Firearmcartridge magazine having mechanism for low-friction cartridge orienting and guiding

Abstract

A cartridge magazine for firearms having internal lateral guide ridges of dimensions for establishing lateral guiding engagement with cartridges within the magazine chamber and having longitudinal internal guide ridges projecting inwardly from said side panels. The internal longitudinal guide ridges establish low friction essentially line contact with the uppermost cartridge and establish low friction forward charging movement of the uppermost cartridge from the cartridge magazine during firearm loading. The cartridge magazine is preferably formed from a single piece of sheet metal stock and is die folded and die formed to define external depressions and internal low friction cartridge guide ridges for lateral guiding of cartridge movement within the magazine and forward guiding movement of cartridges as they are dispensed from the magazine.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to firearms and more particularly to firearms that employ cartridges that are fed from a magazine to the cartridge chamber of a firearm barrel. Even more specifically the present invention concerns a cartridge magazine that employs features for low friction guiding of cartridges being moved from a magazine into the cartridge chamber of the firearm. The present invention generally concerns a metal cartridge magazine that is formed from sheet metal stock and defines inwardly projecting cartridge guide ridges that conform to the angular geometry of the cartridge cases serve to establish low-friction orienting and guiding of cartridges as they are moved from the cartridge magazine toward the cartridge chamber of a firearm barrel. These cartridge guide ridges also permit ease of loading cartridges into the magazine.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Cartridge containing magazines composed of sheet metal components have been manufactured and used for many years. During the manufacturing process sheet metal stock is formed to a generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration by sheet metal dies. The resulting magazine structure is strategically deformed to define opposed side panels and forward and rearward end panels. The sheet metal of the magazine is deformed by the dies to provide for strengthening of the side panel portions of magazine structure and to establish inwardly projecting generally parallel guide ridges that are of designed depth and configuration to be engaged by specific surface portions of the cartridges to guide the alternating serially stacked cartridges during spring urged movement thereof within the magazine structure as the firing operation of a firearm progresses.

The rearmost end panel of a conventional sheet metal cartridge magazine is deformed by the dies to define an outwardly and rearwardly projecting guide member that extends from the bottom of the rear end panel to a region near the top of the rear end panel and serves to guide the cartridge magazine during its insertion into the magazine receptacle of a firearm. The outwardly and rearwardly projecting guide member also defines a generally rectangular internal guide channel that receives a guided portion of a cartridge follower and serves to guide spring urged movement of the cartridge follower within the magazine as cartridges are serially dispensed from the magazine to the cartridge chamber of the barrel during firing.

One of the side panels of the standard cartridge magazine is deformed to define a magazine lock opening and boss that interacts with the magazine receptacle of a firearm receiver to secure the magazine within the magazine receptacle until such time as it is unlocked by actuation of a magazine release button. Typically, within a conventional cartridge magazine is positioned a magazine spring having generally rectangular shaped coils. In magazines designed for feeding an offset double stack of cartridges a cartridge follower is typically mounted to the upper end of the magazine spring and has cartridge support and orienting surfaces of differing elevation so that each stack of cartridges is efficiently supported during alternating feeding of cartridges from each of the offset cartridge stacks.

The side panels of most metal cartridge magazines are typically deformed in such manner as to define a plurality of generally parallel internal cartridge guide ridges which are each of proper dimension and orientation for guiding engagement with specific portions of the double stack of cartridges within the magazine. Opposed lateral cartridge guide ridges of the cartridge side panels are positioned for contact by the bullets of the cartridges while other guide ridges are positioned for contact by various portions of the cartridges within the magazine. The internal cartridge guide ridges each have a rounded cartridge engaging surface and the cartridges have a circular cross-sectional configuration and are oriented transversely in relation with the rounded cartridge engaging surfaces. The opposed cartridge guide ridges are spaced so as to ensure maintenance of the double offset stack of cartridges so that each of the cartridges of the stack maintains a predetermined efficiently controlled relationship with the other cartridges so that efficient lateral cartridge movement occurs within the magazine during firing activity. This feature is particularly important when a firearm is being used for automatic firing. The parallel internal ridge arrangement causes each of the cartridges within the magazine to have essentially point contact with the rounded guide surfaces of the guide ridges during lateral cartridge movement within the magazine, thus minimizing frictional resistance to spring urged cartridge movement. This feature ensures that each cartridge being stripped from the magazine during charging of cartridges into the cartridge chamber of a firearm barrel is immediately replaced by a succeeding cartridge from one of the double stacks of cartridges.

