Ammunition holder

Abstract

A method of providing extra ammunition for a firearm includes providing an ammunition holder with an array of cartridge receiving cavities; increasing cartridge retaining pressure of at least one cavity by compressing a resilient tubular member mounted adjacent to the cavity; and decreasing the cartridge retaining pressure of at least one cavity by decompressing a resilient tubular member mounted adjacent to the cavity.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An ammunition holder comprising:
 a cartridge receiving first cavity with an open first end sized to allow insertion of a cartridge therein;   a second cavity contiguous with and in fluid communication with the first cavity, and   a cartridge tensioning assembly operably mounted in the second cavity.   
     
     
         2 . The ammunition holder of  claim 1 , wherein the tensioning assembly is adapted to apply pressure to a side surface of a cartridge received in the cartridge holding cavity to urge the cartridge against a first cavity interior wall surface. 
     
     
         3 . The ammunition holder of  claim 2 , wherein the tensioning assembly comprises a length of elastomeric material that expands radially in response to longitudinally applied pressure. 
     
     
         4 . The ammunition holder of  claim 3 , wherein the length of elastomeric material comprises a length of elastomeric tubing with a central longitudinal cavity. 
     
     
         5 . The ammunition holder of  claim 4 , wherein the elastomeric tubing comprises at least one of rubber tubing and plastic tubing. 
     
     
         6 . The ammunition holder of  claim 4 , the tensioning assembly further comprising a screw assembly having a screw shaft received in the longitudinal cavity of the elastomeric tubing that co-acts with the tubing to urge the cartridge against the first cavity interior wall surface when the screw is rotated in a first direction. 
     
     
         7 . The ammunition holder of  claim 5 , wherein the screw shaft co-acts with the length of elastomeric material to reduce the force urging the cartridge against the first cavity interior wall surface when the screw is rotated in a second direction. 
     
     
         8 . The ammunition holder of  claim 1  comprising a plurality of cartridge holding cavities and cartridge tensioning cavities. 
     
     
         9 . The ammunition holder of  claim 8 , wherein the cartridge holding cavities are positioned in a linear array. 
     
     
         10 . The ammunition holder of  claim 8 , wherein the cartridge holding cavities each terminate at a bottom wall. 
     
     
         11 . The ammunition holder of  claim 8 , wherein the cartridge holding cavities bottom walls have openings extending therethrough. 
     
     
         12 . The ammunition holder of  claim 1 , further comprising a bracket assembly for mounting the ammunition holder on a firearm. 
     
     
         13 . The ammunition holder of  claim 12 , the bracket having a generally C-shaped cross section with an upper hook portion and a lower hook portion. 
     
     
         14 . The ammunition holder of  claim 13 , wherein the upper hook portion is attached to the lower hook portion by screws. 
     
     
         15 . The ammunition holder of  claim 13 , the bracket assembly comprising a plurality of spaced apart ribs. 
     
     
         16 . The ammunition holder of  claim 14 , the plurality of spaced apart ribs having a spacing compatible with ribs of a Picatinny gun rail. 
     
     
         17 . A method of providing extra ammunition for a firearm comprising:
 providing an ammunition holder with an array of cartridge receiving cavities; and   increasing the cartridge retaining pressure of at least one cavity by compressing a resilient tubular member mounted adjacent to the cavity.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising:
 decreasing the cartridge retaining pressure in at least one cavity by decompressing a resilient tubular member mounted adjacent to the cavity. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein said increasing the cartridge retaining pressure comprises turning a screw that is operably mounted on the ammunition holder in a first direction and wherein said decreasing the cartridge retaining pressure comprises turning the screw in a direction opposite the first direction. 
     
     
         20 . A method of making an ammunition holder with cartridge receiving cavities comprising mounting a resilient material in a cavity adjacent to and in communication with each cartridge receiving cavity and providing a compression device that adjustably compresses or decompresses the resilient material so that it adjustably moves into or out of the cartridge receiving cavity.