1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bullet loader, more particularly, to a device for reloading bullets into the magazine or clip of a firearm.
2. Prior Art
Many small arms, including both rifles and hand guns are provided with magazines or clips in which the bullets are stored for immediate use. In these firearms, ammunition is placed into an elongated, generally rectangular, container, known as a magazine or clip, which is then fitted into a portion of the firearm approximate to the firing chamber; in the case of a pistol, this clip or magazine can be inserted into the handle of the gun. The magazine or clip is closed on five (5) sides of the rectangular shape and open on one rectangular shaped end. Such magazines or clips are spring loaded and are further provided with retaining members over the open end. Ammunition can be placed into the open end of the magazine, piece by piece, and each piece slips past the retaining members to be held until used. As the magazine is being loaded, each succeeding round of ammunition compresses the spring further and each bullet becomes harder to insert.
When a magazine is fully loaded, it is fitted into a position adjacent to or against the firing chamber of the weapon. Normally, a bolt it used to extract a round and force it into the firing chamber. As each round is fired, the bolt is forced back, picks up the next round and forces the next round into the firing chamber. The force of the spring pushes each round up into its position in the magazine where the bolt can push it into the firing chamber.
The use of a magazine in a firearm provides the convenience of holding a large number of bullets in position for loading in successive order into the firing chamber, thereby allowing for rapid fire of some or all of the loaded bullets. Once the loaded bullets are expended, however, the empty magazine can be quickly removed and a new fully loaded magazine can be quickly inserted into the firearm to resume firing.
Thus, the use of magazines is a convenient and effective method of feeding bullets, in rapid succession, into a weapon's firing chamber. On the other hand, reloading bullets into the spent magazine is known to be problematic. More particularly, the structural design of the magazine requires each bullet to be individually loaded through the top ejection end of the magazine past the retainers and downwardly against the force of the compression spring in order to receive the bullet within the magazine. As each bullet is loaded, in sequence, the compression spring in the magazine becomes progressively compressed until the magazine is fully loaded with bullets. Naturally, the resistance of the compression spring against the downward force of loading the bullets into the magazine becomes greater with each successive bullet loaded into the magazine.
For many years, bullets have been loaded into empty magazines of firearms by hand, using the fingers to force each bullet downwardly against the force of the compression spring and into captured arrangement within the magazine. This process is time consuming, and quite often frustrating, particularly when the resistance of the compression spring begins to increase. This is particularly true on cold days when a person's fingers are numb, or are enclosed in a glove or mitten, or in a situation such as (military combat) when speed of reloading may be of the essence.
A number of devices exist which are adapted to assist the marksman in accomplishing this reloading task. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,855 issued to Musgrave on Aug. 14, 1984 teaches a device somewhat useful in solving the above described problem. It teaches a slidably attached apparatus which is provided with a pulling handle and a protrusion which is adapted to push a round of ammunition down into the magazine for insertion of the next round. After each successive round of ammunition is loaded into the magazine, the apparatus must be removed from the magazine and reinserted for the next round. While it does facilitate in solving the problem of reloading, the requirement of removal and reinsertion makes its use somewhat tedious.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,909 issued to Howard on Sep. 1, 1987, teaches a device which can be fitted over an ammunition magazine. It is adapted with a spring loaded plunger which, when the device is fitted over the magazine and somehow held in place, is used to push the uppermost round down into the magazine to facilitate sliding in the next round. Then the plunger, which is spring loaded, is depressed and the cartridge is fitted all the way into the back of the magazine. Howard is also somewhat helpful, but difficulties may be encountered in holding the device in place against the magazine.