Granted Patent B2

US 7,621,064 · App. 11/316,116 · Granted Nov 24, 2009

Abstract

Claims (14)

1. A muzzle loading firearm comprising:

a barrel having a bore defining a bore axis, and having a muzzle end and a breech end;

a breech plug having a nose, a substantially planar rear face opposite the nose, a primer pocket formed in the rear face to receive a primer flush with the rear face, the primer pocket having a peripheral inner surface adapted to be substantially contiguous to an outer surface of said primer, a passage extending through the breech plug from the primer pocket to the nose, and an outer surface having interrupted threads formed thereon, the interrupted threads extending from the nose toward the rear face along a portion of the outer surface and being configured to engage corresponding threads formed in said barrel bore proximate said barrel bore breech end, the outer surface further comprising a second portion distal from the nose and adjoining the rear face, the outer surface second portion being configured to receive torque to cause the breech plug to rotate around said bore axis;

a breech element pivotally connected to the barrel, and having a breech face, the breech element being movable between an open position in which the breech face is away from said barrel breech end, and a closed position in which the breech face is in substantially planar contact with said rear face of said breech plug; and

a firing pin carried by the breech element such that when the breech element is in the closed position, the firing pin is aligned with the primer pocket.

2. The firearm of claim 1 wherein the breech plug is rotatable between a removable position and an installed position one-quarter turn from the removable position.

3. The firearm of claim 1 wherein the interrupted threads comprise a pair of opposed grooves in the breech end of the barrel, and a pair of opposed ears on the breech plug, such that the breech plug is received into the breech end of the barrel in the manner of a conventional rifle bolt.

4. The firearm of claim 1 wherein said breech plug has a slot indented into the rear face, the firearm further comprising:

an extractor having a short leg extending substantially perpendicularly from a long leg, the short leg being dimensioned to fit within said breech plug slot substantially flush with said breech plug rear face, the long leg being slidably housed in a lower lug bore extending substantially parallel to the barrel bore axis, the extractor being movable along the lower lug bore from a rest position wherein the short leg closely fits into said breech plug slot to an extracted position wherein the short leg is spaced apart from the rear face of the breech plug along the barrel bore axis,

wherein said breech element breech face is in substantially planar contact with said extractor short leg when said breech element is in the closed position.

5. The firearm of claim 1 , wherein the breech element further includes a trigger assembly, said trigger assembly being pivotally movable with the breech element relative to the barrel.

6. The firearm of claim 1 , wherein said outer surface second portion further includes a surface configured to receive a corresponding surface of a tool, the tool being used and operated to apply said torque.

7. The firearm of claim 6 , wherein said surface configured to receive a corresponding surface of a tool is a substantially flat surface substantially perpendicular to the rear face of the breech plug.

8. The firearm of claim 1 , said breech plug outer surface further having a pin protruding radially outward between the interrupted threads and the second portion, and said barrel bore having a track formed at the breech end for receiving said breech plug pin.

Assignments (11)