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 in which a round of ammunition is received;

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 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 in communication with the receiver, the rotary magazine comprising:

a magazine housing defining an interior chamber for receiving and storing a plurality rounds of ammunition and having a throat through which the rounds of ammunition are fed;

a magazine rotor rotatably coupled to the magazine housing and having a body with a series of spaced protrusions defining a series of recesses configured to at least partially receive the rounds of ammunition, the magazine rotor being moveable for feeding the rounds of ammunition through the magazine housing and toward the chamber;

a magazine follower coupled to the magazine rotor so as to be movable therewith, the magazine follower adapted to move into the throat of the magazine housing a distance sufficient to urge the last round of ammunition contained within the magazine housing through the feed throat of the magazine housing; and

a protruding portion rotatable with the magazine rotor, the protruding portion configured to engage and urge the bolt hold open lever toward the raised position after a last round of ammunition fed from the rotary magazine has been fired and the magazine follower has at least partially moved into the throat of the magazine housing.

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 before the bolt generates a substantial amount of momentum or velocity in a 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, wherein the bolt hold open riser is in communication with the bolt hold open lever and is configured to be engaged by the protruding portion of the rotary magazine 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 3 , further comprising a biasing member mounted within the housing and biasing 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. A firearm, comprising:

a receiver;

a barrel having a proximal end coupled to the receiver and a chamber defined adjacent its proximal end;

a bolt assembly received within the receiver and including a bolt moveable along the receiver for loading a round of ammunition in the chamber;

a bolt hold open lever adjacent the bolt assembly and movable between a first position out of engagement with the bolt as the bolt moves along the receiver, and a second position that substantially blocks the bolt in an open position, the bolt hold open lever comprising a lever body that is at least partially engaged by 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 a plurality of 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;

a magazine rotor rotatable within the magazine housing and comprising a body with a plurality of spaced notches configured to at least partially receive one of the plurality of rounds of ammunition therein, wherein the magazine rotor urges the rounds of ammunition received within the notches thereof through the magazine housing and toward the feed throat;

a protruding portion carried by the magazine rotor; and

a bolt hold open riser 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, wherein the bolt hold open riser activates the bolt hold open lever to move the bolt hold open lever to the second position.

9. The firearm of claim 8 , 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.

10. The firearm of claim 9 , 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.

11. The firearm of claim 8 , wherein the bolt and the lever body of the bolt hold open lever include complimentary engagement surfaces which are angled or slanted such that the bolt bears against and at least partially supports the bolt hold open lever in the second position.

12. The firearm of claim 8 , 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.

13. A rotary magazine for supplying rounds of ammunition to a firearm, the rotary magazine comprising:

a magazine housing defining an interior cavity in which the rounds of ammunition are received, and having a feed throat in communication with the interior cavity;

a magazine rotor 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 so as to feed the rounds of ammunition received within the notches thereof toward the feed throat of the magazine housing;

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 into engagement with the bolt hold open riser with the feeding of a last round of ammunition through the feed throat; and

a magazine follower coupled to 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 enable the protruding portion to urge the bolt hold open riser to engage and move the bolt hold open lever to the raised position.

14. The rotary magazine of claim 13 , 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.

15. The rotary magazine of claim 13 , 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.