U.S. patent application number 13/008395 was filed with the patent office on 2011-07-21 for premeasured powder charge encased within consumable container.
This patent application is currently assigned to AMERICAN PIONEER POWDER, INC.. Invention is credited to Brett N. EPSTEIN, Mark A. GRIESBACH.
Application Number | 20110174185 13/008395 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44276580 |
Filed Date | 2011-07-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110174185 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
EPSTEIN; Brett N. ; et
al. |
July 21, 2011 |
PREMEASURED POWDER CHARGE ENCASED WITHIN CONSUMABLE CONTAINER
Abstract
A consumable premeasured charge for use with an intended black
powder firearm having barrel with a desired caliber, the consumable
premeasured charge comprising a closed container defining an
interior chamber and loose granular gunpowder filling a volume of
the interior chamber to between 50 and approximately 100%. The
closed container being sized to be loaded within a gun barrel of
the intended firearm. A method of forming consumable premeasured
charge is also disclosed.
Inventors: |
EPSTEIN; Brett N.; (Katy,
TX) ; GRIESBACH; Mark A.; (Hortonville, WI) |
Assignee: |
AMERICAN PIONEER POWDER,
INC.
Whitewater
CO
|
Family ID: |
44276580 |
Appl. No.: |
13/008395 |
Filed: |
January 18, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61296106 |
Jan 19, 2010 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
102/431 ;
86/10 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F42B 5/18 20130101; F42B
5/188 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
102/431 ;
86/10 |
International
Class: |
F42B 5/18 20060101
F42B005/18; F42B 5/188 20060101 F42B005/188 |
Claims
1. A consumable premeasured charge for use with an intended black
powder firearm having barrel with a desired caliber, the consumable
premeasured charge comprising: a closed container defining an
interior chamber, loose granular gunpowder filling between 50 and
approximately 100% of a volume of the interior chamber; and the
closed container being sized to be loaded within the intended
firearm.
2. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 1, wherein
the container has a length of approximately 4 inches and a diameter
of approximately 5/8 of an inch.
3. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 1, wherein
the container is formed from one of a cigarette paper, a capsule
and a packet.
4. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 1, wherein
gunpowder comprises: 10-35% by weight of potassium perchlorate;
25-60% by weight of potassium nitrate; 25-50% by weight of a fuel
component; and 0-5% by weight of one of charcoal and carbon (lamp)
black.
5. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 4, wherein
the fuel component is selected from the carbohydrate family.
6. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 4, wherein
the fuel component is selected from a group comprising at least one
of amino acid, ascorbic acid, sugar, starch, and carbon.
7. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 1, wherein
the loose granular gunpowder contains a fuel component selected
from a group comprising at least one of amino acid, ascorbic acid,
sugar, starch, and carbon.
8. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 7, wherein
gunpowder comprises: 10-35% by weight of potassium perchlorate;
25-60% by weight of potassium nitrate; 25-50% by weight of a fuel
component; and 0-5% by weight of one of charcoal and carbon (lamp)
black.
9. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 1, wherein
the gunpowder comprises: 50-75% by weight of potassium nitrate;
25-50% by weight of a fuel component; and 0-5% by weight of
charcoal and carbon (lamp) black.
10. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 1, wherein
moisture content of the gunpowder of the consumable premeasured
charge is between about 0.1% to about 20% by weight.
11. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 1, wherein
the container has a length of between about 1 inch and about 6
inches and a diameter of between about 0.25 of an inch to about
0.65 of an inch.
12. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 1, wherein
the package has a diameter which is equal to or smaller than a
diameter of the intended firearm.
13. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 12,
wherein gunpowder comprises: 10-35% by weight of potassium
perchlorate; 25-60% by weight of potassium nitrate; 25-50% by
weight of a fuel component; and 0-5% by weight of one of charcoal
and carbon (lamp) black.
14. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 13,
wherein the container is manufactured from a flammable material
which comprises one of paper, cellulose, nitrocellulose and a
cigarette paper.
15. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 1, wherein
the package has a diameter which is large than a diameter of the
intended firearm.
16. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 15,
wherein gunpowder comprises: 10-35% by weight of potassium
perchlorate; 25-60% by weight of potassium nitrate; 25-50% by
weight of a fuel component; and 0-5% by weight of one of charcoal
and carbon (lamp) black.
17. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 16,
wherein the container is manufactured from a flammable material
which comprises one of paper, cellulose, nitrocellulose and a
cigarette paper.
18. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 16,
wherein the container is designed to be ignited by one of a primer
and a percussion cap.
19. The consumable premeasured charge according to claim 18,
wherein the container, upon being ignited by one of the primer and
the percussion, ignites and facilitates spontaneous combustion of
the container as well as the granular gun powder contained
therein.
20. A method of forming consumable premeasured charge for use with
an intended black powder firearm having barrel with a desired
caliber, the method comprising the steps of: forming a partially
closed container having an interior chamber and at least one open
end; sizing the closed container to be loaded within the intended
firearm; filling between 50 and approximately 100% of a volume of
the interior chamber with loose granular gunpowder via the at least
one open end; and closing the at least one open end of the
container to form a completely closed container.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to improvement(s) concerning a
premeasured charge, for use in a muzzleloading or black powder
firearm(s), in which the premeasured charge is contained within a
generally flammable container or the container is otherwise coated
with a flammable coating so that the premeasured charge is
substantially consumed upon discharge of the firearm(s).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] An important aspect when using a traditional muzzleloading
or black powder firearm is to facilitate quick, reliable and
consistent reloading of the firearm following discharge. As is
conventionally known in the art, a desired volume of gunpowder
propellent is loaded in either the muzzle end or the breech end of
the barrel of a gun, depending on the design of the firearm. During
loading of the muzzleloading firearm, the charge, the sabot and/or
the patch (wad), if necessary, and the projectile, in that order,
are all loaded through the discharging end of the barrel--sometimes
the sabot and/or patch (wad) may be omitted. The muzzle loaded
contents are all then typically packed toward the breech end of the
firearm using a ramrod to ensure a consistent loading and seating
pressure of the propellant and the projectile and the seating
reduces the chances of a potential over pressure situation in the
barrel of the firearm because of an air gap forming between the
propellant and the projectile.
[0003] As is well known in the art, the propellent was typically a
loose granular gunpowder, e.g., a mixture of charcoal, potassium
nitrate and sulfur. Early powders were dangerous to handle and
tended to foul the barrel bore of the firearm. That is, after one
or more firings of the firearm, the user would typically have to
clean the bore of the barrel using a device which scrapes or wipes
the inner bore surface of the barrel to remove debris therefrom. If
such cleaning was not periodically performed or performed
improperly, the interior bore of the barrel build-ups a layer of
residue of unconsumed propellent and such residue can lead to
corrosion, malfunctioning of the firearm and clogging of the
ignition or flash channel.
[0004] For a number of years, black powder was the only propellent
used in muzzleloading firearms, and eventually black powder
substitutes, such as those sold under the trade names PYRODEX,
BLACK CANYON, CLEAN SHOT and AMERICAN PIONEER, are now commonly
utilized. For more than the past 30 years, black powder and black
powder substitutes have been compressed into pellets of various
shapes and sizes, e.g., pelletized, to facilitate ease of loading
of firearms. However, such pelletized premeasured charges are often
quite brittle and have a tendency to break apart when being handled
and/or loaded and may not burn completely or correctly if
compressed too much.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to
overcome the above mentioned shortcomings and drawbacks associated
with the prior art propellent charges used with muzzleloading
firearms.
[0006] Another object of the present invention is to design a
premeasured charge which facilitates both handling and loading of
the same while minimizing the possibility that any of the
premeasured charge will be lost during such handling and/or
loading.
[0007] A further object of the invention is to provide a
combustible pre-measured charge which avoids spillage of the gun
powder which typically can occur when measuring loose granular
powder into the muzzle end of a barrel.