The upper portion of a cartridge magazine of the character described above is provided with oppositely and inwardly curved cartridge case and rim guide flanges that define a cartridge loading slot between them. The oppositely and inwardly curved cartridge case and rim guide flanges have end edges disposed in sufficiently spaced relation so that a single cartridge can be easily moved laterally through the cartridge loading slot to facilitate loading of cartridges into the magazine. Additionally, the side panels of the cartridge magazine each define cartridge orienting tabs that project laterally toward one another and defines a rounded corner and a cartridge guide edge that are engaged by the tapered front shoulder portion of a cartridge case as the cartridge is driven forwardly toward the cartridge chamber of the firearm barrel by the bolt mechanism of the firearm. Each of the cartridge orienting tabs is of a dimension so that it serves to guide and orient a cartridge being moved toward the cartridge chamber.

There is a current need, especially in the field of tactical firearms, to provide a cartridge magazine mechanism having lateral and linear internal guide ridges that cooperatively minimize the frictional resistance to both lateral cartridge stack movement within the magazine and forward cartridge feeding movement as the cartridges are individually extracted from the magazine by forward movement of the bolt mechanism. This need is desirable to minimize the cartridge mis-feeds that typically take place when an automatic or semi-automatic firearm is extensively used, such as in the case of tactical firearm use by military or law enforcement personnel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a principal feature of the present invention to provide a novel cartridge magazine that includes, in addition to internal substantially parallel internal cartridge lateral guide ribs, linear cartridge guide ribs that facilitate ease of cartridge loading and ease of linear cartridge feeding movement during all sequences of firing.

It is another feature of the present invention to provide a novel cartridge magazine that is composed of formed sheet metal material that is laser welded along the substantial entirety of a very small overlapping edge to form a generally rectangular box-like magazine configuration that is effectively resistant to metal separation even if the magazine should be subjected to forces tending to crush it.

It is another feature of the present invention to provide a novel cartridge magazine that is composed of formed sheet metal material that is laser welded along the substantial entirety of a very small overlapping edge and wherein a portion of the laser weld is exposed and defines an external guide shoulder of the external and external guide structure of the magazine.

It is an even further feature of the present invention to provide a novel cartridge magazine that is composed of formed sheet metal material that is laser welded along the substantial entirety of a very small overlapping edge and establishes a substantially straight internal shoulder.

It is another feature of the present invention to provide a novel cartridge magazine having a follower member that defines an external guide projection that is received within the internal guide slot or groove of the magazine structure and also defines an external cut-out that receives the substantially straight internal shoulder that is defined by the overlapping laser welded edges of the formed metal sheet material.

Briefly, the various objects and features of the present invention are realized by providing a cartridge magazine for a firearm, the magazine being preferably composed of formed sheet metal material but may be composed of other materials such as polymers or polymer-metal composites within the spirit and scope of the present invention. For purposes of simplicity this invention is discussed herein particularly as it concerns a cartridge magazine that is composed of formed sheet metal material. The sheet material from which the magazine is formed defines opposed side panels and opposed front and rear end panels that are arranged to form a box-like magazine structure of generally rectangular configuration, with the side panels being sufficiently spaced to permit double overlapping stacks of cartridges to be loaded within and dispensed from the magazine. The front end panel is defined by a U-shaped fold in the sheet material and is integral with the side panels. The rear end panel is formed to define substantially straight internal and external guide features that guide movement of the magazine into a magazine receptacle of a firearm and to guide movement of a follower member within the magazine during cartridge loading and dispensing. A portion of the rear end panel is defined by substantially straight edges of the sheet material that are laser welded along the entirety of the contact area of overlapping edges of the sheet material. The small overlapping laser welded edges of the sheet material form internal guide features that match the configuration of a guide projection of the follower member.

The side panels of the magazine structure are formed, such as by die forming, to establish a plurality of internal lateral guide ridges that serve to guide and minimize frictional resistance to lateral movement of the stacks of cartridges within the magazine chamber. The side panels of the magazine structure are further formed to define linearly oriented guide ridges that establish line contact with the cartridges and minimize frictional resistance and minimize resistance to bolt energized cartridge movement from the magazine into the cartridge chamber of a firearm barrel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages and objects of the present invention are attained and can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the preferred embodiment thereof which is illustrated in the appended drawings, which drawings are incorporated as a part hereof.

