CA1232246A - Carrying sling for rifle or similar firearm - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract:
A carrying sling for a rifle or similar firearm having a forestock sling mount and a butt sling mount. The sling comprises an elongated flexible strap having first and second ends. The first end of the elongated strap can be attached to the forestock mount and a butt attachment member is provided for attachment to the butt mount. The butt attachment member has a narrow slot for receiving the elongated strap. A frictional slide member is provided on the elongated strap between the first end and the butt attachment member. The elongated strap is further con-nected to the frictional slide member at or adjacent to its second end. The sling enables the rifle to be carried around the shoulder and neck when the frictional member is adjacent the forestock mount, but enables the weapon to be brought up to the firing position without difficulty when the frictional element is slid along the flexible strap towards the butt sling mount.

Description

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Carrying sting for rifle or similar firearm this invention relates to carrying slings for rifles or similar firearms.
Hunting rifles, shotguns and military weapons are usually provided with a pair of mounts for a carrying sling. These mounts (often called swivels) generally take the form of metal loops for receiving a webbing or leather strap, one mount being provided at the front of the stock and the other being provided at the rear of the stock adjacent the butt.
Known rifle slings generally consist of a single strap or loop of leather or webbing material that ox-tends between the two mounts and enables the rifle to be carried over the shoulder. The disadvantage of this, however, is that the rifle cannot easily be brought to the firing position from the carrying position, since the rifle has to be unslung from the shoulder, brought to the front of the body and then raised to the firing position.
This is a particularly difficult operation when the hunter is wearing bulky clothing or carrying other equipment, such as a back pack.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a sling for a rifle or similar weapon that enables the weapon to be moved easily and quickly from the carrying position to the firing position.

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I

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a carrying sling or a rifle or similar weapon provided with a foreshock sling mount and a butt sling mount, said carrying sling comprising: an elongated flexible strap made of woven synthetic fixer and having first and second ends; means for attaching the first end of the elongated strap to said fore-stock sling mount; a butt attachment member having a first end for attachment to said butt sling mount and a second end pro-voided with a narrow slot for receiving said elongated flexible strap; and a frictional slide member provided on an interred-tale section of said elongated strap between said means for attaching the first end and said putt attachment member, said frictional slide member comprising at least first and second adjacent parallel slots defined respectively between at least first, second and third adjacent parallel bars located progress lively further away from said butt attachment member, wherein said strap has an end section near said second end thereof which passes around said first bar extending once only through said first slot and doubles back and is attached to an adjacent section of the strap, and wherein said intermediate section of : said strap passes over said end section located around said first bar, once only through said first slot, over said second bar, once only through said second slot and over said third bar, said intermediate section of said strap being free of obstructions which prevent the sliding of said frictional slide member between said means for attaching toe first end and said butt attachment member.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a carrying sling for a rifle or similar weapon provided with a foreshock sling mount and a butt sling mount, said carrying sling comprising: an elongated flexible strap made of woven synthetic fiber of width suitable to permit the strap to pass through the butt sling mount, said strap having first and second ends; means for attaching the first end of the elongated strap to the restock sling mount; and a frictional slide member provided on an intermediate section of said elongated strap which, in use, is located between said ~2~Z~
- pa -means for attaching the first end and said butt sling mount, said frictional slide member comprising at least first and second adjacent parallel slots defined respectively button at least first, second and third adjacent parallel bars located progressively further away from said butt sling mount, wherein said strap has an end section near said second end thereof which passes around said first bar extending once only through said first slot and doubles back and is attached to an adjacent section of the strap, and wherein said intermediate section of said strap passes over said end section located around said first bar, once only through said first slot, over said second bar, once only through said second slot and over said third bar, said intermediate section of said strap being free of obstructions which prevent the sliding of said frictional slide member between said means for attaching the first end and said butt sling mount.
According to yet another aspect of the invention there is provided a carrying sling for a rifle or similar weapon pro-voided with a foreshock sling mount and a butt sling mount, said carrying sling comprising: an elongated flexible strap made of woven synthetic fiber and having first and second ends; loop means formed by the strap adjacent its first end for attaching the strap to said foreshock sling mount; a butt attachment member comprising a short flexible strap and at least one buckle provided with slots mounted on the strap in such a manner that the short strap forms a loop for attachment to the butt slink mount and a slot of said at least one buckle may slid ably receive said elongated flexible strap; and a frictional slide member provided on an intermediate section of said elongated strap between said loop means and said butt attachment member, said frictional slide member comprising at least first and second adjacent parallel slots defined respectively between at least first second and third adjacent parallel bars located progressively further away from said butt attachment member, wherein said elongated flexible strap has an end section near said second end thereof which passes around said first bar extending only once through said first