[0008] Yet another object of the invention is to provide a
combustible pre-measured charge in which an internal chamber of the
combustible container is generally only partially filled, e.g., is
only filled between about 50% to about 100%, and more preferably
70% to about 85% with a desired charge of granular powder,
depending upon the type of container so as to minimize the
possibility of tearing, ripping, perforating or otherwise damaging
the container forming the consumable premeasured charge.
[0009] A still further object of the invention is to provide a
combustible pre-measured charge which has a sufficiently thin and
flammable exterior surface which ensures that the combustible
pre-measured charge in substantially instantaneously ignited and
consumed upon discharge for the firearm.
[0010] A further object of the present invention is to design a
completely self contained premeasured charge which assists with
trapping a small quantity of ambient air, within the breech end of
the barrel and between the loose granular gun powder, following
loading of the barrel with the premeasured consumable charge and a
slug or a bullet (and possibly a sabot and/or the patch (wad)) to
be discharged by the firearm, to facilitate substantially complete
combustion of the consumable charge.
[0011] Another object of the invention is to provide a premeasured
consumable charge which facilitates propagation of the flame,
generated by the percussion cap or other ignition device, and
assists with distributing the propagated flame over the entire
exterior surface of the consumable premeasured charge and thereby
facilitates ignition of the consumable premeasured charge upon
discharge of the firearm.
[0012] A still further object of the present invention is to ensure
burning of the exterior surface of the consumable exterior
container as well as the propellent charge, following ignition, so
as to facilitate a shorter time span that the end user must wait
before safely reloading the firearm with another consumable
premeasured charge for a subsequent firing. The elimination or
minimization of unburnt particles also tends to lead to better
accuracy and consistency when using the firearm.
[0013] Yet another object of the present invention is to ensure a
quicker and more complete ignition of the propellent charge to
facilitate use of the consumable premeasured charge in "short
barrel" rifles and pistols.
[0014] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
method of forming a generally completely consumable premeasured
charge, from granular gunpowder, which following conventional
loading of the consumable premeasured charge within a firearm,
generally has a uniform density along the entire axial length of
the consumable premeasured charge and this, in turn, promotes
faster and more complete ignition of the premeasured consumable
charge upon discharge of the firearm.
[0015] A still further object of the invention is to provide a
consumable pre-measured charge of loose granular powder which has
improved ballistic characteristics in comparison to other types of
compressed charges.
[0016] A still further object of the present invention is to coat
an exterior surface of the container or other packaging for the
consumable charge with a waterproof and/or water resistant
material, which is also relatively flammable, so as to render the
consumable premeasured charge water resistant and/or waterproof
while, at the same time, not inhibiting combustion of the
pre-measured charge.
[0017] A still further object of the present invention is to
provide a consumable container, which is typically manufactured
from a flammable material such as paper, cellulose, etc., which is
relatively thin, flexible and flammable so as to readily ignite and
burn upon detonation of a suitable percussion cap, e.g., a 209
primer or a number 11 percussion cap, for example. As a result of
such ignition by the percussion cap, the exterior surface of the
combustible container rapidly ignites and facilitates spontaneous
combustion of the remainder of the container as well as the loose
granular gun powder encased therein.
[0018] A still further object of the present invention is to
utilize a loose granular powder so as to provide better ballistic
characteristics and also improve flame propagation and combustion
of all of the gun powder contained within the muzzle end of the
barrel.
