US20020005005A1

US20020005005A1 - Shotgun for competitive clay target shooting

Info

Publication number: US20020005005A1
Application number: US09/860,534
Authority: US
Inventors: Ronald Miller
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-07-12
Filing date: 2001-05-21
Publication date: 2002-01-17
Also published as: CA2348143A1

Abstract

A shotgun includes a stock, a receiver and a barrel group. The stock has a butt end and an opposite second end. The receiver which is for containing a moving parts group, has a rear end and a forward end and is releasably mountable at the rear end by a releasable coupler to the second end of the stock. The barrel group has a discharge end and an opposite loading end. The loading end is releasably mountable by a pivotable coupler to the forward end of the receiver. The moving parts group, when mounted in the receiver, contain all of the moving parts between a trigger and a firing pin or pins in moving operation relative to the receiver required during firing of the shotgun. The releasable coupler includes a manually operable coupler release. The coupler release is manually actuable so that the releasable coupler mounts the receiver to, or demounts the receiver from, the stock upon tool-less, hand actuation by a user of the coupler release, that is, upon manual actuation by the user without the need to use a tool, such as a screwdriver, to assist in operating the coupler release. The receiver may be quickly removed by hand from the stock and quickly replaced with a spare receiver containing a spare moving parts group.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/217,711 filed Jul. 12, 2000 entitled Shotgun For Competitive Clay Target Shooting.[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of sporting shotguns as opposed to those used primarily for hunting, and in particular to a sporting shotgun for competitive clay target shooting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In conventional clay target shooting competitions using for example Perazzi™ or Krieghoff™ sporting shotguns, a failure of a gun component while on the firing line will usually mean defaulting in that round of the competition because under the competition's rules, if a gun misfires, you have only 5 minutes in which to effect a repair.

In such instances it would be advantageous, and it is one object of the present invention to provide, a quickly interchangeable shotgun component which contains virtually all of the moving parts of a shotgun so that no matter which internal mechanism failed, the entire shotgun component may be removed and quickly replaced with a spare component otherwise referred to herein as a spare parts group.

Thus what is provided in the present invention is a modified stock which at the butt end is modified so that the user may select between a completely rigid stock or one having a recoil absorber, and which at its receiver end is modified to incorporate a quick release coupling for mating with the shotgun receiver. It is a further object to provide a modified shotgun receiver containing all of the moving parts which may be replaced by a spare parts group and which is further modified to allow selective release of the receiver from the shotgun barrel group by an actuator on the lower surface of the receiver forward of the trigger housing.

In the prior art, applicant is aware of hunting shotguns, for example those made by Browning and sold under the trade mark Citori. One example is shown partially cut-away in FIG. 1 a. As may be seen, in the Citori example, the shotgun stock is mounted to the receiver by means of a bolt inserted from the butt end along a bore in the stock so as to protrude from the receiver mating end of the stock. The bolt threads into a threaded hole or bore in the aft end of the receiver and is tightened, for example by means of a screwdriver, so as to draw the receiver snugly into mating with the stock. A cover plate is screwed into place to cover access to the bore in the stock.

SUMMARY

The shotgun of the present invention as defined herein is understood and intended to include the shotgun as an assembled whole, the shotgun as a partially or fully disassembled kit or system, and each separate novel part thereof. Consequently the shotgun of the present invention may be summarized as including a stock, a receiver and a barrel group. The stock has a butt end and an opposite second end. The receiver which is for containing a moving parts group, has a rear end and a forward end and is releasably mountable at the rear end by a releasable coupler to the second end of the stock. The barrel group has a discharge end and an opposite loading end. The loading end is releasably mountable by a pivotable coupler to the forward end of the receiver. The moving parts group, when mounted in the receiver, contain all of the moving parts between a trigger and a firing pin or pins in moving operation relative to the receiver required during firing of the shotgun. The releasable coupler includes a manually operable coupler release. The coupler release is manually actuable so that the releasable coupler mounts the receiver to, or demounts the receiver from, the stock upon tool-less, hand actuation by a user of the coupler release, that is, upon manual actuation by the user without the need to use a tool, such as a screwdriver, to assist in operating the coupler release. Consequently the receiver may be quickly removed by hand from the stock and quickly replaced with a spare receiver containing a spare moving parts group.

