Subsonic ammunication articles having a rigid outer casing or rigid inner core and methods for making the same

• US 9,200,880 B1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carolina PCA, LLC
• Original Assignee: Carolina PCA, LLC
• Inventors: Foren, Wayne S., Smith, Gary, Jackson, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Weber, Jonathan C
• Application Number:
  US13/841,607
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 86/195, 86/51, 86/55, 102/466, 102/467, 102/516, 102/517
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 33/00 Manufacture of ammunition; Dismantling of ammunition; Apparatus therefor F42B5/188 takes precedence; manufacturing processes for hollow charges F42B1/036; manufacture of blasting cartridge initiators F42B3/195
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 33/02 Filling cartridges, missiles, or fuzes; Inserting propellant or explosive charges F42B33/004 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 33/0207 Processes for loading or filling propulsive or explosive charges in containers
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 33/04 Fitting or extracting primers in or from fuzes or charges F42B33/004 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 5/16 characterised by composition or physical dimensions or form of propellant charge, with or without projectile, or powder chemical composition C06B; F42B5/24 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 5/30 of plastics , i.e. the cartridge-case tube is of plastics

Abstract

Two methods of making subsonic ammunition articles are provided that size the cavity to the propellant charge. The first method includes molding a core sleeve comprised of a unified neck, cavity sized to the propellant charge volume and a trailing end with an ejector ring, primer seat and flash hole; then, molding a polymer based casing over the core sleeve except the neck and a portion of the trailing end; then, inserting the primer, propellant charge and projectile; thereby, completing a subsonic ammunition article with a rigid core and a polymer casing. The second method includes injection molding a polymer sleeve within the casing of an ammunition article around a core pull positioned within the casing to form a thicker casing wall and a propellant cavity the volume of which corresponds to a desired propellant charge.

Claims

1. A method of making an ammunition article, comprising:

providing a cartridge casing;

providing a projectile for being engaged with the cartridge casing;

determining a desired propellant charge to achieve one or more characteristic, the one or more characteristic including a desired functional characteristics for the article;

selecting a core pull having at least one dimension corresponding to the dimension of a desired propellant charge volume corresponding to the desired functional characteristics for the article;

placing the cartridge casing in a mold;

inserting the core pull into the cartridge casing; and

injection molding, in a mold, a material within an interior circumference of the cartridge casing and around the core pull to form a polymer liner that defines a casing volume for the propellant charge volume after the core pull is removed.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

a primer is inserted in a primer cavity at a trailing end of the casing;

a propellant charge is loaded in the cavity through a neck end of the cartridge casing; and

the method further includes inserting the projectile into the neck end.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cartridge casing is a rigid casing having a base cap with a primer cavity, a flash hole, and an ejector ring.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the cartridge casing is a metal casing.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein injection molding comprises injection molding through a gate positioned in the flash hole.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein a primer is inserted in the primer cavity, the propellant is inserted in the propellant cavity and the projectile is attached to a neck end of the cartridge casing.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein injection molding comprises injection molding through one or more gates that are defined in the core pull.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein injection molding comprises injection molding around a portion of the projectile, wherein the projectile is received in the cartridge casing during injection molding.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein injection molding comprises injection molding between the core pull and the cartridge casing toward the neck end of the cartridge casing, thereby forming a projectile seat.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer liner extends from about the base cap to about the projectile.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer liner extends along a length of an inner facing portion of the cartridge casing.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the polymer liner extends along a length of an inner facing portion of the cartridge casing to a portion of the cartridge casing where the projectile is seated.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a desired propellant charge to achieve one or more characteristics comprises determining a desired propellant charge that corresponds to a subsonic charge for the projectile.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the ammunition article is a subsonic ammunition article.

15. A subsonic ammunition article having a cartridge casing and an interior polymer liner that forms a desired cartridge volume for containing propellant charge, the ammunition article made according to the process of:

providing the cartridge casing;

providing a projectile for being engaged with the cartridge casing;

determining a desired propellant charge to achieve one or more characteristic, the one or more characteristics including a desired functional characteristics for the article;

selecting a core pull having at least one dimension corresponding to the dimension of the desired propellant charge volume corresponding to the desired functional characteristics for the article, wherein the desired functional characteristic is a subsonic charge volume for the projectile;

placing the cartridge casing in a mold;

inserting the core pull into the cartridge casing; and

injection molding, in a mold, a material within an interior circumference of the cartridge casing and around the core pull to form the polymer liner that defines the desired casing volume for the propellant charge volume after the core pull is removed.