US3883041A

US3883041A - Ammunition cartridge dispenser

Info

Publication number: US3883041A
Application number: US434250A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gordon G Olson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1974-01-17
Filing date: 1974-01-17
Publication date: 1975-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 1992-05-13

Abstract

A dispenser for carrying ammunition cartridges for hunting, shooting or the like includes a rigid metal magazine with an interior cartridge-storing chamber, a spring-loaded foot being mounted within the chamber and biased to urge cartridges toward a cartridge aperture, from which the cartridges are dispensed and into which they are loaded. A pair of tabs extends inwardly from the rear panel of the magazine to aid in retaining cartridges within the chamber. A movable dispensing lever is pivotally mounted to the magazine adjacent the front panel and the cartridge aperture includes a cartridge-engaging arm and a handle extending out of the magazine so as to be accessible to an operator. The lever is swingable between retaining positions wherein the cartridge-engaging arm cooperates with the stationary tabs to releasably retain a cartridge within the chamber and releasing positions wherein the cartridge-engaging arm swings away from the stationary tabs to increase the spacing between arm and tabs to permit a cartridge to move out of the chamber and toward the cartridge aperture in response to force from the spring-biased foot. Belt attachment means is mounted to the rear panel of the magazine so the magazine may be carried on the belt of a user. The loops are positioned at the upper closed end of the magazine causing the cartridge aperture to hang downwardly, preventing entry of rain or snow into the chamber.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Olson [4 1 May 13, 1975 AMMUNITION CARTRIDGE DISPENSER Gordon G. Olson, Willmar, Minn.

[731 Assignees: Floyd B. Olson, Pennock; Les R.

Karjala, Minneapolis, both of Minn. part interest to each [22] Filed: Jan. 17, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 434,250

[75] Inventor:

Primary ExaminerRobert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-Joseph .I. Rolla Attorney, Agent, or FirmWilliamson, Bains & Moore 57 ABSTRACT A dispenser for carrying ammunition cartridges for hunting, shooting or the like includes a rigid metal magazine with an interior cartridge-storing chamber, a spring-loaded foot being mounted within the chamber and biased to urge cartridges toward a cartridge aperture, from which the cartridges are dispensed and into which they are loaded. A pair of tabs extends inwardly from the rear panel of the magazine to aid in retaining cartridges within the chamber. A movable dispensing lever is pivotally mounted to the magazine adjacent the front panel and the cartridge aperture includes a cartridge-engaging arm and a handle extending out of the magazine so as to be accessible to an operator. The lever is swingable between retaining positions wherein the cartridge-engaging arm cooperates with the stationary tabs to .releasably retain a cartridge within the chamber and releasing positions wherein the cartridge-engaging arm swings away from the stationary tabs to increase the spacing between arm and tabs to permit a cartridge to move out of the chamber and toward the cartridge aperture in response to force from the spring-biased foot. Belt attachment means is mounted to the rear panel of the magazine so the magazine may be carried on the belt of a user. The loops are positioned at the upper closed end of the magazine causing the cartridge aperture to hang downwardly, preventing entry of rain or snow into the chamber.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures AMMUNITION CARTRIDGE DISPENSER SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION of different types and sizes of firearm cartridges and utilizes a magazine having front and rear panels interconnected by upright end walls which define an interior chamber therebetween in which a plurality of cartridges may be stored. A cartridge aperture is located at one end of the chamber, and a spring-loaded foot is mounted within the chamber for movement toward and away from the aperture, the foot being spring-biased to move toward the cartridge aperture to urge cartridges within the chamber toward the aperture. It is preferred that the cartridge aperture be located at the bottom of the magazine so that the cartridges are dispensed downward, such arrangement preventing the entry of rain or snow into the chamber. A rigid belt loop attachment is positioned near the upper end of the magazine to retain it on the belt of an operator.

Stationary cartridge-retaining means is located on the rear panel and adjacent the cartridge aperture, extending within the chamber to contact a cartridge to aid in retaining the cartridge within the chamber. A movable dispensing lever is pivotally connected to the magazine for movement about a longitudinal axis and includes a handle extending out of the magazine and a cartridge-engaging arm. The lever is swingable between retaining positions and releasing positions. When the lever is in a retaining position, the cartridge-engaging arm cooperates with the stationary retaining means to releasably retain a cartridge within the chamber; when in releasing position the arm swings away from the stationary retaining means to increase the spacing therebetween, permitting the cartridge to leave the chamber, pass therebetween, and move out of the cartridge aperture in response to force from the spring-biased foot.