2;2~6 - 2b -slot and then doubles back and is attached to an adjacent section of said strap, and wherein said intermediate section of said elongated flexible strap passes over said end section located around said first bar, once only through said first slot, over said second bar, once only through said second slot and over said third bar, said first and second 510ts of said frictional slide member being wide enough to permit the elongated flexible member to slide readily through the second slot, but narrow enough to cause bending of the intermediate section and the end section of the elongated flexible strap passing through the first slot when the sling is under tension, and said intermediate section of said strap being free of obstruct lions which prevent sliding of said frictional slide member between said loop means and said butt attachment member.
It is stated in the above that the elongated strap is further connected to the frictional slide member at or near to its second end. By "near to" we mean closer to the second end than to the first end because, when the free second end of the strap emerging from the frictional slide member is doubled back against the strap and secured by a buckle or the like, the second end may in fact be 1~3ZZ~6 spaced by quite a large distance from the frictional slide member.
By "frictional slide member" we mean a member that can slide along the elongated strap when pushed by hand but which generates sufficient frictional force between itself and the strap that the member does not slide along the strap under the weight of the rifle or similar weapon A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a rifle fitted with a carrying sling according to one embodiment of the invention parts of the sling being shown on an enlarged scale and in cross-section for clarity, and the sling being shown in the carrying position;
Fig 2 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 1 but with the rifle omitted and the sling shown in the firing position;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a typical rifle sling mount;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a buckle of the type used as attachment members and the frictional slide member for the sling of Figs. 1 and 2; and Figs. 5 to 12 are simplified views of the various ways in which the sling of Figs. 1 and 2 may be used by a hunts man.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, one embodiment of a sling according to the invention is shown generally by the numeral 10.
The sling 10 consists of a first elongated flexible strap 11 having a first end 12 and a second end 13, and a second short flexible strap 14. The straps are connected to five buckles 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 which are all ides-tidal and of the type shown in Fig. 4, i.e. provided with a pair of parallel slots 15. The buckles may be made, for example, of metal or plastic.

~32:Z~6 The sleep 11 adjacent its first end 12 passes through foreshock mount 22 provided on rifle 23 and the rear most end of strap 14 passes through butt mount 24. Mounts 22 and 24 are of the type shown in Fig 3 having a metal loop 25 for receiving the strap and an attachment mechanism 26 for connection to the rifle.
Buckle 16 acts as an attachment means permitting the first end 12 of the strap 11 to be fastened to the foreshock mount 22. Since the strap 11 should not slip through the buckle under the weight of the rifle, the strap is passed back and forth through the buckle several times in the manner shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The buckle 16 should preferably be positioned as close as possible to the foreshock mount 22 for reasons that will become apparent later.
Buckle 19 serves a similar purpose in attaching the short flexible strap 14 to the butt mount 24. Again, the strap is passed back and forth through the buckle to prevent slippage and the buckle should be located as close as possible to the butt mount 24.
Buckle 17 is located on the strap 11 and acts as a frictional slide member. That is, it can be moved by hand along the strap, but there is sufficient friction between the buckle and the strap that the buckle will not move accidentally, e.g. under the weight of the rifle when the rifle is suspended from the sling. The frictional force is provided by the fact that the strap 11 bends sharply as it passes through the parallel slots of the buckle and by the fact that the strap 11 is passed again through one of the slots near its free end 13 as shown in the drawing.
This reduces the available width in one of the slots of the buckle and causes one section of the strap 11 to bear against another.
The main function of buckle 18 is generally to provide a narrow slot 27 for receiving the strap 11. The strap ~23~2~Ç;