[0019] In the following description and the appended claims, the
term "ignition device" is used to generally refer to one of a
percussion cap, a musket cap, a flint, etc., or some other
discharging or igniting device for a muzzleloader or a black powder
firearm. It should be further noted that this invention can be used
with a black powder firearm utilizing modern cartridges that have a
percussion cap integrated therein. The term "grain", as used
herein, is intended to mean velocity equivalent and not weight.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The invention will now be described, by way of example, with
reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0021] FIG. 1A is a diagrammatic view of a first embodiment of the
premeasured completely consumable charge, according to the present
invention, which is packaged within a so-called "sugar stick
packet";
[0022] FIG. 1B is a diagrammatic cross sectional view of the
premeasured consumable charge of FIG. 1A showing two loading levels
for the gun powder;
[0023] FIG. 1C is a diagrammatic perspective view of the first
embodiment of FIG. 1A showing the open position of the so-called
"sugar stick packet" only sealed at one end prior to filling, in
some applications the "sugar stick packet" may be opened at both
opposed ends thereof during the loading process;
[0024] FIG. 2A is a diagrammatic perspective view of a second
embodiment of the premeasured consumable charge, according to the
present invention, which is manufactured for a cigarette rolling
paper;
[0025] FIG. 2B is a diagrammatic plan view of the cigarette rolling
paper for use in forming the premeasured consumable charge of FIG.
2A, in some applications the cigarette paper may be supplied in
tube form which are open at both opposed ends thereof;
[0026] FIG. 2C is a diagrammatic perspective view showing twisting
of the opposed ends of this embodiment so as to close both
ends;
[0027] FIG. 3A is a diagrammatic view of a third embodiment of the
premeasured completely consumable charge according to the present
invention being packaged in a conventional capsule;
[0028] FIG. 3B is a diagrammatic view of base portion of the
capsule of FIG. 3A shown loaded with gun powder; and
[0029] FIG. 3C is a diagrammatic view of the cap portion of the
capsule, shown in of FIG. 3A, for mating with the base portion and
forming the capsule.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] Turning now to FIG. 1, a detailed description concerning the
improved completely consumable premeasured charge 2 will now be
provided. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the completely consumable
premeasured charge 2 generally comprises a so-called "sugar stick
packet" 4 (see FIG. 1C) which is generally an elongate container or
packet that is shaped and designed so as to carry a loose granular
substance therein, such as sugar, flavoring, artificial sweeten,
etc. It is to be appreciated that the packet 4 can have virtually
any desired shape or size provided that average diameter of the
packet 4 is small enough to be received within the gunbarrel of the
firearm and facilitate loading thereof. Such packets 4 are
typically manufactured from paper or some other conventional
material. It is to be appreciated that the exterior wall 6, forming
the packet 4, must be sufficiently thin in thickness so as to
readily ignite and combust when exposed to the flame generated by a
percussion cap on detonation of a muzzle loader while, at the same
time, not be too thin so that the integrity of the packet 4 is
compromised. That is, the packet 4 must have sufficient integrity
so that it is not easily broken, torn, ripped, perforated, etc.,
during handling and/or loading of the consumable premeasured charge
2 formed from the packet 4 by the end user.
[0031] The packet 4 has an outer surface, shell or wall 6 and is
normally sealed at a first end thereof 8, e.g, crimped, glued,
etc., while the opposite end 10 is normally open (see FIG. 1C) to
facilitate filling of an interior chamber 12 thereof with a desired
quantity of gun powder 14. Following filling of the interior
chamber 12 with the desired quantity of gun powder 14, the opposite
open end 10 is then sealed in a conventional manner so as to seal
and permanently retain the gun powder 14 therein. If desired, the
sealed first and second ends 8, 10 of the consumable premeasured
charge 2 may be cut or trimmed to shorten the axial length of the
sealed area of the consumable premeasured charge 2 and thereby
minimize the amount of the packaging material which must be ignited
upon discharge of the firearm.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 1 for example, the packet 4 typically has
an axial length of about 41/4 inches or so and a width or a
diameter of about 5/8 of an inch or so, e.g., for a 50 caliber
firearm the average diameter of the package 4 will be less than
about 0.500 inches. A packet 4 having the above dimensions is
generally sized to accommodate and contain approximately 100 grains
of gun powder 12 by volume (e.g., approximately 80-90 grains by
weight and more preferably about 85 grains by weight). As a result
of such dimensions, a minimum amount of paper is generally utilized
to form the outer surface, shell or wall 6 of the packet 4 for
containing a desired charge of gun powder 14 therein. In addition,
the resulting consumable premeasured charge 2 is also adequately
sized to be easily loaded within the muzzle end of a 50 caliber
firearm, for example, during a conventional loading process with
minimal effort.