It is to be noted however, that the appended drawings illustrate only a typical embodiment of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view showing the right side of a cartridge magazine constructed according to the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view showing the left side of the cartridge magazine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view showing the upper portion of the left side of the cartridge magazine of FIGS. 1 and 2 and showing the spaced laterally oriented depressions of the upper portions of the side panels that establish the internal laterally oriented cartridge guide ridges of the magazine structure;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3 and showing the lateral guided relationship of a double offset stack of cartridges with internal guide ridges of the cartridge magazine;

FIG. 4a is a sectional view taken along line 4a-4a of FIG. 3 and showing internal laterally oriented cartridge guide ridges that minimize frictional resistance to cartridge movement;

FIG. 5 is an elevation view showing the rear end wall of the cartridge magazine of FIGS. 1 and 2 and further showing double offset stacks of cartridges being present within the magazine;

FIG. 6 is an elevation view showing the upper part of the magazine of the present invention and illustrating orienting and guiding contact of the uppermost cartridge with internal linear cartridge guide ridges of the upper right side portion of the cartridge magazine;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the cartridge magazine of FIGS. 1-6;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the cartridge magazine of the present invention, showing a spring urged follower within the cartridge magazine;

FIG. 9 is an isometric illustration showing the cartridge follower and a portion of the spring that continuously applies spring force to the follower to move the cartridge stacks laterally within the cartridge magazine;

FIG. 10 is a partial plan view showing the relationship of a guide projection of the follower with respect to an internal guide channel of the rear end wall structure of the cartridge magazine; and

FIG. 11 is a partial plan view of the follower member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings and first to the elevation view of FIGS. 1-4, generally at 10 there is shown a cartridge magazine for a firearm, typically a semi-automatic or automatic firearm, the magazine preferably being formed from sheet metal stock and having a right side panel 12, a left side panel 14, a front end panel 16 and a rear end panel 18. The left side panel, as shown in FIG. 2 defines a latch opening 15 and a latch projection 17 that permit a latch mechanism within the magazine receptacle of the firearm to secure the magazine within the magazine receptacle of the firearm and to be released and removed from the magazine receptacle simply by pressing a magazine latch release button. It should be borne in mind however, that the magazine structure may be composed of materials other than sheet metal, such as any suitable polymer or polymer composite or other material that is sufficiently thin to form a cartridge magazine and is sufficiently durable to effectively withstand typical magazine use in field conditions and remain serviceable, especially during tactical operations. It is appropriate that such magazines also be of sufficiently low cost that they can be discarded or become lost and become replaced, especially during tactical operations.

The geometry of the right and left side panels are preferably substantial mirror images of one another as is evident in the various Figures of the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 the right side panel 12 is deformed, such as by metal forming dies, a press or a mold to define a plurality of inwardly directed substantially parallel grooves 20, 22, 24 and 26 that serve collectively to accomplish guiding of lateral cartridge movement within the magazine during magazine loading and during spring urged lateral cartridge stack movement during firing operations. The depressions forming the generally parallel inwardly directed grooves 20-26 also form internal cartridge guide ridges 20a-26a that have essentially point-to-point engagement with each of the cartridges of one of the stacks of cartridges within the magazine, thus minimizing the frictional resistance to lateral cartridge movement within the magazine. The generally parallel inwardly directed grooves are each of a predetermined depth so that the resulting internal guide ridges 20a-26a are positioned for lateral guiding contact by particular parts of each of the individual cartridges within the magazine. For example internal guide ridge 20a that is formed by displacement of side wall material to form inwardly directed groove 20 is contacted by the rear end portion of the tapered cartridge case of a cartridge C while internal guide ridge 22a is contacted by an intermediate portion of the tapered cartridge case. Internal guide ridge 24a is contacted by the forward end portion of the tapered cartridge case body. The internal guide ridges 20a, 22a, 24a and 26a have different spacing with respect to the center-line of a cartridge case, so as to accommodate the tapered configuration of the body portion of the cartridge case and to efficiently guide lateral movement of the cartridges within the magazine. Internal guide ridge 26a is spaced with respect to the center-line of a cartridge case, so as to be contacted by the neck N of the cartridge case adjacent the rearmost exposed portion of the bullet of the cartridge. The internal guide ridges 20a, 22a, 24a and 26a of each of the side panels ensure efficient low-friction resistance to lateral movement of the offset stacks of cartridges within the cartridge magazine.

