Patent ID: 7798047

Claim:
An ammunition holder for machine guns that downwardly eject spent cartridge cases, comprising: an ammunition container for holding plural linked rounds of belted ammunition, wherein the container has an overall weight and mass with a center of gravity; a mount mechanism for attaching the container to a side belt feeder on one side of the machine gun, the container having an outer side facing away from the machine gun and an inner side facing underneath the machine gun; and a rigid plate attached to the inner side of the ammunition container for moving the ammunition container, so that the center of gravity of the mass and weight of the plural linked rounds of the belted ammunition held in the ammunition container is moved from the one side of the machine gun underneath the gun in the direction of an opposite side of the machine gun and be located directly under the machine gun, and the center of gravity of the mass of the container along with the center of gravity of the belted ammunition held in the ammunition container balances the machine gun, and wherein the solid rigid plate deflects spent cartridges ejected downwardly from the machine gun to a side of the machine gun.