[0033] In order to improve the integrity of the packet 4 forming
the completely premeasured charge 2, preferable the interior
chamber 12 of the packet 4 is only filled with gun powder 14 with
amount which fills approximately 50 to 95-100% of the volume of the
interior chamber 12 (see FIG. 1B), more preferably the interior
chamber of the packet 4 is filled with gun powder 14 to occupy
approximately 70 to 85% of the volume of the interior chamber 12.
It is to be appreciated that if the gun powder 14 fills
approximately 100% of the volume of the interior chamber 12, then
the packet 4 may have a tendency to be ripped, torn, perforated or
otherwise damaged during normal handling and/or loading of the
consumable premeasured charge 2 and this tends to lead to an
inadvertent loss of at least some of the contents of the packet 4.
By only partially filling the volume of the interior chamber 12
with the gun powder 14, each filled packet 4 is generally able to
bend more easily and freely without breaking, ripping or otherwise
compromising the integrity of the packet. 4 and this, in turn,
improves handling and/or loading of the consumable premeasured
charge 2.
[0034] It is to be appreciated that the packets 4 can be filled
either by hand or by either an automated or a semi-automated
apparatus, machine or equipment. If either an automated or a
semi-automated filling procedure is utilized, then the equipment
must be properly modified to facilitate packaging of an explosive
product. The inventors have determined that if the packets 4 are
filled by hand during either a manual or a semi-manual filling
process, this generally has the advantage of better control over
the filling process.
[0035] With reference now to FIG. 2, an alternative to the present
invention will now be discussed. According to this embodiment, the
exterior wall, shell or outer wall 6 of the generally completely
consumable premeasured charge 2 comprises a cigarette rolling paper
16. As noted above, the cigarette rolling paper 16 must have a
sufficiently thin wall thickness so as to readily ignite and
combust when exposed to the flame generated by a percussion cap,
upon detonation of a muzzle loader, while, at the same time, not
being too thin so that the integrity of the cigarette rolling paper
16 is compromised. As with all cigarette rolling paper 16, such
paper is flammable and readily ignites.
[0036] The completely consumable premeasured charge 2, manufactured
from the cigarette rolling paper 16, is typically either rolled or
filled, in a manner similar to the conventional way that cigarettes
are manufactured. However, due to the granular nature of gun
powder, both opposed ends of the rolled or filed completely
consumable premeasured charge 2 must be sealed to prevent the loose
gun powder 14 from falling out from either opposed open end. For
example, immediately following rolling or filling of the completely
consumable premeasured charge 2, both opposed ends of the
completely consumable premeasured charge 2 are one of twisted close
(see FIG. 2C), dipped, sprayed, coated, covered, etc., with a
suitable binder or some other sealing agent 18 so as to prevent the
loose granular gun powder 14 from falling out of either opposed
open 8, 10 end of the completely consumable premeasured charge 2.
The binder or sealing agent 18 has a sufficient thickness and
integrity to seal the open ends 8, 10 and prevent the loose
granular gun powder 14 from falling out while, at the same time, is
sufficiently flammable so as to facilitate combustion of the
pre-measured charge upon discharge of the firearm. A suitable
binder or sealing agent 18 is, for example, nitrocellulose or
nitrocellulose blended with one of acetone, caphfur and/or IPA
(isopropyl alcohol).
[0037] As shown in FIG. 2, the completely consumable premeasured
charge 2 typically has an axial length of about 41/4 inches or so
and a width or a diameter of about 5/8 of an inch or so, e.g., for
a 50 caliber firearm the average diameter of the package 4 will be
less than about 0.500 inches. According to this embodiment, the
interior chamber 12 is sized so as to accommodate and contain
approximately 100 grains of gun powder 12 by volume (e.g.,
approximately 80-90 grains by weight and more preferably about 85
grains by weight). Preferable the interior chamber 12 is filled
with gun powder 14 so that approximately 95 to approaching 100% of
the volume of the interior chamber 12 is filled with gun powder
14.