The cartridge-engaging arm is bifurcated, having a first bifurcation defined by a hand positioned centrally on the arm between the endwalls of the magazine. A second bifurcation is defined by a pair of coplanar fingers separated by the length of the hand. The lever is movable between two retaining positions; when in the first retaining position the fingers contact the cartridge and cooperate with the stationary retaining means to confine the lowermost cartridge within the chamber; when in the second retaining position both bifurcations engage the cartridge and cooperate with the stationary retaining means to keep the lowermost cartridge within the chamber.

A pair of lips extends along the cartridge aperture, cooperating with the lever to engage a cartridge which has moved past the stationary retaining means toward the aperture. The lips and lever cooperate to guide the cartridge from the aperture, controlling its speed and movement as it drops into the hand of the operator. As the lever is swung to permit the cartridge to be released from the lips, the lever returns to the second retaining position to prevent the escape of the next cartridge.

The device provides protection for cartridges from weather conditions as well as dust and foreign particles which might otherwise attach themselves to the cartridges. The device provides a positive locking mechanism to prevent inadvertent escape of cartridges from the dispenser and reliably releases the cartridges in response to swinging of the lever. The dispenser is easy to manufacture, sturdy and long lasting, safe and easy to operate. These and other advantages will be evident from the following description and the appended draw- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the ammunition cartridge dispenser invention with portions of the rear panel and end wall of the magazine cutaway and cartridges shown in phantom;

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 taken from the direction of arrows 22 and showing the mounting of the dispensing lever to the magazine;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 showing a single cartridge contained therein and with the dispensing lever in a first retaining position;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 showing the dispensing lever in a second retaining position;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 showing the dispensing lever in a releasing position;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 showing the dispensing lever in a releasing position;

FIG. 7 is an end view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 showing the spring-loaded foot and the relative positions of lever and foot when the chamber is empty.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, an ammunition cartridge dispenser 10 embodying the invention has a magazine 28 formed by rigid front and

rear panels

12 and 14, respectively, interconnected by

end walls

16 and 18. The panels and end walls are preferably made of an appropriate metal such as steel and may be interconnected in any manner known to the art, welding being preferred. The upper end of the dispenser 10 is closed by a top panel 19 which may be a separate panel or may be formed by bending a section of

panel

12 or 14 into position. At the lower end of the dispenser 10 is a cartridge aperture 20 through which cartridges may be loaded into and dispensed from an inner chamber 22 defined by the front and

rear panels

12 and 14 and

end walls

16 and 18. The chamber 22 contains a plurality of ammunition cartridges C and may be of any convenient size, it being preferred that approximately six or more cartridges be storable therein. The cartridges C, which stack successively one above the other as shown in FIG. 1, are tapered, the discharge end 24 being of smaller diameter than the primer end 26. Accordingly, the end wall 18 is wider than the end wall 16 causing the magazine to taper from end 18 to end 16 to better conform itself -to the cartridges C and contain them with minimal lateral movement of cartridges in the chamber. The front and

rear panels

12 and 14 and the

end walls

16 and 18 define an internal chamber 22 for containment of ammunition cartridges. While the magazine is particularly well suited for shotgun shell cartridges, it may with size modifications be used for the containment of rifle or handgun ammunition.

A rigid wire belt attachment means 30 is attached to the outer surface of the panel 14 to carry the dispenser on the belt of a user, the cartridge aperture opening downwardly as shown in FIG. 1 to shelter it from rain, snow and other adverse weather conditions, thereby keeping the chamber and cartridges clean and dry. While it is preferred that the dispenser 10 be carried on the belt of a user, it should be understood that if desired the dispenser may be carried in the hand, positioned on a shooting table or bench, or rigidly fixed in some location convenient to the shooter, as for example adjacent a firing point at a shooting range.