As is evident from FIGS. 4, 8 and 9 a cartridge follower member 28 is linearly moveable within the internal chamber 30 of the magazine and is continuously urged upwardly by a compression spring 32 that has an upper spring portion that is received by an opening of the follower member, so as to mount the follower member 28 to the upper end portion of the compression spring. To establish an offset relation to the double stacks of cartridges within the magazine the follower is provided with an upwardly projecting cartridge orienting boss 36 of generally arcuate cross-sectional configuration which defines an inclined cartridge guiding surface 38. The cartridge follower member 28 defines depending guide flanges 40 and 42 at the front and rear ends thereof as shown in FIG. 9 which establish guiding and proper orientation of the cartridge follower member with respect to the internal surfaces of the front 16 and rear 18 wall panels of the cartridge magazine. Additionally, the cartridge follower member 28 also defines a rearwardly projecting follower guide member 44 that engages within an internal guide slot 46 that is defined by a rearwardly projecting wall portion 48 of the rear end wall panel 18 of the cartridge magazine body. The rearwardly projecting wall portion 48 has a very small edge portion that overlaps a small edge portion 50 of a rearwardly projecting wall portion 52 that is formed integrally with the side wall panel 12. These small overlapping edges are laser welded along their lengths and form an internal thickened region 53 within the guide channel or slot 46. The follower guide member 44 defines an external corner recess 54 extending downwardly along the length of the follower guide member and which accommodates the internal thickened region that is formed by the laser weld of the overlapping edges. Laser welding of these small overlapping edges creates a much stronger magazine wall structure as compared to spot welding of overlapping panel wall sections as has been done in the past. Moreover, the laser welded seam of the overlapping edges positively ensures against migration of water, dust and other debris through the edge joint.

The lower end portion of the compression spring 32 engages a bottom closure plate member 56 that is secured to the side and end walls of the cartridge magazine by a plurality of retainer tabs 58 that are also formed from the sheet metal or other suitable stock of the cartridge magazine body. The bottom closure plate member 56 is also formed, such as by stamping and die forming from sheet stock. An internal elongate spring depression is defined by a downwardly projecting portion 58 of the bottom closure plate member and is of a dimension and configuration receiving and stabilizing the lower end of the compression spring 32. This feature minimized the potential for shifting of the lower end of the compression spring as the geometry of the spring is changed by upward or downward follower movement during cartridge dispensing and during loading of cartridges into the magazine. The bottom closure plate member, as shown in FIG. 7 is formed to define an elongate downwardly extending wall section 62 that defines an elongate internal spring stabilizing recess within which an end portion of the lower coil of the compression spring 32 is received to further stabilize the lower end of the compression spring against substantial lateral movement within the magazine chamber. The bottom or closure plate 56 is also formed by cutting and material displacement to define upwardly extending positioning or stop members 64 and 66 which engage the lower internal surface of the rear wall panel 18. The forward end of the bottom or closure plate 56 defines a shallow notch 68 which received a centrally oriented plate locating stop member 70 that serves to prevent forward movement of the bottom or closure plate 56 relative to the front wall panel 16 of the magazine body structure.

As mentioned above it is necessary that the frictional resistance to forward cartridge movement relative to the magazine body structure and the follower be minimized as much as possible to prevent improper cartridge feeding and cartridge jamming during operation of a semi-automatic or automatic firearm. At the upper ends of each of the side panels 12 and 14 are provided inwardly curved cartridge guide and retainer sections 72 and 74 that are disposed in spaced relation. The cartridge guide and retainer sections 72 and 74 retain the stacks of cartridges within the magazine chamber and guide the rear end or rim portion of the cartridges as they are engaged by the forwardly moving bolt of a firearm and moved forwardly into the cartridge chamber of the barrel of the firearm. During this bolt induced forward cartridge movement, cartridge orienting tabs 76 and 78 one of the cartridge orienting tabs is engaged by the bullet B of the cartridge and causes the cartridge to begin lateral orientation movement toward the center-line of the cartridge magazine. As the cartridge is move further forward a forward facing tapered surface 80 of the cartridge engages the respective cartridge orienting tab and causes further lateral orientation of the cartridge so that the forward end of the bullet of the cartridge becomes aligned with the cartridge chamber of the firearm barrel.

