Bolt Catch for a Rifle
An improved bolt catch assembly for a rifle, the assembly comprising a magazine actuator arm having a protrusion operable to engage a follower of an ammunition magazine; a bolt catch having a bolt contact surface operable to engage a bolt on the rifle; and an elongated bar having a first end and a second end, the first end attached to the magazine actuator arm and the second end attached to the bolt catch.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/298,876, filed Feb. 23, 2016.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSUREThe AR platform of rifles and carbines, which includes the M-16, M-4, AR-15, and AR-10 series of rifles, is a popular type of firearm with a wide range of variants. In recent years, due to the expense and scarcity of certain calibers of ammunition, including NATO 5.56 mm, new AR variants capable of holding different calibers have been introduced.
One of the new AR rifle variants is designed to accept pistol or handgun ammunition, such as the popular 9 mm caliber, in place of conventional rifle ammunition, thereby allowing the use of a single caliber of ammunition for both a pistol and an AR-style rifle. Use of a single caliber of ammunition has tactical, practical, and economic advantages. Tactical and practical advantages include less weight due to less ammunition being carried by the operator, and elimination of confusion regarding what ammunition to load into the pistol or carbine in a tactical situation when seconds count. Economic advantages permit stocking of only one type of ammunition for both pistol and carbines.
However, one disadvantage of the new AR rifle variants that accept pistol ammunition is that they operate using custom designed magazines, which are not interchangeable with pistols. Moreover, the AR's lower receiver cannot simply be resized to accept standard pistol magazines since, in doing so, the AR's bolt catch assembly ceases to function, thereby eliminating an operating feature of the rifle.
The standard bolt catch assembly for AR rifles is well-known in the art. The standard bolt catch assembly is positioned at the rear end of the magazine and functions to hold the bolt open after the last round is fired. When the standard AR magazine is empty, the magazine follower is pressed upward through spring pressure, and engages a small protrusion on the bolt catch assembly. Once the protrusion is contacted by the magazine follower, the standard bolt catch assembly is moved upwards into a position to block forward motion of the bolt as it returns from the rear of the rifle, where the bolt was pushed by the gas expelled in the firing of the last round. Holding the bolt in the open position allows the operator to quickly determine that all ammunition has been expended, verify that the firing chamber is clear, and rapidly change the magazine and reload the weapon if needed.
Most pistols also incorporate a bolt catch assembly to hold the bolt open after firing the last round. But because of differences in operation and design, the standard bolt catch assembly for pistols is positioned at the front end of the magazine, not at the rear end. Correspondingly, the standard pistol magazine and its follower are designed to contact a protrusion on the pistol's bolt catch assembly at the front of the magazine, rather than the rear.
As a result, if an AR lower receiver is resized to accept a standard pistol magazine, the AR's bolt catch assembly will not work. Specifically, the bolt catch assembly for the AR style carbine, which is located at the rear end of the magazine, cannot engage the follower in a standard pistol magazine, which is designed for contact at the front end. New AR rifle variants that accept pistol ammunition therefore use custom-designed rifle magazines to accommodate the pistol rounds rather than standard pistol magazines, eliminating the advantage of interoperability.
Accordingly, an objective of this disclosure is to preserve the bolt hold-open feature of a carbine or rifle, while permitting interchangeability offered by the use of pistol magazines in the carbine.
An improved bolt catch assembly for a carbine or rifle is now described in the following paragraphs and in view of the accompanying figures. The improved bolt catch assembly may be used to hold a carbine's bolt to the rear or open position after the last round has been fed from the pistol magazine into the firing chamber and discharged.
Referring first to
The magazine actuator arm 201 may be formed as a solid, planar body, with a protrusion 205 projecting from the plane of the body of the magazine actuator arm 201. The protrusion 205 may be perpendicular to the magazine actuator arm 201, or it may be angled. The magazine actuator arm 201, and more specifically the protrusion 205, if present, may physically engage a magazine follower. For example, the magazine actuator arm 201 may engage the hold-open tab 303 on the magazine follower 302 for the pistol magazine 300 shown in
Also shown in the embodiment showing in
The torsion bar 202 may be linear in shape, and may have different cross-sectional profiles, including round, square, or hexagonal. Alternative embodiments of the torsion bar 202 may have a curved or bent shape, for example the torsion bar forms an “L” shape to accommodate the configuration of the rifle lower receiver. As shown in
Similar to the standard bolt catch assembly for rifles, the bolt catch 203 may be formed as solid planar body. The bolt catch 203 may possess a bolt contact surface 206 to make contact with and engage a bolt. For example, the bolt contact surface 206 may contact and engage feed lip 401 of the bolt 400 of the carbine shown in
Referring now back to
As illustrated in
The operation of bolt catch assembly 200 with a standard pistol magazine 300 will now be described referring to the various figures.
When a standard pistol magazine 300 having one or more rounds is inserted into the rifle, the bolt catch assembly 200 will be in the first position or state of
When the last round contained in the pistol magazine 300 is chambered by the carbine bolt 400, the magazine follower 302 shown in
The hold-open tab 303 of the pistol magazine 300 applies mechanical force to the protrusion 205 of the magazine actuator arm 201, which is then translated into the torsion bar 202 shown in
Once in the second position, as the bolt 400 of the carbine is returning from the rearward position, the bolt contact surface 206 of the bolt catch 203 engages the feed lip 401 of the bolt 400 shown in
Thus, during firearm operation with the pistol magazine 300 inserted, when the last round contained in the pistol magazine 300 is chambered by the bolt 400, when the round is discharged from the carbine, the bolt hold catch assembly 200 will transition from the first state or position shown in
As noted above, the bolt catch assembly 200 may also include the optional over-travel arm 204 shown in
The bolt 400 of the carbine may be released by manual operation. The bolt catch assembly 200 may be rotated by depressing the lever 207 on the bolt catch 203 shown in
Claims
1. A bolt catch assembly for a rifle, the assembly comprising:
- a magazine actuator arm having a protrusion operable to engage a follower of an ammunition magazine;
- a bolt catch having a bolt contact surface operable to engage a bolt on the rifle; and
- an elongated bar having a first end and a second end, the first end attached to the magazine actuator arm and the second end attached to the bolt catch.
2. The bolt catch assembly of claim 1, wherein the magazine actuator arm, bolt catch, and bar rotate in unison around a longitudinal axis of the bar.
3. The bolt catch assembly of claim 1, wherein the protrusion of the magazine actuator arm is operable to engage the follower of the ammunition magazine at a front end of the magazine.
4. The bolt catch assembly of claim 1, wherein the magazine actuator arm further comprises an over-travel arm.
5. The bolt catch assembly of claim 4, wherein the over-travel arm is operable to engage an over-travel contact surface on the rifle.
6. The bolt catch assembly of claim 1, wherein the bolt catch further comprises a release lever.
7. The bolt catch assembly of claim 1 further comprising a cover plate having a channel sized to accept the bar.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 23, 2017
Publication Date: Aug 24, 2017
Applicant: J & K IP ASSETS, LLC (Cheyenne, WY)
Inventors: Matthew Gangl (St. Paul, MN), John Paul Gangl (White Bear Lake, MN)
Application Number: 15/441,220