Ammunition magazine and follower

Abstract

The present disclosure provides ammunition magazines and followers for use in a firearm, such as an AR15 or M16 firearm, that prevent contact between the bullet portion of a cartridge and interior surfaces of the firearm's receiver portion during transfer of the cartridge from the magazine to the firearm's chamber.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An ammunition magazine comprising a magazine follower configured to orient all ammunition cartridges housed therewithin at an angle of about 0.2° to about 5° relative to a longitudinal axis of an associated chamber. 
     
     
         2 . The ammunition magazine of  claim 1 , wherein the angle is about 1.5°. 
     
     
         3 . The ammunition magazine of  claim 1 , wherein the magazine follower does not contact a bullet portion of the ammunition cartridges. 
     
     
         4 . The ammunition magazine of  claim 1 , wherein a bullet portion of the ammunition cartridges do not contact a feed ramp proximate to the associated chamber. 
     
     
         5 . The ammunition magazine of  claim 1 , wherein the follower includes a ramp on its top surface, and wherein the ramp is configured to orient a first ammunition cartridge housed within the ammunition magazine at an angle of about 2° to about 20° relative to the longitudinal axis of the associated chamber. 
     
     
         6 . A magazine follower configured to orient a first ammunition cartridge housed within an associated ammunition magazine at an angle of about 2° to about 20° relative to a top surface of the magazine follower. 
     
     
         7 . The magazine follower of  claim 6  comprising a ramp on its top surface, wherein the ramp is configured to orient the first ammunition cartridge housed within the associated ammunition magazine at an angle of about 2° to about 20° relative to the top surface. 
     
     
         8 . The magazine follower of  claim 6 , wherein the follower is configured to not contact a bullet portion of the ammunition cartridge. 
     
     
         9 . The magazine follower of  claim 7 , wherein the ramp includes a concave top surface and/or a groove oriented along its longitudinal length. 
     
     
         10 . The magazine follower of  claims 6 , wherein the ammunition cartridge is a shouldered cartridge. 
     
     
         11 . The magazine follower of  claim 10 , wherein the ammunition cartridge is a 0.223 cartridge or a 5.56 cartridge. 
     
     
         12 . A double stack ammunition magazine comprising:
 a) a magazine housing base having an integrated left-hand feed ramp insert;   b) a removable magazine box plate having an integrated right-hand feed ramp insert;   c) a magazine spring disposed within a magazine housing defined by the magazine housing base and the removable magazine box plate; and   d) a magazine follower disposed at a top end of the magazine spring.   
     
     
         13 . The double stack ammunition magazine of  claim 12 , wherein the right-hand feed ramp insert and the left-hand ramp insert are each configured to guide a cartridge including a bullet portion from the magazine housing into a barrel extension without the bullet portion contacting an interior surface of the barrel extension. 
     
     
         14 . The double stack ammunition magazine of  claim 13 , wherein the right-hand feed ramp insert and the left-hand feed ramp insert each contact a shoulder of the cartridge to guide the cartridge into a chamber without enabling a bullet portion of the cartridge to contact an inner surface of the chamber. 
     
     
         15 . The double stack ammunition magazine of  claim 13 , wherein the barrel extension includes a right-hand loading slot and a left-hand loading slot configured to guide a cartridge from the magazine into a chamber. 
     
     
         16 . The double stack ammunition magazine of  claim 12 , wherein the left-hand feed ramp insert is configured to contact a shoulder of a cartridge, but not a bullet portion of the cartridge, upon the cartridge being advanced towards the barrel extension by a bolt. 
     
     
         17 . The double stack ammunition magazine of  claim 12 , wherein the right-hand feed ramp insert is configured to contact a shoulder of a cartridge, but not a bullet portion of the cartridge, upon the cartridge being advanced towards the barrel extension by a bolt. 
     
     
         18 . The magazine of  claim 12 , wherein the cartridge has a common bottle-neck design including a shoulder. 
     
     
         19 . The ammunition magazine of  claim 12 , wherein the ramp is configured to enable a cartridge to be fed from the ammunition magazine to a chamber of an upper receiver of a firearm without enabling a bullet portion of the cartridge to contact a feed ramp of the upper receiver.