SpudFiles

Hello all- (you may notice a common trend with my threads- I recently fell in love with grenade launchers)

I was looking at the MGL or M140 today and was analyzing it- I understand how it locks the cylinders in place using a piston and such, and how it winds up against a driving spring, but heres what I don't get.

What keeps the drive spring from simply unwinding right after the operator winds it up? My first rhought was a ratchet type thing, but if the spring and stuff are in the front of the cylinders- how would it unlock? So i discounted that.


So my question remains- what keeps the cylinder from simply unwinding when you are winding it up?

Thanks

I would think that it is a ratchet mechanism, the magazine on my Daystate works the same way.

yea that was my initial thought- but how would it unlock? Assuming the ratchet assembly is stored in the front of the cylinders along with the drive spring, how would the ratchet unlock? That's what I don't get.

Look at the detents in the rear of the drum, I'm sure this is where a pin engages to line it up with the barrel, so presumably the ratchet is in the trigger mechanism. If you look at it firing, the drum rotates immediately after firing, unlike a revolver where the drum turns then fires, so I would imagine the ratchet is linked to the full pull of the trigger.

could it be recoil or gas operated?

Yea i spose- then the pin would have to be retractable or something for you to wind it up- otherwise the pin would simply get stuck in the hole and it wouldn't wind up. Right?

Presumably you'd wind it up when it was swung open as in the photo above.

Yes but then how would it stop from unwinding? perhaps I'm not understanding correctly. The spring is in the front of the cylinders, and the pin holes are in the back. So how would the ratchet be in the back and retain it? unless the cylinders pivot around the axle somehow, and the ratchet is in the front? Hmm...damn im not getting this for some reason

The pin would withdraw momentarily then re-engage the next hole.

edit: no, that wouldn't make sense. *ponders*

yes.. but isn't the pin located in the firing assembly? So if it was swung open, how would the pin be able to engage the hole?

Sorry, but I just feel like an idiot right now, I'm not really thinking clearly

Double action revolver???

no- its spring driven, a revolver uses a pawl to rotate the cylinder

Are we sure it's spring operated and has to be wound?

Look at the future weapons clip, he doesn't wind it after reloading. It could be recoil operated as ALIHISGREAT suggested, like the Pancor Jackhammeror Webley Fosberry.

Yea i saw that clip and how he didn't wind it up- maybe that is an improved version?? I know the early versions were wound up manually, but perhaps recent upgrades negated that, and now somehow it is gas operated or something similar.

Looking at this description:

The Milkor Mk.1 is a revolver type, hand-held grenade launcher. The six-shot cylinder is rotated by the clockwork-type spring for each shot. Spring is wound manually during the reloading. For reloading, the rear part of the frame (along with the pistol grip) is unlocked and then rotated sideways around the top strut of the frame, until the chambers in the cylinder are exposed for reloading. Once cylinder is reloaded, the rear part of the frame is rotated back and locked into position.

...could it be that the unit is opened just to put in the cartridges, then rotated after it is closed again?