The invention relates to a gun carrying strap system according to the subject matter of claim 1 for carrying a long gun on the upper body. The proposed strap system is designed to carry a gun and equipment used by a user, in this description also referred to as a hunter, i.e. any long gun, mainly a hunting rifle during hunting activities in two preferred carrying modes, firstly for rapid retrieval of the rifle from the haul position and bringing in the firing position for shooting the game, and secondly for carrying the weapon in a further preferred carrying mode opened during hunting breaks.
Currently available gun belts, straps and body straps facilitate the passive carrying of a gun, hereinafter also referred to simply as a rifle, and other equipment on a hunt only partially. This means that bringing the rifle into a firing position requires the hunter to make at least two or more complex hand movements, the duration of which is longer than the time required for the hunter to bring the rifle from the haul position to a firing position to shoot a fast-moving game in time.
EP 2507578 B1 describes a common and commonly used solution whereby the rifle is stored and carried in a box-like container designed for this purpose, which is attached to or integrated into the hunter's backpack. This design obviously cannot allow the hunter to bring the rifle from the haul position to the firing position with sufficient speed and a simple, natural movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 11,054,213 B2 describes an adjustable chest strap to carry a long gun or a crossbow and to release it quickly. The strap comprises a main belt strap supported by the wearer's shoulder, and the opposite ends of the strap are connected to a pocket-like basket that fits against the side of the wearer's waist and holds the stock of the firearm or crossbow. A secondary support strap extends from the main belt strap and can be attached to the forestock of the firearm or crossbow to provide a hands-free support when carried by the wearer. The chest carrying strap had the shortage that the weight of the gun, mostly a rifle, about 3-8 kg (6.6-17.6 lbs) is supported by a small and inadequate muscle group, the narrow webbings of the strap do provide insufficient contact surface, and the supporting body parts may get very fatigued, causing itching, irritation, and pain. Furthermore, a sudden movement of the hunter's body to the left (other) side, a movement common in hunting, may cause a head injury to the hunter. The gunstock is held and supported in the front grip and support for the rifle's muzzle is located in the frontal thigh area, which significantly reduces the hunter's movement range and excludes a crouching position.
US 2022/0042766 A1 describes a hands-free carrying device for a long gun, such as a rifle, where the support plate is supported on the user's chest and the support plate features a gripping device, which is designed to engage and support the weapon in a ready position allowing detachment. At least one of the jaw elements on the gripping device open to the outside is resiliently flexible to receive and retain the gun forestock between the jaw elements. However, the horizontally worn belt strap is inappropriately positioned, passing through the stomach area, over soft tissue, without being supported by bones. This position of the horizontal belt strap significantly restricts the natural movement of the diaphragm, the breathing, particularly in the squatting position, which is a natural basic position for hunting. The rifle carrying method with a carrying tool is not suitable, or even impossible for hunting in environments such as high cornfields or other high bushes in the hunting area. The areas mentioned are considered as essential bird hunting areas. In the case of a gun attached to the belt to the body, the hunter must apply a more complex and time-consuming procedure to bring the rifle into the firing position.
The above summary also states that the existing technical features for carrying a rifle do not allow hunters to carry the rifle safely on their upper body during a break in hunting and to easily retrieve it to resume hunting. Since the currently known technical solutions do not offer a satisfactory solution to retrieve the rifle simply and quickly by a natural hand and body movement from the haul position and to bring it to the firing position, hunters are mostly forced to carry the rifle in the traditional way, either in the hand or shoulder-hung with a gun sling. Carrying the rifle in the hand fatigues the hunter's hands excessively, and the hunter has limited movement opportunities. Carrying a rifle on the shoulder with a gun sling requires the hunter to perform a more complex and prolonged set of movements to bring the rifle in the firing position and to shoot the game, significantly increases the fatigue of the hunter's hand muscles and the whole body, resulting in an increased number of missed shots and/or wounded game, which is not compatible with the ethical code of hunting and environmental requirements.
The object of the present invention is to provide, based on U.S. Pat. No. 11,054,213 B2, a means for carrying a long gun, primarily a rifle, with the avoidance of the above disadvantages. More specifically, the invention aims to create a device that allows the quick and practical retrieval of a long gun, such as a rifle, from the safe carrying position to a firing position. In addition, our invention aims to provide a better way to carry an object for extended periods and to ensure that the weight of the long gun is evenly distributed over the wearer's shoulders.
