BULLETS FOR SMALL ARMS AND MACHINE GUNS
Year: 1885

page_text: I, JAMES JOHN TALMAN of The Grange Harbledown near Canterbury in the
County of Kent Civil Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention
for BULLETS FOR SMALL ARMS AND MACHINE GUNS and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
In order to obtain great penetrative power and to secure expansion on impact
I make the bullet in two parts and of two metals having different degrees of
hardness.
The first part consists of an enlongated cylinder of lead or other soft metal, having
a tapered hole or recess formed in the point or front thereof, which point or front I
prefer to round to a curve the radius of which is equal to the diameter, of the said.
cylinder as shown at A. and B. on the annexed drawing, but I do not bind myself
to this or any curve. I make this cylinder and the hole or recess therein by
melting the lead or other soft metal and casting the same in a mould, which mould
has a tapered pin or projection on the inside to form the said hole or recess; or
otherwise by pressing the lead or other soft metal into the mould whilst cold. Or
the cylinder may be made solid, either by casting or pressing it into a mould or by
cutting the required length from a cylindrical rod of the proper diameter, in which
case the hole or recess will be formed when completing the bullet as hereinafter
described.
The second part consists of a peg or plug, tapered from the point where it enters
the soft metal to the rear, and made of cast iron, or other hard metal, as shown
at a. and b. on the annexed drawing, which peg or plug I make slightly larger
than the hole or recess in the aforesaid soft metal cylinder. This peg or plug may
be curved at the point as shown at a. b. D E. F. G. H. I. and J. or flat as shown
at C and K; it may be circular in section as shown at a. b. E. F. H. J. and K, or
angular as shown at G and I, and the sides may be straight and smooth as shown
at a. b. H. and I, grooved as shown at E F. and G; or barbed as shown at J.
and K; the sides may also be curved, either convex or concave and either with or
without the said grooves or barbs. I make this tapered peg or plug by casting the
hard metal in a mould, or by pressing it into a mould when softened by heat, and
when the peg or plug is to be grooved I form the groove, or grooves, by means of
ribs or projections in the said moulds.. I prefer to form the barbs by punching or
setting up by means of a sharp pointed tool, but they may be formed in the mould
by means of properly shaped projections. When steel is the material of which the

page_text: peg or plug is made, I harden it by heating to a red heat and plunging it into
water or oil, or by dropping it direct from the mould in which it is either cast or
stamped into water or oil, while it is still at a red heat.
5.
I complete the bullet by putting the hard metal peg or plug into the hole or
recess of the soft metal cylinder, placing them in a mould or form of the exact size
of the finished bullet and applying sufficient pressure on the rear of the cylinder
by means of a rod or plunger actuated by hydraulic or other power, to cause the
two metals to be held together by friction, and, in the case of grooved or barbed
plugs to cause the soft metal to flow into the grooves or recesses; or, where there
is no hole or recess in the soft metal-cylinder I place the hard metal plug in
the mould or form in front of the solid cylinder, or in a recess in the rod or
plunger in front thereof, and complete the bullet by pressure on the rear or front
of the cylinder. In bullets which are made smaller at the rear to allow for the
thickness of the cartridge case the pressure must be applied to the front of the
cylinder and peg or plug, the point of the rod or plunger being hollowed out to
the required curve, if any, unless the mould or form be made to open in the same
manner as the ordinary conical bullet moulds now used.
As an alternative method I place the peg or plug, made as before specified, with
its point downwards in a mould and cast the soft metal onto it in which case
I complete the operation by pressure on the rear of the bullet as hereinbefore
described. I prefer to make the base of the bullet slightly hollow as shown at A
and B, and to stamp the number and year of this patent thereon by means of the
end of the rod or plunger being rounded to the required curve and having the
number and year in raised letters and figures upon its face, that it may give the
impression and form the hollow base when completing the bullet.
On the annexed drawing A is a section of the elongated cylinder or soft metal
portion of a bullet or projectile for machine guns of one inch calibre, and a an
elevation of the hard metal peg or plug; B. b. a similar section and elevation of
the two parts of a bullet of .500 calibre for military and sporting rifles; C is an
elevation of a .450 flat headed bullet for magazine rifles, in which the hard metal
peg or plug is shown by the dotted lines; and D. is a similar elevation of a
.380 bullet for sporting rifles and revolvers, in which the peg or plug is also shown
by dotted lines. E. F. G. H. I. J. and K. show various forms of the hard metal
peg or plug in elevation and plan, but I do not bind myself to these or to any
particular form except as claimed.
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
(1). The use of a hard metal peg or plug in the point of a soft metal bullet or
projectile, such peg or plug extending part way only through the soft metal, and
being tapered from the point where it enters the soft metal towards the rear, the
sides within the soft metal being either straight lines or curves, and the head being
either flat, curved, or angular; substantially as, and for the purposes, herein
described.
(2). The use of rings or grooves, on, or in, the above described pegs or plugs,
substantially as herein described.
(3). The use of barbs, or barbed shaped projections on the above described pegs
or plugs, substantially as herein described.
Dated this twenty eighth day of. April 1885.