Patent ID: 8091463

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; and a hinge attached to the plate and a side portion of the firearm for moving the ammunition container to one side, 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 until the mass and weight of the container balances the machine gun, and wherein the plate deflects spent cartridges ejected downwardly from the machine gun to a side of the machine gun.