A cartridge magazine for holding cartridges for feeding to the barrel of an explosion driven fastener setting tool comprises an elongated flat flexible strip or band preferably made of an inexpensive material such as plastic. The strip includes a plurality of stepped projections defining cartridge holding recesses arranged at equally spaced locations along the strip and lateral recesses for advancement. Each cartridge holding recess is defined by a stepped projection extending upwardly from the strip which on its exterior is stepped inwardly in a direction toward the tip of the cartridge. The angular taper of each of the outside walls of this portion on the cartridge magazine is slightly less than one cone angle of the cartridge chamber of a gun barrel with which it is to be employed, so that there will be more than one sealing point between the projections and the inner wall of the cartridge chamber.

A weapon system employing encapsulated ammunition in which the pressure chamber, located axially rearward of the projectile, is longitudinally or axially offset from but in fluid communication with the propellant capsule chamber. This permits use of ammunition rounds having reduced length for given characteristics of prior rounds, resulting in lightest weight and improved bulk characteristics for the ammunition as well as associated weapon systems. This ammunition concept is adaptable to recoilless, partially recoilless and closed breech ballistic systems in a variety of arrangements.

A propellant magazine for a propellant-operated setting tool and including a pocket foil (1, 11, 21) having a plurality of recessed, spaced from each other, pockets (2, 12, 22, 42) for receiving each a propellant (3, 13, 23), a cover foil (5, 15, 25) unreleasably connected with the pocket foil (1, 11, 21) for closing the pockets (2, 12, 22), and an electrically conducting strip (7, 17, 27, 37) associated with each pocket (2, 12, 22, 42) and having at least one contact point (8, 9, 18, 19, 28, 29, 31, 32, 38, 39).

Ammunition belt apparatus for accommodating propellant cartridges including a flexible, coilable belt strip, a plurality of holes extending transversely through the strip and spaced from one another in the longitudinal direction of the strip, and clamping means associated with each of the holes for clamping a cartridge to the strip with portions of the cartridge extending through one of the holes, and with parts of said clamping means being formed separately from the strip and the cartridge. In preferred embodiments, the clamping means includes a tubular casing formed separately from the strip for each of the holes, which tubular casing press-fittingly engages a respective cartridge for holding the cartridge in position on the strip with the casing and a cartridge rim clamping the strip therebetween. Various preferred embodiments include various types of connections for the casings at the strip as well as various materials for the construction of the strip and the casings.

In a magazine for use in an explosive powder driven bolt setting gun, a cartridge holding space for a caseless charge is formed by the combination of a cartridge recess in a band-shaped magazine body and a torus-shaped body superposed on the magazine body and forming an extension of the recess. Various configurations of the cartridge holding space and the exterior of the torus-shaped body can be used and a variety of openings can be provided through the cartridge holding space to prevent destruction of the magazine parts when the caseless charge is ignited.