It is recognized that the above objectives can be easily achieved, if the automatic self-positioning of the stock basket in the vertical mid-plane of the wearer's body in the first, vertical haul position is provided and a quick-release front clamp is arranged in the upper chest area of the strap system, and a second quick-release clamp is provided on the side of the chest area of the strap system opposite to the stock basket, where the position of the first and the second quick-release clamp is free to adapt to the wearer's body dimensions and if the said the second clamp is designed in a manner allowing an opened gun to be clamped and carried in a safe manner.
The formulated task has been solved with a gun-carrying vest system according to the characteristic features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments are described in the dependent claims.
The gun carrying strap system according to the invention is designed to virtually integrate the rifle with the hunter's upper body, allowing for safe and easy rifle carrying, easier movement of the hunter, and the ability to bring the rifle from the haul position to the firing position in less than a second by releasing the clamp.
As the gun carrying strap system distributes the weight of the rifle across the suitable pectoral and dorsal muscle groups of the hunter's upper body, the hunter's fatigue and energy expenditure are considerably reduced. This prevents the hunter from being exhausted after a full day's hunting.
The gun carrying strap system according to the invention allows the hunter to keep the rifle safely on his body during the hunting break, allowing a more efficient shooting of the game with less wounded game, which is the basis of the Code of Ethics for Hunting and of environmental protection.
Unlike known and used solutions, the gun carrying strap system according to the invention allows three different ways to carry the rifle on the hunter's upper body during hunting, without the need to hold the rifle in the hand, and the rifle can be carried in all three carrying positions without constricting the blood circulation in the hunter's arms, because the weapon can be carried statically and dynamically as an integral part of the body, its entire weight being carried by the hunter's upper body, rather than by the hand.
The gun carrying strap system according to the invention is described below in more detail by means of design examples, with reference to the attached drawing, where
The merely exemplary preferred design of the gun carrying strap system as shown in the Figures comprises two main parts, a chest part 1 and a back part 2.
The chest part 1, as shown in
The tip section 1A of the chest part 1 has a buckle end 5 and a webbing loop 6 in the centre line 4 and both sides of the tip section 1A are attached with one webbing loop 7 each. The legs 1B, 1C of the chest part 1, which essentially run upright on the chest of the user 3 in use position, have respective webbing loops 8 in the centre area of the legs 1B, 1C looking toward the tip section 1A and looking toward the other end of the legs 1B, 1C, each one D ring 9 to attach a rifle 18 designated as gun and to mount the hook-and-loop webbings 53, 54 required to adjust the position of the rifle 18.
In the middle area of the straps 1B, 1C, attached to the chest part 1, below the webbing loop 8 and the D ring 9, MOLLE (Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) compatible fixing segments 10 and D rings 11 are attached. At the opposite end of the legs 1B, 1C of the chest part 1, facing down in the use position, respective outer edges of the legs 1B, 1C have a webbing loop 13 to fix the gun carrying strap 12, as well as the webbing loop 14 to receive the link to attach one of the side extensions 2B to the back part 2 shown in
Together with the exemplary chest part 1, the back part 2 constituting the other main part of the gun carrying strap system according to the invention is shown in
The gun carrying strap system according to the invention integrates the rifle 18 with the body of the user 3 in a way allowing the rifle 18 to be carried safely and easily, and the user 3 to move in the lightest, most natural way possible, and provides the greatest possible speed for the user 3 to change the rifle 18 from the carrying position to the firing position by releasing the quick-release shackles 34, 43, 47 used as quick-release clamps in only seconds from the first touch of the rifle 18 to the firing position.
This ensures that the gun carrying strap system according to the invention causes significantly less fatigue for the user 3, resulting in less energy consumption because the weight of the rifle 18 is distributed over the body of the user 3, among the most suitable, optimal chest and back muscle groups. This will keep providing the user 3 with more energy and vitality even during an all-day hunting event with numerous changes between carrying positions.
The use of the gun carrying strap system according to the invention allows more efficient shooting of game with a lower rate of injury to the game, which is part of the basic hunting ethics and environmental protection and reduces the number of hunting accidents involving human fatalities as well. This can be seen in
In addition to the above mentioned upright and diagonal carrying modes of the rifle 18, the gun carrying strap system according to the invention allows a third carrying mode for example during hunting breaks, where the rifle 18 is attached to the body of the user 3 in a manner that the user 3 does not hold the rifle 18, it does not occupy or hinder body parts of the user 3 allowing for full movement freedom, it is stored in a place that is no less safe, thus reducing the number of rifle 18 accidents in shooting situations, as shown in the already mentioned
Based on the above description of the gun carrying strap system according to the invention, it is easy to understand how the rifle 18 can be carried in three different ways relative to the body of the user 3 during hunting, without occupying the hands or arms of the user 3.
