cube shaped, and have a hole  3  having a triangular cross section. 
         [0024]    An end piece is secured to each of the opposite ends of the tether  4  so that the moving or floating pellets  2  do not move off the end of the tether  4 , thus escaping from the tether  4 . The end pieces may be pellets  2  that are firmly affixed to the tether  4 ; the end pieces may also be other objects, or even knots in the tethering material, that prevent the moving pellets from escaping the tether  4 . 
         [0025]    The strength of the tether  4  may also be varied such that the tether  4  breaks when the target is hit or the tether  4  remains intact when the target is hit. Stronger tethers  4  are used when it is desired to have the tether  4  remain intact when the target is hit, and weaker, more breakable tethers  4  are used when it is desired that the tether  4  break when the pellets  4  make contact with the target. Pellets  2  that remain tethered upon impact with the target have the advantage of entangling or wrapping around the target, which increases the ability of the pellets  2  to bring down moving targets such as birds, rabbits, and other hunted game. 
         [0026]    The use of floating pellets  2  makes it much easier to construct tethered shot pellets  2  because it takes less time and effort to tether or connect the pellets  2 , eliminating the extra step or steps of securing the pellets  2  to the tether  4 . With floating pellets  2 , a variety of sizes of pellets  2  may be quickly tethered. For example, the pellets  2  may be strung on the tether  4  by use of a needle attached to an end of the tether  4 . Only the pellets  2  serving as end pieces need be fixed to the tether  4 . 
         [0027]    Yet another advantage of floating pellets  2  is that they may be made in a variety of shapes and sizes without having to tailor the pellets  2  so they can be fixed to the tether  4 . Pellets  2  of any shape may simply be formed with the hole  3  in a central portion of each pellet  2 . 
         [0028]    Shorter tethers  4  will produce smaller, more concentrated patterns of pellets  2  when the pellets  2  hit the target. Longer tethers  4  will produce larger, more expanded patterns when the pellets  2  hit the target. 
         [0029]    The larger, more expansive patterns of pellets  2  may be desirable for smaller targets, including small, moving game. The larger, more expansive patterns created by longer tethers  4  allow the shot pattern to expand more so that it can hit or ensnare smaller game that might be missed by a more concentrated shot pattern. Smaller, tighter shot patterns may be desirable for larger game, when it is desired to concentrate the shot pattern and make it more effective in penetrating the target. In many cases, the length of the tether  4  selected will be inversely proportional to the size of the intended target. Thus, larger intended targets are best hit with pellets  2  on shorter tethers  4 , and smaller targets are best hit with pellets  2  on longer tethers  4 . 
         [0030]    Since the pellets  2  may be allowed to move or float on the tether  4 , a variety of shot shells  1  with various methods of tethering may be made and assembled very quickly, allowing the hunter or target shooter to assemble an arsenal of shot shells  1  producing a variety of shot patterns upon impact with a target. 
         [0031]    It has been found that the moving or floating shot pellets  2  have essentially the same degree of expansion as comparable shot pellets  2  that are secured to the tether  4 . A hunter, target shooter, or manufacturer may thus quickly construct tethered shot with a minimal loss of accuracy. 
         [0032]    Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
         [0033]    It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Not all steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in the specific order described.