A folded leaf spring 32 is positioned within the chamber 22, one end bearing against the top panel 19 and the other end attached to the foot 34 which is mounted within the chamber 22 for movement toward and away from the cartridge aperture 20, the spring 32 biasing it to move toward the cartridge aperture to urge cartridges C toward the aperture. The foot 34 is provided with a frontal flange 36 and rear flange 38, each of which extends outwardly from the web 40 of the foot, the flange 38 intermittently, loosely contacting the rear panel to guide the foot 34 along the chamber 22. A guide flange 42 extends from the web 40 toward the cartridge aperture 20 and is aligned to move along and closely adjacent to the inner surface of the front panel 12 to thereby engage the dispensing lever when the chamber is empty, as will be described hereafter.

The magazine 28 is provided with a pair of stationary, rigid tabs 44 and 46 adjacent the aperture 20, spaced laterally from one another, and extending inwardly into the chamber 22 from the rear panel 14. The tabs 44 and 46 comprise stationary cartridge retaining means and extend within the chamber to contact the firstto-be-dispensed cartridge 84 to aid in retaining the cartridge in the chamber.

A movable dispensing lever 50 is pivotally mounted to

end walls

16 and 18 by means of pins 52 which are rotatably contained within sockets 54 in the end walls, permitting the elongated lever 50 to pivot about a longitudinal axis 56 which is generally parallel to the front panel 12. The lever 50 has a handle 58 extending outwardly from the magazine 28 so as to be accessible to an operator, the handle comprising a flat elongated planar section of the lever 58 having rounded corners 59,

the rounded corners eliminating the likelihood of snagging of the lever by tree branches or bushes or of injury inadvertently to the user.

The lever 50 has a cartridge-engaging arm 60 extending at an angle from the handle 58 and directed inwardly toward the chamber 22 and the cartridges therein, the handle 58 and arm 60 meeting and defining a corner 62 therebetween. The corner 62 is positioned at an appropriate distance from the axis 56 so that when the lever 50 is swung about the axis and a cartridge released from the stationary retaining means, the corner 62 will engage the released cartridge and urge it into contact with

lips

64 and 66 to control the movement and the release velocity of the cartridge 84 and guide it into the hand of the operator.

The arm 60 is bifurcated, a first bifurcation being defined by a hand 68 positioned centrally on the arm between the end walls of the magazine and angled sharply outwardly from the base 70 of the arm 60. A second bifurcation is defined by a pair of

coplanar fingers

72 and 74 which angle outwardly from the base 70, are spaced from one another by the length of the hand 68, and respectively confront the tabs 44 and 46.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the lower end 76 of the frontal panel 12 has clearance channels 78 and 80 to permit the

fingers

72 and 74, respectively, to pass therethrough in the course of rotation of the lever 50 about the axis 56. A central stop 82 provides a bearing surface to receive hand 68 as best shown in FIG. 5 to prevent over-travel of the swinging lever 50. In addition when the magazine 28 is empty of cartridges, the foot 34 slides its guide flange 42 into contact with the stop 82, the flange 42 lodging between the stop and the hand 68 when the lever 50 is in the position shown in FIG. 7 to provide a positive indication to the operator that the chamber is empty of cartridges.

At the lower end of rear panel 14 is a pair of

lips

64 and 66 extending downwardly along the cartridge aperture 20 and curving inwardly into the chamber 22, the lips preferably being positioned at the lateral sides of the panel 14 and adjoining the

end walls

16 and 18. The lips are positioned to guide the cartridge after its release from the stationary retaining means 45, the lips urging and guiding the cartridge toward the lever 50 permitting the corner 62 of lever 50 to engage the cartridge and to confine the cartridge between the lips and the corner 62 to permit the operator to control the position and speed of release of the cartridge as it drops downwardly to thereby guide its descent into the hand of the operator as will be described further hereafter.

A slot is positioned between the

lips

64 and 66 and below the stationary retaining means 45 to define an opening through which an operator may readily grasp a cartridge during loading or dispensing.