[0038] With reference now to FIG. 3, a still further embodiment of
the present invention will now be discussed. According to this
embodiment, the combustible container generally comprises a capsule
20, e.g., a capsule which typically accommodates medication and/or
vitamins, which is filled with the loose granular powder 14 so as
to form the consumable premeasured charge 2. The capsule 20
generally comprises two separate components, e.g., generally a
larger volume base portion 22 which matingly and closely engages
with a smaller volume cap portion 24 to form the capsule 20.
Typically the larger volume base portion 22 is filled with the gun
powder 14 so that an internal chamber 12 of the larger volume base
portion 22 is completely full of gun powder 14. Thereafter the
smaller volume cap portion 24 matingly engages or "snaps together"
with the larger volume base portion 22 to from the capsule 20. The
base portion 22 and the cap portion 24 are typically "snapped"
together, in a conventional manner, or may possibly be glued or
otherwise adhesively secured to one another to permanently retain
the engagement of the base and cap portions 22 and 24 with one
another and retain the gun powder therein.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 3, the consumable premeasured charge 2
typically has an axial length of about 2.4 inches or so and a width
or a diameter of about 0.5 of an inch or so. Because the wall
thickness of the capsule and the fact that the base portion 22 of
the capsule 20 has a slightly smaller width dimension then the cap
portion 24 so that it may be received by and snapped fitted with
the cap portion 24, the diameter the base portion 22 is slightly
less than 0.5 inches. According to this embodiment, the interior
chamber 12 of the capsule 20 is sized so as to accommodate and
contain approximately 100 grains of gun powder 12 by volume (e.g.,
approximately 80-90 grains by weight and more preferably about 85
grains by weight). Preferable the interior chamber 12 of the base
portion 22 is filled 100% with gun powder 14 so that when the cap
portion 24 engages therewith, the gun powder 14 contained within
the capsule 20 occupies approximately 70 to about 85% of the total
volume of the interior chamber 12 of the capsule 20.
[0040] The capsule 20 generally has a wall thickness of between
0.001 and 0.1 inches, preferably approximately about 0.015 inches
or so and is preferably made from a semi-flammable or a flammable
combustible material such as nitrocellulose or nitrocellulose
blended with one of acetone, caphfur and/or IPA (isopropyl
alcohol). It is to be appreciate the overall length and type of
material from which the capsule 20 is manufactured must be
sufficiently flammable such as to promote combustion of the loose
granular gun powder 14 contained therein.
[0041] It is to be appreciated that the container 4, forming the
consumable premeasured charge 2, can be manufactured from a variety
of other materials and may have a variety of other shapes and/or
sizes. The important aspects for the container 4, for forming the
consumable premeasured charge 2, is that the container be: (1) a
generally closed container which has sufficient integrity to retain
the granular gun powder therein, (2) sufficiently combustible or be
able to be coated with a combustible substance, and (3) shaped and
sized to contain a sufficient amount of gun powder while still
being loadable within a gun barrel. For example, the container 4
may also possibly be a plastic bag, a thin wall tubing or liner
which is coated with a nitrocellulose coating.
[0042] The generally completely consumable charge 2 contains a
loose granular chemical mixture of a propellant, possibly black
powder or a black powder substitute which are all collectively
referred to herein as gun powder 14. If a black powder substitute
is utilized, it typically comprises a mixture of potassium
perchlorate, potassium nitrate, a fuel component such as an amino
acid or a carbohydrate, e.g., ascorbic acid, sugar, starch, etc.,
and charcoal (carbon). It is to be appreciated that any other black
powder substitute, particularly those containing a fuel component
from the carbohydrate family (e.g., sugar, starch, etc.) as a
partial or complete substitute for the ascorbic acid fuel
component, will also function well. The term sugar is intended to
cover, for example, glucose, fructose, dextrose, lactose, simple
sugars, etc. The term starch is intended to cover, for example,
rice starch, potato starch, dextrin, etc.
