Apparatus for a firearm ammunition hand loader

An apparatus for use by a hand loader of ammunition, for installing gas checks on bullets and for sizing and lubricating bullets, the apparatus comprising:

• (a) a frame;
• (b) a circular index plate rotatable about an axis passing through its center, the plate having associated with it at equally spaced locations about its periphery three bullet receiving slots;
• (c) three stations mounted on the frame and each positioned to act simultaneously at a different one of the three slots on the index plate, the stations consisting of:
• (i) a bullet feed station where bullets, to have gas checks applied and to be sized and lubricated, are supplied to the index plate,
• (ii) a check station where gas checks to be secured to the bullets, are supplied to the index plate and,
• (iii) a size and lubrication station where bullets, with gas checks securely seated thereon, are sized and lubricated;
• (d) movable index ratchet means mechanically associated with the index plate which, upon movement, rotates the index plate progressively to align each of the slots with a different one of each of the stations;
• (e) handle means associated with the index ratchet means to cause movement of the index ratchet means and to cause the index plate to move so that its slots are in aligned positions with the stations;
• (f) a bullet feed means associated with the bullet feed station to supply individually to an aligned slot at the bullet check station a bullet from a bullet supply reservoir;
• (g) a gas check supply and seating mechanism associated with the gas check station to supply individually and in predetermined orientation a gas check from a gas check reservoir to one of the aligned slots in the index plate, and to seat a gas check on the base of the bullet, a slot being provided at the gas check station to receive the gas check from the check supply means, and hold that gas check and a bullet for seating of the gas check on the bullet;
• (h) a size mechanism comprising a sizing die;
• (i) a lubricating mechanism for feeding lubricant from a lubricant reservoir to the sizing die, both the sizing mechanism and the lubricating mechanism associated with the size and lubricating station, a slot in the die for receiving a bullet with a gas check mounted thereon;
• (j) bullet guide means cooperating with the index plate to direct bullets being worked on on the index plate from one station to the next;
• (k) ejection means associated with the check station and the size and lubrication station to cause bullets in the slots associated with each of those stations to be ejected from those slots when that station's work on the bullet has been completed;
• and
• (l) interacting mechanical means, operable by movement of the handle means, to cause movement of the index ratchet means to rotate the index plate so that its slots are properly aligned with each of these stations and to operate the ejection means and perform the necessary work on the bullet at the gas check station and size and lubrication station,
• whereby a bullet from the bullet reservoir is progressively, in sequence, fed to the index plate, passed to the gas check station where a gas check is securely seated on it, passed to the size and lubrication station where it is sized and lubricated, and then ejected from the index plate.