In operation, the dispenser is first loaded with one or more cartridges C. Referring now to FIG. 6, a cartridge 84 is pushed into cartridge aperture 20 by the operator, the cartridge moving upward along

lips

64 and 66. The cartridge 84 moves upwardly between corner 62 of lever 50 and tabs 44 and 46 as it enters the chamber 22 as shown in FIG. 5. As the operator pushes the cartridge into the chamber, lever 50 swings about its axis 56. The lever 50, when in the position shown in FIG. 6, cooperates with the

lips

64 and 66 to retain the cartridge 84 therebetween so long as the operators finger pressure is exerted on the lever 50 in the direction of arrow 85. As the operator pushes the cartridge farther into the chamber it passes the tabs 44 and 46 as best shown in FIG. 5, pushing the spring-loaded foot 34 before it toward the top panel 19. As the cartridge is pushed deeper into the chamber 22 and reaches the retaining position shown in FIG. 4, hand 68 and

fingers

72 and 74 of lever 50 contact the cartridge 84 and cooperate with the stationary retaining means 45 to retain the cartridge within the chamber; no pressure need be applied to the lever 50 by the operator to keep the cartridge in the position shown in FIG. 4. The springloaded foot 34 urges the cartridge 84 against the stationary retaining means 45 and the arm 60. Additional cartridges may be successively loaded into the chamber following the procedure already described. After loading is completed, the operator swings the lever 50 to the first retaining position 86 (FIG. 3) in which the first-to-be-dispensed cartridge 84 is retained in, the chamber 22 by cooperation of the lever 50 with stationary cartridge retaining means 45, the spaced

fingers

72 and 74 of the second bifurcation holding the cartridge in the shown position 86. The downwardly directed spring force generated by foot 34 is applied against the cartridge 84 which bears against

fingers

72 and 74, causing the hand 68 of lever 50 to bear against the outer surface of the front panel 12 assuring that the lever is not accidentally actuated; it closely contacts the front panel assuring that brush, tree limbs, or the like do not inadvertently swing the lever and release the cartridges.

When it is desired to dispense cartridges from the magazine the dispensing lever 50 is swung to the second retaining position 87 (FIG. 4) wherein bifurcated arm 60 has hand 68 and fingers 72 and'74 contacting the periphery of the cartridge 84 and cooperating to retain the cartridge within the chamber 22. With lever 50 in second position 87 the cartridges C may easily be dispensed from the chamber.

Referring now to FIG. 5, to dispense the cartridge 84 from the chamber the operator rotates lever 50 about axis 56 in a counter clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 5, swinging the

fingers

72 and 74 and hand 68 away from the cartridge 84 and thereby increasing the spacing between the lever 50 and the stationary retaining means sufficiently to permit cartridge 84 to move therebetween toward the cartridge aperture 20 in response to force from spring-loaded foot 34. As the cartridge 84 slips past tabs 44 and 46 corner 62 of the lever engages the cartridge and is kept in contact with the cartridge by finger pressure of an operator applied against the handle 58 in the direction of arrow 85. The operator gradually decreases the force 85 exerted against handle 58 permitting the handle to swing in a clockwise direction about axis 56 as viewed in FIG. 5, permitting the cartridge to move toward the aperture 20 and away from tabs 44 and 46. As the cartridge clears the tabs, pressure applied to the cartridge by corner 62 of lever moves the cartridge into contact with the

lips

64 and 66, and as the operator continues to decrease the force 85 on the lever 50, cartridge 84 moves toward aperture 20 along the

lips

64 and 66. After clearing aperture 20 the cartridge drops into the operators hand. It has been found extremely helpful to utilize the mechanical cooperation between corner 62 and lips 66 to control the movement of the cartridge toward the cartridge aperture and also the velocity at which the cartridge is expelled from the magazine, thereby permitting the operator to easily receive the cartridge directly into his hand.

As the lever 50 swings about its axis to and through a series of releasing positions, the corner 62 of the lever engages the cartridge and in cooperation with the

lips

64 and 66 guides the cartridge out of the aperture 20 controlling its speed and movement. At position 90 the

fingers

72 and 74 have passed through the clearance channels 78 and 80, respectively, and the hand 68 contacts stop 82, preventing over-travel of the lever. As the lever 50 swings in a clockwise direction under the control of an operator it moves through a series of releasing positions wherein the cartridge 84 moves along

lips

64 and 66 toward aperture 20, one of these positions 92 being shown in FIG. 6.

