Patent Application
20140215888
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to firearms, and, more particularly, to shooting rests for such firearms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Firearms can generally be divided into two types of weapons: long guns and hand guns. A hand gun is short weapon which is simply held in one or both hand, and usually shot in the offhand (standing) position. A long gun is a longer weapon which includes a butt stock which is placed against the shoulder of the shooter, and a forestock which is held by the off hand of the shooter. In other words, if a shooter is a right handed shooter, then the left hand grasps the forestock, and the butt stock is placed against the right shoulder of the shooter.
Long guns can generally be divided into two types: rifles and shotguns. A shotgun shoots a shell which contains a number of smaller projectiles, known as shot. The shot spreads into a pattern of predetermined density, depending on the distance to the target. A shotgun is usually shot from the offhand position. A rifle shoots a single larger projectile over a much further distance, and as a result, it is common to use a rest to support the rifle during shooting and thereby improve the accuracy of the rifle.
When shooting a rifle, common shooting positions include the offhand position, the kneeling position, the prone (laying down) position, and the sitting (bench) position. A rest can be used with any of these shooting positions. For the offhand position, it is known to use a monopod, which is a single stick with a cradle or the like at the top of the monopod. It is also known to use “shooting sticks”, which are basically a pair of sticks which are hinged together at the top end and form a large bipod arrangement when placed in the shooting position. It is also known to attach a monopod, bipod or tripod arrangement to the front end of the gun to act as a shooting rest. The rest is typically attached to the forestock rather than directly to the barrel, as attachment to the barrel can affect the accuracy of the gun. Other types of shooting rests include sand bags and other type of cradle arrangements, such as a so-called sled arrangement. The sled arrangement is probably the most accurate in terms of steadily holding the gun during shooting, but is also large, heavy and impractical for actual deployment scenarios, such as hunting, police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) scenarios, and military scenarios.
What is needed in the art is a shooting rest which is easy to use, lightweight and compact, and still allows the gun to be shot with great accuracy.
The present invention provides a shooting rest with an inclined rail that supports a rest at a selected position along a length of the rail.
The invention in form is directed to a shooting rest including a pod arrangement and a rail assembly. The pod arrangement can be a monopod, bipod or tripod. The rail assembly is connected to the pod arrangement. The rail assembly includes a rail, a shuttle and a rest. The rail has an end which is connected to the pod arrangement. The shuttle is slidably mounted to the rail and includes a latch for selectively securing the shuttle at a desired location along a length of the rail. The rest is connected to the shuttle.
The invention in another form is directed to a rail assembly for use as a shooting rest. The rail assembly includes a rail, a shuttle and a rest. The shuttle is slidably mounted to the rail. The shuttle includes a latch for selectively securing the shuttle at a desired location along a length of the rail. The rest is connected to the shuttle.
The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in any manner.
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to
Rail assembly 14 is connected to pod arrangement 12, and includes a rail 16, a shuttle 18 and a rest 20. Rail 16 has an end 22 which is connected to pod arrangement 12. In the illustrated embodiment, a sling stud 23 (typically used to mount a shoulder sling to a rifle) is attached to end 22 of rail 16. The bipod 12, in known manner, includes an attachment mechanism which attaches directly to sling stud 23.
In the embodiment illustrated in
Shuttle 18 is slidably mounted to rail 16 and is selectively positioned at a desired location along a length of rail 16. More particularly, shuttle 18 includes a generally T- shaped opening 24 which is sized and shaped to receive rail 16 therein. The particular cross-sectional shape of opening 24 can vary, depending on the cross-sectional shape of rail 16. For example, opening 24 can have a square or rectangular cross-section. Moreover, in the illustrated embodiment, opening 24 opens to one side of shuttle 18. However, opening 24 can also be entirely surrounded by shuttle 18, open only at the ends.
Shuttle 18 includes a latch 26 for selectively securing shuttle 18 at a desired location along a length rail 16. In the illustrated embodiment, latch 26 includes a threaded hole 28 formed in shuttle 18, and a thumb screw 30 which is threaded into hole 28.
Rest 20 is detachably connected to shuttle 18, and provides a steady rest for a firearm. Rest 20 includes a cradle 32 and a pin 34 extending from cradle 32. Cradle 32 preferably has an inner surface which is padded to prevent movement or damage to the firearm. Pin 34 is sized to fit within a corresponding hole 36 formed in shuttle 18. Shuttle 18 also includes an abutment surface 38 which is positioned at a predetermined angle 0 relative to a longitudinal axis 39 of shuttle 18. The angle θ of abutment surface 38, in combination with the circular profile of cradle 32, allows a firearm to be effectively cradled for a wide range of operating positions of shooting rest 10.
Shooting rest 10 may also optionally include one or more extension rods 40, as shown in
Referring now to
Picatinny rail 54 includes a plurality of alternating lands 56 and grooves 58. Shuttle 52 includes a latch 60 which engages a selected groove 58 for securing shuttle 52 to picatinny rail 54. Latch 60 is in the form of a spring-loaded pushbutton latch which is biased against a finger 62, which in turn is pivotally mounted within an opening 64 formed in shuttle 52. Finger 62 has a distal end with an angled or curved edge 66 and a sharp edge 68. The angle or radius of curvature of curved end 66 allows shuttle 52 to be slid in one direction along piccatinny rail 54 without depressing latch 60, while the sharp edge 68 requires the latch 60 to be depressed prior to movement of shuttle 52 in the opposite direction along piccatinny rail 54. Finger 62 pivots about pivot pin 70, and a spring 72 biases finger 62 to the position shown in
In the embodiments described above, rail assemblies 14 and 50 are described with reference to use as a firearm shooting rest. However, it is to be understood that the rail assemblies 14 and 50 of the present invention can be used with other equipment requiring fast and accurate target acquisition (whether actually shooting a firearm or not). For example, it is possible that a rail assembly 14 or 50 can form one leg of a bipod or tripod arrangement and the shuttle is directly attached to the forestock or barrel of the rifle. Moreover, it is possible to use a different type of rest which is either attached to or supports a different type of equipment requiring fast and accurate target acquisition. Examples include optical equipment (e.g., spotting scopes or binoculars), a photography camera, and/or a video camera. Further, such other equipment can be directly attached to the shuttle sliding along the rail.
While this invention has been described with respect to at least one embodiment, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims.
This is a non-provisional application based upon U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/715,151, entitled “RAMP ADJUSTABLE SHOOTING AID”, filed on Oct. 17, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61715151 | Oct 2012 | US |