Both arms of the user 3 can be moved freely in all 3 carrying positions of the rifle 18 without tension and obstructing the blood supply to the arms, because the full load of the rifle 18 is applied and distributed to the body and torso of the user 3, rather than to the arms and hands.
The design of the strap system ensures that the carried rifle 18 acts as an integral part of the body, both in terms of static and dynamic user experience.
The chest part 1 and back part 2 of the strap system are designed to allow all necessary movements of the body of the user 3, together with the rifle 18 and other equipment, as if they were an integral part of the body of the user 3.
The design presented provides two different positions to carry the rifle 18 on the body of the user 3 allowing a rapid shooting position, the rifle 18 is in both positions ready to be changed in shooting position without wasting time. The two positions include the upright carrying mode and the diagonal carrying mode. In both positions, the rifle 18 is not being used except immediately prior to the action, with the arms and hands remaining completely free until the rifle 18 is used, this moment of moving the rifle 18 from the haul position to the firing position is shown in
This allows the rifle 18 to be moved into the firing position without obstruction as shown in
In addition to the hook-and-loop solution for attaching the various webbings as shown in the embodiments, a standard D ring and/or O ring design is also possible, such variants are shown in
In all three of these carrying modes, the rifle 18 is attached to the gun carrying strap system according to the invention, which receives and distributes all static loads and dynamic shocks without the use of the hands of the user 3. All three carry modes and positions allow for significantly easier movement in the environment of use and the weight of the rifle 18 is less noticeable.
The carrying positions provided by the gun carrying strap system integrate the rifle 18 into the natural movement paths of the upper body of the user 3, allowing the rifle 18 to be easily and quickly changed from the carrying position to the firing position with a natural movement, without the need to specifically practice this movement, because the movement is intuitive and known to the person handling the rifle 18. By using the strap system, the total energy consumption of the user 3 is significantly reduced compared to the traditional carrying of the rifle 18, the hands of the user 3 will not be fatigued, and the efficiency/effectiveness of the shot is significantly increased.
During a break in the hunt, the gun must be securely fastened to the body of the user 3 in accordance with the regulations. The strap system according to the invention facilitates the fulfilment of this requirement by using it as a harness for the rifle 18.
The design of the gun carrying strap system, with a sufficient range of sizes and individual adjustment options for the body of each user 3 allows for an ideal fit and support on the body of the user 3, minimising the strain on the body while maximising freedom of movement, without hindering or restricting the user 3 in any necessary body movement such as stooping, stealth approach, squatting and the like. The compact design ensures a high level of safety and comfort for the user 3 during use, and hunting, without distractions or any unwanted movement. The materials used for the manufacturing of the strap system ensure that the positive characteristics and functions of the strap system are maintained throughout the entire period of use and that it will perform its function on any type of clothing in any climate. The strap system is lightweight, weighing only 850-990 g (i.e. 1,874-2,183 lbs), and has a small volume.
The material of the gun carrying strap system may be reasonably and preferably a material used in the field of such straps, hiking equipment, even with breathable perforations, which, in addition to providing adequate mechanical strength, tear resistance and water resistance provides for ventilation; therefore, the wearing of the strap system does not restrict the user 3.
1 chest part
1A tip section
1B, 1C leg
2 back part
2A, 2B extension
3 user
4 centre line
5 buckle end
6 webbing loop
7 webbing loop
8 webbing loop
9 D ring
10 fixing segment
11 D ring
12 gun carrying strap
13 webbing loop
14 webbing loop
15 webbing loop
16 fastening band
17 buckle end
18 rifle
19 stock
20 basket
21 buckle end
22 hook-and-loop webbing
23 webbing
24 buckle
25 hook-and-loop webbing
26 buckle
27 webbing
28 buckle end
29 webbing
30 buckle end
31 forestock
32 fixing webbing
33 hook-and-loop webbing
34 quick-release shackle
35 release cord
36 fixing webbing
37 buckle
38 hook-and-loop webbing
39 buckle
40 hook-and-loop webbing
41 fixing webbing
42 hook-and-loop webbing
43 quick-release shackle
44 strap
45 magnetic plate
46 strap
47 quick-release shackle
48 ring
49, 50 webbing
51,52 buckle
53, 54 hook-and-loop webbing
55 release cord
56 O ring
57 O ring
58 snap fastener
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/IB2022/057929 | 8/24/2022 | WO |