As the last cartridge is dispensed from the magazine, the springloaded foot 34 moves toward the aperture carrying the guide flange 42 along the inner surface of panel 12, permitting hand 68 to drop into detent 96 (FIG. 7) of the foot 34. The detent 96 is defined by the V-shaped trough formed between flange 42 and the frontal flange 36 of the foot. The operator may swing the lever 50 to position 92 .(FIG. 6) and free the hand from the detent 96, but to do so requires detectable additional force, making it readily apparent to the operator that the cartridge dispenser is empty. In the position 94 as shown in FIG. 7 the spring-loaded foot has its guide flange 42 wedged between the panel 12 and the arm to contain the foot within the magazine.

Accordingly, the invention provides a highly reliable, safe cartridge dispenser which can be carried on the belt and is relatively impervious to adverse weather conditions.

While a particular form or embodiment of the irivention has been shown and described herein for illustrative purposes and the construction and arrangement of the components thereof have been disclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangement of parts, nor to its specific embodiment shown herein, but that extensive deviations from the illustrated form or embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An ammunition cartridge dispenser comprising:

a magazine including front and rear panels interconnected by upright end walls to define an interior chamber therebetween in which a plurality of cartridges is storable and further including a cartridge aperture at an open end of said chamber and communicating with said chamber, through which cartridges are loadable into and dispensable from said chamber;

a spring-loaded foot mounted within said chamber for movement toward and away from said cartridge aperture and biased to move toward said cartridge aperture to urge cartridges storable in said chamber toward said aperture;

said magazine further including stationary cartridge retaining means on said rear panel and adjacent said cartridge aperture to contact a cartridge containable within said chamber to aid in retaining the cartridge within said chamber;

a movable dispensing lever adjacent said cartridge aperture, confronting said stationary cartridge retaining means and pivotally connected to said magazine to pivot about a longitudinal axis oriented generally parallel to said front panel, said lever including a handle extending out of said magazine so as to be accessible to an operator and further including a cartridge engaging arm;

said dispensing lever being swingable between retaining position wherein said cartridge engaging arm of said lever cooperates with said stationary cartridge retaining means to releasably retain a cartridge within said chamber and a releasing position wherein said cartridge engaging arm swings away from said stationary cartridge retaining means to increase the spacing therebetween to permit a cartridge to leave said chamber and pass therebetween toward said cartridge aperture in response to force from said spring biased foot transmittable to the cartridge and directed toward said aperture; and

said cartridge engaging arm being bifurcated, a first bifurcation being defined by a hand positioned centrally on said arm between said end walls of said magazine and a second bifurcation being defined by a pair of fingers separated by the length of said hand, at least one of said bifurcations cooperating with the stationary cartridge retaining means to retain a cartridge within said chamber when said lever is in said retaining position.

2. The ammunition cartridge dispenser of claim 1 and further including a pair of lips on one of said panels, adjacent said cartridge aperture and confronting said lever, said lips cooperating with said dispensing lever to engage a cartridge therebetween to guide the cartridge along the lips and control movement of the cartridge until it is dispensed from said magazine.

3. The ammunition cartridge dispenser of claim 2 wherein said cartridge engaging arm of said dispensing lever joins said handle at an angle to define a corner therebetween, said corner swinging through an are as said lever is pivoted about said axis to engage and urge a cartridge into contact with said lips as the cartridge moves from said stationary retaining means along said chamber toward said cartridge aperture.

4. The ammunition cartridge dispenser of claim 2 wherein said cartridge aperture further includes a slot in one of said panels, extending transversely between said lips and confronting said dispensing lever to permit an operator to reach through said slot into said chamber to grasp cartridges during loading of said chamber and during dispensing of cartridges therefrom.

5. The ammunition cartridge dispenser of claim 1 wherein said stationary cartridge retaining means is a pair of spaced, stationary, rigid tabs extending inwardly into said chamber from said rear panel.

