Gas operated rifle

Abstract

Disclosed is an air rifle having a frame carrying a barrel, a magazine, a mechanism for transferring BB shot from the magazine to a firing position relative to the barrel, a valve, a gas cartridge loading assembly, and a trigger for momentarily opening the valve enabling gas under pressure from the cartridge to fire the BB shot from the rifle. The magazine includes a tube carried along the underside of the barrel. A spring-biased rod is carried within the tube and urges BB shot along the tube toward the transfer mechanism. An aperture in the tube opens into a passage in the frame and which passage terminates along the underface of the forearm stock in a recess having tapered wall portions whereby, upon inversion of the rifle, BB shot supplied to the recess is directed through the passage into the tube. The forearm stock also has a recess along its underside for receiving the gas cartridge. A lever is pivotally carried by the frame and upon movement of the lever into the rifle cams a forwardly biased cartridge retaining element into engagement with the forward end of the cartridge. The cartridge is also displaced rearwardly in response to this lever action to engage the rear end of the cartridge about a piercing member whereby the cartridge is punctured and gas is delivered to the valve. Pivotal movement of the lever from the underside of the forearm stock, retracts the element against its spring bias enabling the cartridge to be removed from the recess and without the cartridge being propelled forwardly from the rifle by the issuance of residual gas through the punctured rear end thereof.