Rotary magazine with bolt hold open assembly

1. A firearm, comprising:

a receiver;

a barrel configured to couple to the receiver and defining a chamber adapted to receive a round of ammunition for firing from the firearm;

a bolt assembly including a bolt movable along the receiver for directing rounds of ammunition toward the chamber of the barrel;

a bolt hold open assembly comprising a bolt hold open lever movable between a raised position substantially inhibiting movement of the bolt and holding the bolt in an open position, and a lowered position allowing movement of the bolt along the receiver; and

a rotary magazine at least partially received within a magazine well in communication with the receiver, the rotary magazine comprising:

a magazine housing defining an interior chamber for receiving and storing the rounds of ammunition;

a magazine rotor mounted to the magazine housing and having a series of spaced protrusions arranged thereabout and which define a series of recesses configured to at least partially receive the rounds of ammunition for feeding the rounds of ammunition from the interior chamber of the magazine housing as the magazine rotor is rotated; and

a protruding portion rotatable with the magazine rotor and operable to urge the bolt hold open lever toward the raised position after a last round of ammunition fed from the rotary magazine has been fired from the firearm; and

a magazine follower coupled to a protrusion of the series of spaced protrusions so as to be movable therewith to engage and urge the last round of ammunition contained within the rotary magazine through a feed throat of the magazine housing, wherein the magazine follower is configured to move into the feed throat of the magazine housing a distance sufficient to enable rotation of the protruding portion of the rotary magazine to a position for moving the bolt hold open riser to the raised position.

2. The firearm of claim 1 , wherein when the bolt hold open lever is in the raised position, the bolt hold open lever engages the bolt as the bolt is cycled forward and before the bolt generates a substantial amount of momentum or velocity in the forward direction.

3. The firearm of claim 1 , further comprising a bolt hold open riser at least partially received within and slidable along the magazine housing, the bolt hold open riser in communication with the bolt hold open lever and configured to be engaged by the protruding portion of the rotary magazine upon movement thereof to move the bolt hold open lever into the raised position.

4. The firearm of claim 3 , wherein the bolt hold open riser comprises a body with a projection arranged therealong, the projection including an engagement surface located in a position so as to be at least partially engaged by the protruding portion of the rotary magazine.

5. The firearm of claim 4 , wherein the protruding portion of the rotary magazine comprises a body with opposing side surfaces and a curved surface extending at least partially between the opposing side surfaces, wherein the curved surface at least partially engages the engagement surface of the projection of the bolt hold open riser so as to urge the bolt hold open riser in a direction toward engagement with the bolt hold open lever and move the bolt hold open lever toward the raised position.

6. The firearm of claim 5 , further comprising a biasing member mounted within the housing and biasing the body of the bolt hold open riser toward a downward direction.

7. The firearm of claim 1 , wherein the bolt hold open lever comprises a lever body having a notch defined therealong and configured to engage at least a portion of the bolt as the bolt is moved forwardly when the bolt hold open lever is in the raised position.

8. The firearm of claim 7 , wherein the bolt further comprises a body portion including an engagement surface configured to engage a corresponding surface defined by the notch of the lever body.

9. The firearm of claim 8 , wherein the engagement surface of the bolt and/or the corresponding surface of the lever body are angled or slanted such that the bolt at least partially supports the bolt hold open lever in the raised position.

10. A firearm, comprising:

a receiver;

a barrel having a proximal end and a distal end, with a chamber defined at the proximal end, and with the proximal end of the barrel configured to be coupled to the receiver;

a bolt assembly received within the receiver and including a bolt translatable along the receiver to urge rounds of ammunition towards the chamber;

a bolt hold open lever mounted adjacent the bolt assembly and movable between a first position that allows the bolt to substantially freely translate about the receiver, and a second position that holds or locks the bolt in an open position, the bolt hold open lever comprising a lever body having a notch that is at least partially engaged by a complimentary engagement surface of the bolt as the bolt moves forwardly and the bolt hold open lever is in the second position; and

a rotary magazine received within the receiver and configured to receive and store the rounds of ammunition for feeding into the chamber of the firearm, the rotary magazine comprising:

a magazine housing having a feed throat through which the rounds of ammunition are fed from the rotary magazine;

a magazine rotor at least partially received within the magazine housing and comprising a body with a plurality of spaced notches that each are configured or sized to at least partially receive a round of ammunition therein, wherein the magazine rotor is rotationally biased for urging the rounds of ammunition received within the notches thereof toward the feed throat;

a protruding portion supported by and rotatable with the magazine rotor; and

a bolt hold open riser in communication with the bolt hold open lever and configured to be engaged by the protruding portion as a last round of ammunition is moved by the magazine rotor toward or into the feed throat to move the bolt hold open lever to the second position.

11. The firearm of claim 10 , wherein the bolt hold open riser is at least partially received within and movable along the magazine housing, and comprises a body having an engagement surface located therealong so as to be at least partially engaged by the protruding portion of the rotary magazine.

12. The firearm of claim 11 , wherein the protruding portion of the rotary magazine further comprises a body with a pair of spaced side surfaces and a curved surface extending at least partially therebetween, and wherein the curved surface at least partially engages the engagement surface of the bolt hold open riser to move the bolt hold open riser with the rotation of the magazine rotor in a direction to at least partially engage and move the bolt hold open lever toward the second position.

13. The firearm of claim 10 , wherein the complimentary engagement surface of the bolt and/or the notch of the lever body of the bolt hold open lever are angled or slanted such that the bolt at least partially supports the bolt hold open lever in the second position.

14. The firearm of claim 10 , further comprising a magazine follower rotatably coupled to a last protrusion of a series of spaced protrusions defined about the magazine rotor and configured to move therewith so as to urge the last round of ammunition through the feed throat of the magazine housing; and wherein the magazine follower moves a sufficient distance into the feed throat to allow for rotation of the protruding portion of the rotary magazine to move the bolt hold open riser to the second position.

15. A rotary magazine for storing rounds of ammunition for firing from a firearm, comprising:

a magazine housing comprising an interior cavity and a feed throat in communication with the interior cavity;

a magazine rotor at least partially received within the magazine housing and comprising a body having a plurality of spaced projections defining a series of notches configured or sized to at least partially receive a round of ammunition, and wherein the magazine rotor is rotationally biased sufficiently to feed rounds of ammunition received within the notches toward and through the feed throat;

a bolt hold open assembly comprising a bolt hold open lever that is movable between a lowered position and a raised position that substantially inhibits forward movement of a bolt assembly of the firearm;

a bolt hold open riser received within the magazine housing and movable into engagement with the bolt hold open assembly;

a protruding portion coupled to and rotatable with the magazine rotor so as to urge the bolt hold open riser toward engagement with and activation of the bolt hold open assembly; and

a magazine follower coupled to and rotatable with the magazine rotor and configured to urge a last round of ammunition through the feed throat, wherein the magazine follower is moveable into the feed throat sufficient to allow rotation of the protruding portion to move the bolt hold open lever to the raised position.

16. The rotary magazine of claim 15 , wherein the magazine follower comprises an elongated body sized and/or dimensioned to be at least partially received within a notch defined along the magazine rotor; and a flange coupled to the magazine follower so that the elongated body of the magazine follower is rotatable thereabout.

17. The rotary magazine of claim 15 , wherein the bolt hold open riser is at least partially received within the magazine housing, and comprises a body having an engagement surface configured to be at least partially engaged by the protruding portion of the rotary magazine.