may pass freely through the slot, but the slot is surf-iciently narrow that the strap cannot twist or otherwise deform in the slot. The short strap 14 and the buckle 18 thus acts as a member for attaching strap 11 to the butt mount 24. This is found preferable to passing the strap 11 directly through the butt mount 24 for two reasons.
Firstly the metal loop 25 of the butt mount is usually quite wide so that the strap 11 may twist or deform in the loop when carrying weight, and hence bind in the loop, thus preventing free movement of the strap through the loop. Secondly when the sling is to be disconnected or connected, this can be achieved by undoing buckle 19, rather than undoing buckles 17 and 20 as would be the case if the strap 11 passed directly through the butt mount. This is simpler and does not result in possible errors in reconnecting the strap through buckles 17 and 20.
over although the use of the short strap 14 is preferred for the reasons stated above, the invention, in its broad form, covers an alternative embodiment (not shown) in which stray 14 is eliminated and strap 11 passes directly through the butt mount 24. This is satisfactory, particularly in those cases where the slot in the butt mount is quite narrow so that twisting of strap 11 does not take place.
Returning to the embodiment shown, it will be noticed that two layers of strap 14 pass through slot 27 of buckle 18 as well as one layer of strap 11. This serves to reduce the width of the slot for the reasons given above, but does not cause the undue friction as the strap 11 passes through the slot.
Buckle 20 is provided as a means of anchoring the second end 13 of the strap 11 to the strap itself and as a means of enabling the total length of strap 11 to be varied. Thus, by loosening the layers of strap in buckle 20, drawing the second end 13 to the right as shown in the figures and then tightening the buckle, the effective ~L~3~Z2~6 length of strap 11 is reduced. If desired, the resulting excess material can be cut off the second end 13.
Sliding of buckle 17 from the carrying position shown in Fig. 1 to the firing position shown in Fig. 2 causes carrying loop 30, which is the outermost stretch of strap 11 between buckles 17 and 18, to be reduced in length and inner strap 31, which is the innermost stretch of strap 11 between mount 22 and buckle 18, to be increased in length. That is, part of the carrying loop 30 passes through slot 27 to become part of the inner strap 31.
At least, this takes place when the tension is removed from carrying loop 30 as is the case when the rifle is raised to the firing position, as will be explained below.
This increase in the effective length of inner strap 31 and the fact that the forward point of attachment of the carrying loop 30 tire. the buckle 17) is moved to the rear, have the effect of freeing the rifle from the encumbrance of the sling so that it can be raised to the firing position virtually as easily as if the sling had been detached.
The action of the sling is demonstrated by the sketches of Figs. 5 to 12.
Fig. 5 shows the carrying loop 30 being located over the head. It should be noted that the buckle 17 is in the I carrying position shown in Fig. 1.
Figs. 6 and 7 show two possible carrying positions for the rifle when the buckle 17 is in the position shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 6, the weight of the rifle is partially supported by hand, but in Fig. 7 the weight of the rifle is completely supported by the sling.
although not shown in the drawings, the rifle can be carried in yet another way by adjusting the loop 30 and strap 31 to the same length and then wearing the rifle as if it were a back pack with the muzzle pointing up-wards and loop 30 and strap 31 acting as shoulder straps.
However, this way of carrying the rifle is not preferred I

