arm operably attached to the base the pawl arm pivots to a retracted position in response to ammunition engaging the activation arm when the ammunition is loaded into the breech opening and returns to a retention position once the ammunition is loaded to retain the ammunition within the barrel of the gun the pawl arm pivots to the retracted position in response to the breech block engaging the activation arm when the breech block is moved to close the breech opening application_number US 81489201 A description the present invention is directed to a propellant retention device as most clearly illustrated at 10 in fig1 and 2 the propellant retention device 10 retains ammunition components 12 as they are loaded into a gun barrel 14 ammunition components 12 can include one or more projectile and one or more modular propellant packets or increments the propellant retention device 10 prevents ammunition components 12 from falling out of a breech end 16 of the gun barrel 14 during manual or automated loading processes the propellant retention device 10 of the present invention thereby enhances the ease and safety of the loading process the propellant retention device 10 also enhances the ability to reload the gun at a variety of orientations including orientations that are near vertical the propellant retention device 10 is particularly suited for use with larger size guns where the propellant is loaded separately from the projectile the gun barrel 14 preferably has a caliber of greater than 50 millimeters and more preferably is about 155 millimeters the propellant retention device 10 generally includes a base 20 and an arm assembly 22 the base 20 is mounted to an outer surface 24 of the gun barrel 14 proximate to the breech.