Improvements in or relating to Rifle Bullets.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 10th Dec., 1890-Accepted, 10th Jan., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Rifle Bullets.
I, GEORGE HOOKHAM, of Nos. 7 & 8 New Bartholomew Street, Birmingham,
Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
In order to prevent the stripping of bullets in rifles giving high velocities, & having
a quick turn in the rifling, it has been the practice to encase a bullet of lead or
lead-alloy in an envelope of harder metal, such envelope being closed upon the
head of the bullet, and open at the base. This envelope is sometimes left in the
barrel after firing, and is sometimes ripped off the bullet, as it leaves the muzzle,
by the escaping gas. Both defects may be remedied by making the envelope closed
at the base, and open or partially closed at the head of the bullet.
Or I may
solder the soft bullet into an envelope of the ordinary form or combine both
methods. Or I may encase the bullet in gauze of harder metal, or partly encase
it in an envelope of continuous metal and partly in gauze, with or without the
use of solder or perforated metal may be substituted for the gauze. Fine grooves
may be cut upon the continuous envelope, and in these sometimes I place a softer
metal or a lubricant. I may reduce the diameter of the hard metal except at the
base so that it no longer forms an envelope, but has, except at the base, a covering
of softer metal, which preferably is soldered to the harder metal. I prefer to
arrange for the expansion of the harder metal at the base, so that at this point it
takes the rifling, but I may use a cylindrical internal tube, such tube being pre-
ferably grooved or wound with wire. The grooves or interstices being filled with a
softer metal, but so that the rifling is pressed into the ridges of the harder metal
these, if fine, may follow the pitch of the, rifling. I may raise a ring of solid metal,
of the same external diameter as the base, upon the opposite side of the blank,
before it is drawn into a tube; this ring forming the cup or part of the cup in
the base. I may thicken that part of the envelope on which I make the fine grooves
above described.
Dated this 18th day of March 1890.
;
GEORGE HOOKHAM.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Rifle Bullets.
I GEORGE HOOKHAM of No. 7 New Bartholomew Street Birmingham in the
County of Warwick Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of my invention and
the manner in which the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Bullets made of lead or an alloy of lead are ordinarily covered by or encased in an
envelope of a harder metal or alloy than that of the bullet such for example as brass.
The envelope ordinarily employed is closed at the head or summit of the bullet and
open at its base. The back part of the envelope is sometimes left in the barrel after
firing the envelope being burst near its front or closed end the bullet escaping through
the burst envelope.
This the ordinary envelope is also sometimes ripped off the bullet as it leaves the
muzzle of the rifled barrel by the compressed gas insinuating itself between the
envelope and the bullet. The defects referred to are remedied by my invention
which consists principally in making the envelope of the bullet closed at its base

page_text: and open or partly open at the head summit or point of the bullet as hereinafter
particularly described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Figure 1 represents in longitudinal section drawn to a large scale a bullet having
an envelope made according to my invention; a is the envelope and the bullet.
The said envelope a is closed at the bottom a² in contact with the base of the bullet
and is nearly but not quite closed at the top a³ in contact with the head or point, of
the bullet.
Figure 2 represents in longitudinal section a bullet having a modified envelope
made according to my invention. In the said Figure 2 the envelope c is closed at its
bottom and more nearly closed at its summit c³ than the envelope of Figure 1. The
envelope Figures 1 and 2 before the introduction of the bullet consists of a thin
metallic tube closed at bottom. The bullet being introduced base foremost into the
tube the said tube is closed either partially or almost wholly upon the head or summit
of the bullet by dies and pressure as represented in the drawing.
My invention consists further in forming on the envelope fine parallel grooves in
planes at right angles to the axis of the bullet as represented in Figure 3 and applying
a thin coating of a softer metal such for example as lead or tin upon and compressing
it into the grooves of the envelope the said softer metal acting as a lubricant on tho
discharge of the rifle.
Or the grooves of the cylindrical envelopes may have the same pitch as the rifling
in the barrel the coating of soft or lubricating metal being so thin that the rifling of
the barrel on the discharge of the rifle cuts through the soft lubricating metal and
engages in the grooves of the envelope.
Figure 4 represents in elevation a bullet with its envelope the latter having
grooves of the kind last described before the addition of the coating of soft lubricating
metal.
I apply the coating of lubricating metal either by immersing the envelope in a bath
of melted lubricating metal or by electro deposition.
I do not limit myself to the application of the soft lubricating metal to grooved
envelopes. The envelope may be perforated preferably after the introduction of the
bullet the perforations preventing metallic fouling of the rifle equally or nearly
equally with the grooving herein before described.
Instead of making the base of the bullet and envelope flat as represented in
Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 the base of the bullet and envelope may be made concave as
represented partly in elevation and partly in longitudinal section in Figure 5 or
convex as represented in Figure 6.
Bullets made according to my invention not only have the advantages hereinbefore
referred to namely that they are not liable to be stripped of their envelopes on the
discharge of the rifle but have the further advantage that they present less resistance
than bullets having envelopes of the ordinary kind.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my invention
and the manner in which the same is to be performed declare that I claim
as my invention of "Improvements in or relating to rifle bullets" :—
First A rifle bullet of lead or of an alloy of lead having a perforate dor unperforated
envelope made of a metal or alloy harder than that of the bullet which said envelope
is closed at that part in which the base of the bullet is situated and open or partly
closed at the part where the summit or point of the bullet is situated as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
Secondly A rifle bullet of lead or of an alloy of lead having a perforated or
unperforated envelope made of a metal or alloy harder than that of the bullet and
closed upon the bullet in the ways hereinbefore described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawing the said envelope having fine grooves cut in it in planes at
right angles to its axis as represented in Figure 3 or fine grooves cut or pressed in it
in a direction following the curve of the rifling of the barrel of the rifle with which
the bullet is to be used as represented in Figure 4.

page_text: Thirdly-A rifle bullet of lead or of an alloy of lead having a perforated or
unperforated envelope made of a metal or alloy harder than that of the bullet the said
envelope having upon it a thin coating of a soft metal such as tin or lead which said
soft metal acts as a lubricant; whether the said thin coating of soft metal is used in
conjunction with plain or grooved envelopes as herein before described.
Dated the 10th day of Draumber 1800.
W. T. WHITEMAN,
Agent for the Applicant.