when the rifle is likely to be needed because it does not permit the rapid change from the carrying position to the firing position as described below.
Figs. 8 to 10 show how the rifle can be raised to the firing position from the carrying position shown in Fig.
6 or Fig. 7. First (Fig. 8), the rifle (in the upside-down position) is brought to the front of the body and the carrying loop 30 is grasped just above buckle 17.
The buckle 17 (Fig. 9) is then slid along inner strap 31 towards the butt of the gun. This changes the sling from the Fig. 1 position to the Fig. 2 position.
The gun can then be turned over and raised to the firing position twig. 10). The increased length of inner strap 31r which arises from the movement of the buckle 17 and the removal of the weight of the rifle from the carrying loop 30, coupled with the movement of carrying loop 30 in towards the body, allows the rifle to be raised to the firing position unencumbered by the sling. Indeed t the inner strap 31 is of sufficient length that it can be used to support the elbow, if desired, in order to steady the rifle (as shown in the figure).
Figs. 11 and 12 show the simplest way of readjusting the sling from the firing position of Fig. 2 to the carry-in position of Fig. 1. The rifle is held as shown in Fig. 11 and pushed firmly downwards to the position shown in Fig. 12. This has the effect of moving buckle 17 back along the inner strap 31 towards the foreshock mount 22.
By ensuring that buckle 16 is as close as possible to the foreshock mount 22, sufficient room is available for the buckle 17 to move close to the foreshock mount 22 and thus to make the carrying loop 30 as large as possible.
The straps 11 and 14 may be made of any suitable flexible material, but a woven webbing made of synthetic fires, such as nylon, is preferred. This material is durable, light, slightly elastic, and can be seared in a flame at newly cut ends to prevent fraying. Moreover, ~3Z2~

the woven surface is somewhat rough, this enhancing the friction between itself and the slide member. The material can be of any desired width, but widths of 1 inch and 1-1/4 inch are preferred. The material of the strap 11 and the material and dimensions of the buckle 17 should be chosen to provide the desired frictional force, i.e. the buckle 17 should not slip along the strap under its own weight, but should be easy to slide along the strap by the user. Woven nylon webbing of about 1/32 - 1/16 inch thickness and a plastic buckle having a slot width of about 1/8 - 3/16 inch are particularly preferred. The buckle may have a slightly rough finish.
Although the preferred embodiment has been described above, it should be appreciated that various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the present inventor as defined by the append ant claims.
For example, although strap 14 is provided as a butt attachment member, the same function can be achieved by a non-flexible element such as a short metal or plastic strip. Moreover, as pointed out above, this strap or element can be omitted if strap 11 passes directly through butt mount 24.
Further, instead of buckles 16 or 19, quick attach-mint clips may be provided at the ends of the straps for attaching the straps to the mounts.
Bracket 20 may be entirely eliminated at the second end 13 of the strap 11 sewn or otherwise attached to itself immediately adjacent the bracket 17. This would be done when adjustment of the total length ox the spring 13 is not required or if a length adjustment means were provided elsewhere along the strap 11.
Instead of brackets such as the one shown in Fig. 4, strap clamps may be employed of the type which grip the straps between an opposing pair of strong spring members.

Claims (10)

Claims:

1. A carrying sling for a rifle or similar weapon provided with a forestock sling mount and a butt sling mount, said carrying sling comprising:
an elongated flexible strap made of woven synthetic fiber and having first and second ends;
means for attaching the first end of the elongated strap to said forestock sling mount;
a butt attachment member having a first end for attachment to said butt sling mount and a second end provided with a narrow slot for receiving said elongated flexible strap; and a frictional slide member provided on an intermediate section of said elongated strap between said means for attach-ing the first end and said butt attachment member, said frictional slide member comprising at least first and second adjacent parallel slots defined respectively between at least first, second and third adjacent parallel bars located progressively further away from said butt attachment member, wherein said strap has an end section near said second end thereof which passes around said first bar extending once only through said first slot and doubles back and is attached to an adjacent section of the strap, and wherein said inter-mediate section of said strap passes over said end section located around said first bar, once only through said first slot, over said second bar, once only through said second slot and over said third bar, said intermediate section of said strap being free of obstructions which prevent the sliding of said frictional slide member between said means for attaching the first end and said butt attachment member.

