IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES FOR FIREARMS be as follows:
Year: 1885

page_text: I HENRY FROST CLARK of N° 13 Liberty Street Poughkeepsic in the State of
New York, United States of America Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare the
nature of said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES FOR FIREARMS
be as follows:-
" to
Cartridges for breachloading fire arms have been made with a metallic case or
shell having a bullet within the forward end and lubricating material within the
shell and around the point of the bullet. In other instances the bullet has been
surrounded by a patch formed of a strip of paper and the bullet has been inserted
at the end of the cartridge case and lubricating material applied between the base
of the bullet and wads that rest upon the powder.
In shooting with cartridges of these characters I find in practice the following
difficulties:-
Where the lead bullet comes in contact with the rifling of the barrel, the lead is
liable to adhere and be scraped off into such grooves, notwithstanding the
lubricating material upon the point of the bullet.
Where the paper patch is used, the friction causes the patch to break and foul
the barrel and the grease and wads following the same do not remove the
difficulty.
Besides this, the grease being between the ball and the powder is liable to injure
the powder.
My invention has been made for removing or preventing the foregoing
difficulties.
I make use of a bullet that is provided with a patch composed of a strip of
paper or similar material, tightly surrounding the bullet and secured to the same
in any suitable manner.
I prefer a patched bullet, and I insert this bullet into a metallic case that extends
as far as the end of bullet or nearly so, and I fill in the space around the point
of the bullet and within the case with a suitable lubricating material such as
tallow or other grease.
The patch may become saturated with the lubricant to a greater or less extent
and when the bullet is projected by the explosion, the grease lubricates the patch
D

page_text: itself and causes it to pass through the barrel with great facility and accuracy and
the patch itself is not rubbed off or torn in its passage through the barrel, and the
patched bullet cleans out the barrel and leaves a thin coating of lubricating
material that prevents the gases and smoke adhering to the metal, hence these
substances are removed by the passage of the next patched bullet. The cartridge
case is provided with any suitable primer or explosive material and the forward
end of the cartridge shell may be straight or it may be slightly contracted around
the grease.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I HENRY FROST CLARK of No 13 Liberty Street, Poughkeepsie in the State of
New York, United States of America, Mechanical Engineer do hereby declare the
nature of said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES FOR FIRE-ARMS
" and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Cartridges for breech loading fire-arms have been made with a metallic case or
shell having a bullet within the forward end and lubricating material within the
shell and around the point of the bullet.
In other instances the bullet has been surrounded by a patch formed of a strip
of paper and the bullet has been inserted at the end of the cartridge case and
lubricating material applied between the base of the bullet and wads that rest upon
the powder.
In shooting with cartridges of these characters I find in practice the following
difficulties
Where the lead bullet comes in contact with the rifling of the barrel, the lead is
liable to adhere and be scraped off into such grooves, notwithstanding the
lubricating material upon the point of the bullet.
Where the paper patch is used, the friction causes the patch to break and to rub
off and foul the barrel and the grease and wads following the same do not remove
the difficulty.
Besides this, the grease being between the ball and the powder is liable to
injure the powder,
My invention has been made for removing or preventing the foregoing
difficulties.
I make use of a bullet that is provided with a patch composed of a strip of paper
or similar material, tightly surrounding the bullet and secured to the same in any
suitable manner, and insert this bullet into a metallic case that extends as far as
the end of the bullet or nearly so, and I fill in the space around the point of the
bullet and within the case with a suitable lubricating material such as tallow or
other grease.
The patch may become saturated with the lubricant to a greater or less extent
and when the bullet is projected by the explosion, the grease lubricates the patch
itself and causes it to pass through the barrel with great facility and accuracy and
the patch itself is not rubbed off or torn in its passage through the barrel, and the
patched bullet cleans out the barrel and leaves a thin coating of lubricating
material that prevents the gases and smoke adhering to the metal, hence these
substances are removed by the passage of the next patched bullet.
In the drawing
Fig. 1. is an elevation partly in section of the cartridge and
Fig. 2. is a separate elevation of the patched bullet.
The bullet a. is to be surrounded with the patch b. the said patch being formed
of a strip of thin material such as paper or similar substance applied around the
bullet and causedto adhere by paste or other adhesive substance.

page_text: The shell c. is of any desired size shape or length, but under all circumstances it
receives within it the patched bullet with the point of the bullet about in line with
the end of the shell c. The space around the conical end of the bullet and within
the shell is filled with lubricating material d. such as tallow or other suitable
substance.
The tallow lubricates the barrel and the patch as the bullet is driven through
the barrel and it prevents injury to the barrel by the leading and ensures the
proper passage of the paper patch without the same being disintegrated, hence the
bullet is not diverted in its flight and the surface of the bullet remains smooth and
true and the patch is separated and falls off as soon as the bullet leaves the barrel.
The cartridge case is provided with any suitable primer or explosive material
and the forward end of the cartridge shell may be straight or it may be slightly
contracted around the grease.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
The combination with the cartridge shell, of a bullet having a patch around the
same and lubricating material introduced in the shell around the point of the
bullet substantially as set forth.