6. An ammunition cartridge dispenser comprising:

said magazine further including a pair of spaced, stationary, rigid tabs on said rear panel and adjacent said cartridge aperture and extending inwardly into said chamber to contact a cartridge containable within said chamber to aid in retaining the cartridge within said chamber; movable dispensing lever adjacent said cartridge aperture, confronting said stationary cartridge retaining means and pivotally connected between the end walls of said magazine to pivot about a longitudinal axis oriented generally parallel to said front panel, said lever including a handle extending out of said magazine so as to be accessible to an operator and further including a bifurcated arm, a first bifurcation defined by a hand positioned on said arm centrally between said end walls and a second bifurcation being defined by a pair of coplanar fingers separated by the length of said hand; and

said dispensing lever swingable between retaining position wherein at least one of said bifurcations of said arm cooperates with said pair of stationary tabs to releasably retain a cartridge within said chamber and a releasing position wherein said arm swings away from said stationary tabs to increase the spacing between said arm and said tabs to permit a cartridge to leave said chamber and pass therebetween toward said cartridge aperture in response to force from said spring-biased foot transmittable to the cartridge and directed toward said aperture.

Claims

1. An ammunition cartridge dispenser comprising: a magazine including front and rear panels interconnected by upright end walls to define an interior chamber therebetween in which a plurality of cartridges is storable and further including a cartridge aperture at an open end of said chamber and communicating with said chamber, through which cartridges are loadable into and dispensable from said chamber; a spring-loaded foot mounted within said chamber for movement toward and away from said cartridge aperture and biased to move toward said cartridge aperture to urge cartridges storable in said chamber toward said aperture; said magazine further including stationary cartridge retaining means on said rear panel and adjacent said cartridge aperture to contact a cartridge containable within said chamber to aid in retaining the cartridge within said chamber; a movable dispensing lever adjacent said cartridge aperture, confronting said stationary cartridge retaining means and pivotally connected to said magazine to pivot about a longitudinal axis oriented generally parallel to said front panel, said lever including a handle extending out of said magazine so as to be accessible to an operator and further including a cartridge engaging arm; said dispensing lever being swingable between retaining position wherein said cartridge engaging arm of said lever cooperates with said stationary cartridge retaining means to releasably retain a cartridge within said chamber and a releasing position wherein said cartridge engaging arm swings away from said stationary cartridge retaining means to increase the spacing therebetween to permit a cartridge to leave said chamber and pass therebetween toward said cartridge aperture in response to force from said spring biased foot transmittable to the cartridge and directed toward said aperture; and said cartridge engaging arm being bifurcated, a first bifurcation being defined by a hand positioned centrally on said arm between said end walls of said magazine and a second bifurcation being defined by a pair of fingers separated by the length of said hand, at least one of said bifurcations cooperating with the stationary cartridge retaining means to retain a cartridge within said chamber when said lever is in said retaining position.

3. The ammunition cartridge dispenser of claim 2 wherein said cartridge engaging arm of said dispensing lever joins said handle at an angle to define a corner therebetween, said corner swinging through an arc as said lever is pivoted about said axis to engage and urge a cartridge into contact with said lips as the cartridge moves from said stationary retaining means along said chamber toward said cartridge aperture.

6. An ammunition cartridge dispenser comprisinG: a magazine including front and rear panels interconnected by upright end walls to define an interior chamber therebetween in which a plurality of cartridges is storable and further including a cartridge aperture at an open end of said chamber and communicating with said chamber, through which cartridges are loadable into and dispensable from said chamber; a spring-loaded foot mounted within said chamber for movement toward and away from said cartridge aperture and biased to move toward said cartridge aperture to urge cartridges storable in said chamber toward said aperture; said magazine further including a pair of spaced, stationary, rigid tabs on said rear panel and adjacent said cartridge aperture and extending inwardly into said chamber to contact a cartridge containable within said chamber to aid in retaining the cartridge within said chamber; a movable dispensing lever adjacent said cartridge aperture, confronting said stationary cartridge retaining means and pivotally connected between the end walls of said magazine to pivot about a longitudinal axis oriented generally parallel to said front panel, said lever including a handle extending out of said magazine so as to be accessible to an operator and further including a bifurcated arm, a first bifurcation defined by a hand positioned on said arm centrally between said end walls and a second bifurcation being defined by a pair of coplanar fingers separated by the length of said hand; and said dispensing lever swingable between retaining position wherein at least one of said bifurcations of said arm cooperates with said pair of stationary tabs to releasably retain a cartridge within said chamber and a releasing position wherein said arm swings away from said stationary tabs to increase the spacing between said arm and said tabs to permit a cartridge to leave said chamber and pass therebetween toward said cartridge aperture in response to force from said spring-biased foot transmittable to the cartridge and directed toward said aperture.