2. A sling according to Claim 1 wherein said butt attachment member comprises a short flexible strap having means at said first end thereof for attachment of the short strap to the butt sling mount.

3. A sling according to Claim 2 wherein said short strap has a member at said second end thereof forming said narrow slot.

4. A sling according to Claim 1, wherein said means for attaching the first end of the elongated strap to the fore-stock sling mount comprises a buckle having a pair of parallel slots for receiving said elongated strap.

5. A sling according to Claim 2 wherein said means for attaching the short strap to the butt sling mount comprises a buckle having a pair of parallel slots for receiving said short strap.

6. A sling according to Claim 3 wherein said member at the second end of the short strap comprises a buckle having a pair of parallel slots, one of which being said narrow slot for receiving said elongated flexible strap.

7. A sling according to Claim 1, wherein said end section of said strap is attached to said adjacent section of said strap by a buckle having a pair of parallel slots for receiving said end section and said adjacent section.

8. A sling according to Claim 2 wherein said short strap is a woven webbing made of a synthetic fibre.

9. A carrying sling for a rifle or similar weapon provided with a forestock sling mount and a butt sling mount, said carrying sling comprising:
an elongated flexible strap made of woven synthetic fiber of width suitable to permit the strap to pass through the butt sling mount, said strap having first and second ends;
means for attaching the first end of the elongated strap to the forestock sling mount; and a frictional slide member provided on an intermediate section of said elongated strap which, in use, is located between said means for attaching the first end and said butt sling mount, said frictional slide member comprising at least first and second adjacent parallel slots defined respectively between at least first, second and third adjacent parallel bars located progressively further away from said butt sling mount, wherein said strap has an end section near said second end thereof which passes around said first bar extending once only through said first slot and doubles back and is attached to an adjacent section of the strap, and wherein said inter-mediate section of said strap passes over said end section located around said first bar, once only through said first slot, over said second bar, once only through said second slot and over said third bar, said intermediate section of said strap being free of obstructions which prevent the sliding of said frictional slide member between said means for attaching the first end and said butt sling mount.

10. A carrying sling for a rifle or similar weapon provided with a forestock sling mount and a butt sling mount, said carrying sling comprising:
an elongated flexible strap made of woven synthetic fiber and having first and second ends;
loop means formed by the strap adjacent its first end for attaching the strap to said forestock sling mount;
a butt attachment member comprising a short flexible strap and at least one buckle provided with slots mounted on the strap in such a manner that the short strap forms a loop for attachment to the butt sling mount and a slot of said at least one buckle may slidably receive said elongated flexible strap;
and a frictional slide member provided on an intermediate section of said elongated strap between said loop means and said butt attachment member, said frictional slide member comprising at least first and second adjacent parallel slots defined respectively between at least first, second and third adjacent parallel bars located progressively further away from said butt attachment member, wherein said elongated flexible strap has an end section near said second end thereof which passes around said first bar extending only once through said first slot and then doubles back and is attached to an adjacent section of said strap, and wherein said intermediate section of said elongated flexible strap passes over said end section located around said first bar, once only through said first slot, over said second bar, once only through said second slot and over said third bar, said first and second slots of said frictional slide member being wide enough to permit the elongated flexible member to slide readily through the second slot, but narrow enough to cause bending of the intermediate section and the end section of the elongated flexible strap passing through the first slot when the sling is under tension, and said intermediate section of said strap being free of obstructions which prevent sliding of said frictional slide member between said loop means and said butt attachment member.