Frictional resistance to forward cartridge movement within the magazine results from movement of the cartridge while in engagement with the follower member 28, the guide ridges within the side walls, the cartridge guide and retainer sections 72 or 74 and the respective cartridge orienting tab. If the frictional resistance to cartridge movement is sufficiently high the spring force being applied to the bolt member can be insufficient to move the cartridge along its intended path into the cartridge chamber of the barrel. In the event this condition should occur the cartridge can become sufficiently angulated or misaligned that it will not enter the cartridge chamber. In this case the cartridge can become jammed and prevent loading of the cartridge and prevent complete closure and locking of the bolt mechanism of the firearm. According to an important feature of the present invention the side panels of the cartridge magazine are further formed with laterally oriented external depressions 82 and 84 that may extend from respective. The laterally oriented external depressions 82 and 84 define laterally oriented internal guide ridges 86 and 88 that may be tapered to match the taper of the cartridge case of a cartridge. Thus, the define laterally oriented internal guide ridges 86 and 88 have essentially line contact with the cartridge case and serve to minimize the frictional resistance between the cartridge case and the side walls of the cartridge magazine.

When a cartridge magazine of the present invention is latched within the magazine receptacle of a firearm a single cartridge of the double offset stacks of cartridges will be located at the loading position in readiness to be fed from the magazine and transported into the cartridge chamber of a firearm barrel by spring urged forward movement of a bolt mechanism. The leading cartridge will have essentially line or point contact with the laterally oriented internal guide ridges 86 and 88 and will be properly oriented for dispensing from the magazine to the cartridge chamber. The inwardly curved cartridge guide and retainer sections of the upper portions of the side panels 14 or 14, depending on the position of the leading cartridge, will have retaining and guiding relation with the cartridge case, especially the rear portion and rim of the cartridge case. Assuming that the bolt mechanism of the firearm is at its rearmost or retracted position, either by having fired a previous cartridge or round of ammunition or having been manually moved to its rearmost or retracted position, the force of a bolt return spring will drive the bolt mechanism forward. During a portion of this forward movement the bolt mechanism will contact the rear or rim portion of the leading cartridge and will move the cartridge forwardly, stripping it from the magazine and propelling it toward the cartridge chamber of the firearm barrel. During this forward cartridge movement the cartridge will be guided and oriented by the laterally oriented internal guide ridges 86 and 88, having minimal area of contact with the cartridge will have minimal frictional resistance to forward movement of the cartridge by the bolt mechanism. The lateral orientation of the guide ridges 86 and 88 will permit the condition of low frictional resistance to be substantially continuously maintained during cartridge movement from the magazine. This low frictional resistance ensures that bolt return spring induced forward movement of the bolt mechanism will not be impeded and further ensures against the possibility that the cartridge can become misaligned during its bolt induced forward travel from the magazine to the cartridge chamber.

In view of the foregoing it is evident that the present invention is one well adapted to attain all of the objects and features hereinabove set forth, together with other objects and features which are inherent in the apparatus disclosed herein.

As will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, the present invention may easily be produced in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered as merely illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A cartridge magazine for firearms, comprising:

a magazine body of generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration having opposed side panels and opposed front and rear end panels defining a cartridge chamber;

a follower member being moveable within said cartridge chamber;

an urging member within said cartridge chamber applying force to said follower member and any cartridges being movably supported by said follower member;

cartridge retainer members being located at upper portions of said side panels and retaining stacks of cartridges within said cartridge chamber and positioning an uppermost cartridge for loading engagement by a firearm bolt member upon forward movement thereof;

a plurality of lateral guide ridges projecting inwardly from each of said side panels and guiding lateral movement of cartridges within said cartridge chamber; and

longitudinal internal guide ridges projecting inwardly from said side panels and having low friction contact with an uppermost cartridge and guiding forward charging movement of the uppermost cartridge during cartridge loading from said cartridge magazine.

2. The cartridge magazine of claim 1, comprising:

said magazine body being formed of a single sheet metal stock; and

edges of said sheet metal stock being laser welded to define a single welded seam.

3. The cartridge magazine of claim 2, comprising:

said side panels each being die formed to define a plurality of elongate external depressions and a plurality of internal elongate guide ridges each having a dimension for lateral guiding engagement with predetermined portions of cartridges within said magazine chamber; and

upper portions of said side panels each being die formed to define a plurality of elongate external lateral depressions and internal elongate lateral guide ridges being disposed in substantially normal relation with said elongate external depressions.