[0043] A suitable formula for the premeasured completely consumable
charge, according to the present invention, comprises a mixture of:
about 10-35% by weight of potassium perchlorate; about 25-60% by
weight of potassium nitrate; about 25-50% by weight of a fuel
component (such as ascorbic acid or some other carbohydrate family
composition(s)); and about 0-5% by weight of hardwood charcoal
and/or carbon (lamp) black. To improve the power of the consumable
premeasured charge 2 and facilitate rapid burning of the consumable
premeasured charge 2, the percent by weight of potassium
perchlorate is increased toward and approaching about 35% by
weight. The inventors have discovered that by slightly increasing
the amount of charcoal and/or carbon (lamp) black in the formula,
the consumable premeasured charge 2 is slightly easier to ignite,
more moisture resistant and more dependable from an ignition
perspective. Although the above range is preferred for
manufacturing the premeasured consumable charge 2, it is to be
appreciated that other currently available types and/or brands of
black powder and/or black powder substitutes may also be used to
manufacture the consumable premeasured charge 2, as disclosed
herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present
invention.
[0044] It is to be appreciated that the barrel of a 50-caliber
firearm typically has a nominal bore diameter or dimension of about
0.500 of an inch. As such, when an end user places the consumable
premeasured charge 2, according to the present invention, which is
sized for a 50-caliber firearm within the muzzle end of the barrel,
the leading end portion of the consumable premeasured charge 2 is
readily received therein.
[0045] Once the completely consumable premeasured charge 2 is
sufficiently loaded into the muzzle end of the muzzleloader barrel,
the end user will then insert the desired bullet or projectile, and
possibly a sabot or patch (wad), within the muzzle end of the
barrel and "ram" the bullet or projectile, along with the
previously loaded propellent charge(s) 2 and, if present, the sabot
or patch (wad) toward the breech end of the barrel such that the
leading end wall of the charge 2 is positioned directly opposite
but closely adjacent the outlet of a flash channel. While the above
description only discusses loading of a single propellent charge 2,
it is to be appreciated that possibly two or more propellent
charges 2 may be sequentially loaded within the muzzle end of the
barrel prior to insertion of the desired bullet or projectile and
possibly a sabot or patch (wad), to achieve a desired gun powder
charge within the barrel as long as the loaded charge does not
exceed the rifle manufacturer's prescribed gunpowder load
recommendation.
[0046] To facilitate shipping and/or handling of the consumable
premeasured charges 2, a desired number of the consumable
premeasured charges 2 can be packaged together in a desired
packaging or a larger storage container for shipment and sale. The
desired packaging or the larger storage container, containing the
plurality of the consumable premeasured charges 2 therein, is
normally packaged with one or more portable transport containers to
facilitate safe and dry transport of a completely consumable
premeasured charge 2. When discharge of the firearm is desired, a
user will typically remove one or more of the consumable
premeasured charges 2 from the large storage container and load the
same within the firearm.
[0047] It is to be appreciated that the packets could be sized to
accommodate any desired weight of gunpowder, e.g., a 20 grain
charge to 150 grain charge or more. The packets or consumable
charges could also be of any desired size so as to be used with any
desired black powder firearm or percussion revolver.
[0048] It is to be appreciated that the packet could be sized so as
to have a slight interference fit with the desired black powder
firearm or, if so desired, the packet may have a desired clearance
with respect to the desired black powder firearm so as to fall
freely toward the breach end of the barrel.
[0049] Since certain changes may be made in the above described
improved completely consumable premeasured charge and method of
manufacturing the same, without departing from the spirit and scope
of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all of the
subject matter of the above description or shown in the
accompanying drawings shall be interpreted merely as examples
illustrating the inventive concept herein and shall not be
construed as limiting the invention.
* * * * *