4. The cartridge magazine of claim 3, comprising:

said internal elongate lateral guide ridges being located and oriented for minimal frictional substantially line or point contact by a side of a leading cartridge within said magazine chamber and ensuring minimal frictional resistance to lateral cartridge movement during bolt induced cartridge movement from said magazine.

5. The cartridge magazine of claim 1, comprising:

said magazine body being formed from a single sheet of metal stock and said side and end panels being defined by substantially right angled bends of said sheet of metal stock; and

edge portions of said sheet of metal stock being laser welded along the complete extent thereof and defining a sealed and structurally enhanced edge joint preventing ingress of water and debris through said edge joint.

6. The cartridge magazine of claim 5, comprising:

said edge portions of said single sheet of metal stock being overlapped and when laser welded along the complete overlapped extent thereof defining a thickened and impervious laser weld joint preventing ingress of water and debris through said edge joint and increasing the structural resistance of said magazine body to deformation by impacts.

7. The cartridge magazine of claim 1, comprising:

an internal follower guide channel being defined by said rear end panel;

said thickened and impervious laser weld joint defining an elongate shoulder located within said internal follower guide channel extending substantially the entire length of said overlapped edge portions of said sheet metal stock; and

a guide projection extending from a rear portion said follower and being received in moveable guided relation within said internal follower guide channel, said guide projection defining an external recess within which said elongate shoulder is located.

8. A cartridge magazine for firearms, comprising:

a magazine body of generally rectangular cross-sectional configuration having opposed side panels and opposed front and rear end panels defining a magazine chamber retaining cartridges within said magazine chamber and positioning an uppermost cartridge for loading engagement by a firearm bolt member upon forward bolt movement;

a follower member being moveable within said magazine chamber;

an urging member within said magazine chamber continuously applying force to said follower member and to cartridges being movably supported by said follower member;

opposed curved cartridge retainer members extending from upper portions of said side panels and defining a space therebetween permitting cartridge insertion into said magazine chamber and defining an open ended channel through which a bolt member of a firearm is moveable to engage and strip a leading cartridge from said magazine;

a plurality of substantially parallel cartridge guide ridges projecting inwardly from each of said side panels and guiding lateral movement of cartridges within said cartridge chamber to a leading cartridge position of said magazine; and

internal cartridge loading guide ridges projecting inwardly from upper portions of said side panels and having low friction contact with a leading cartridge and guiding forward loading movement of the leading cartridge during bolt induced cartridge loading from said cartridge magazine to a cartridge chamber of a firearm barrel.

9. The cartridge magazine of claim 8, comprising:

said magazine body being formed of a single sheet metal stock; and

edges of said sheet metal stock being laser welded to define a single welded seam.

10. The cartridge magazine of claim 9, comprising:

said side panels each being die formed to define a plurality of elongate external depressions and a plurality of internal elongate guide ridges each having a dimension for lateral guiding engagement with predetermined portions of cartridges within said magazine chamber; and

upper portions of said side panels each being die formed to define a plurality of elongate external lateral depressions and internal elongate lateral guide ridges being disposed in substantially normal relation with said elongate external depressions.

11. The cartridge magazine of claim 10, comprising:

said internal elongate lateral guide ridges being located and oriented for minimal frictional substantially line or point contact by a side of a leading cartridge within said magazine chamber and ensuring minimal frictional resistance to lateral cartridge movement during bolt induced cartridge movement from said magazine.

12. The cartridge magazine of claim 8, comprising:

said magazine body being formed from a single sheet of metal stock and said side and end panels being defined by substantially right angled bends of said sheet of metal stock; and

edge portions of said sheet of metal stock being laser welded along the complete extent thereof and defining a sealed and structurally enhanced edge joint preventing ingress of water and debris through said edge joint.

13. The cartridge magazine of claim 12, comprising:

said edge portions of said single sheet of metal stock being overlapped and when laser welded along the complete overlapped extent thereof defining a thickened and impervious laser weld joint preventing ingress of water and debris through said edge joint and increasing the structural resistance of said magazine body to deformation by impacts.

14. The cartridge magazine of claim 8, comprising:

an internal follower guide channel being defined by said rear end panel;

said thickened and impervious laser weld joint defining an elongate shoulder located within said internal follower guide channel extending substantially the entire length of said overlapped edge portions of said sheet metal stock; and

a guide projection extending from a rear portion said follower and being received in moveable guided relation within said internal follower guide channel, said guide projection defining an external recess within which said elongate shoulder is located.