In one embodiment, the releasable coupler may comprise a rigid elongate member releasably mountable into a receiving socket. The rigid elongate member may threadably mount into the receiving socket. In particular, in one embodiment the receiving socket is a rigid tubular member mountable into a bore in the second end of the stock, and the rigid elongate member is mountable to the rear end of the receiver so as to cantilever the rigid elongate member from the rear end of the receiver into co-axial alignment with the tubular member when the tubular member is mounted to the stock and the stock is mounted to the receiver.

The rigid elongate member may be a bolt-like member threadably mountable to the tubular member. The bolt-like member may for example be a bolt having an interrupted thread. Such a bolt may have oppositely disposed parallel planar lands along thread-disengaging portions of a length of the bolt. The lands may extend contiguously between oppositely disposed threaded surfaces along thread-engaging portions of the length of the bolt. The tubular member may have an interrupted thread inner surface for threaded engagement with the thread-engaging portions of the bolt. The threaded walls of the tubular member may have apertures therein. The apertures are aligned and sized so that as the bolt is rotated relative to the tubular member while in threaded engagement with the tubular member, the thread-engaging portions are rotated out of thread engaging radial alignment with the threaded inner surface of the threaded walls and into radial alignment with the apertures in the threaded walls, thereby aligning the thread-disengaging portions of the bolt with the threaded inner surfaces of the threaded walls. The bolt is thereby disengaged from the tubular member and may be withdrawn therefrom.

The shotgun receiver may further comprise a low-locking barrel group release latch mounted to a low side of the receiver. The low side of the receiver is defined as corresponding to a trigger side of the receiver. The release latch cooperates with a locking mechanism on the barrel group for releasable locking of the barrel group on the pivotable coupler. When the release latch is locked onto the barrel locking mechanism a round in the barrel is aligned for firing engagement with the firing pin or pins in receiver.

The release latch may have a latch actuating trigger mounted to the low side of the receiver so as to extend therefrom for manual actuation by a user. The latch actuating trigger may be mounted adjacent a trigger guard of the receiver. The latch actuating trigger may be slidably mounted to the low side of the receiver.

The butt end of the stock may have a slide channel formed therein in generally co-planar alignment with a longitudinal axis of a barrel of the barrel group. The stock may then further include a recoil absorbing slide resiliently slidably mounted in the slide channel. The slide may have a shoulder pad mounted at an exposed end of the slide, that is, the exposed end protruding from the butt end of the stock. The slide may have an upper portion extending from the slide channel along an upper surface of the stock, for example generally opposite a handgrip of the stock. A slide cover member may be mounted to the slide and may extend generally the length of the stock and along the upper surface of the stock. The slide cover slides over the upper surface of the stock as the slide slides in the slide channel so as to absorb recoil upon firing of the shotgun. The slide cover may be conformally shaped so as to smoothly conform to the contours of the stock. A rigid insert may be provided which is slidable over an exposed portion of the exposed end of the slide when the slide is fully extended from the butt end of the stock so as to disable operation of the slide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of the shotgun of the present invention, [0013]
FIG. 1[0014] a is an exploded, partially cut-away perspective view of a prior art shotgun.
FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the butt stock of FIG. 1 showing the recoil mechanism in operation, [0015]
FIG. 3 is, in partially exploded view, the butt stock of FIG. 2 with the recoil mechanism disabled, [0016]
FIG. 3[0017] a is, in elevation view, the recoil disabling mechanism of FIG. 3,
FIG. 4 is an exploded isometric view illustrating the coupling mechanism between forestock and trigger housing of the shotgun of FIG. 1, [0018]
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along line [0019] 5-5 in FIG. 4,
FIG. 6 is a partially exploded isometric view illustrating the trigger housing and the coupling bolt and male coupler of FIG. 4, [0020]
FIGS. 7 and 7[0021] a are isometric views of the break-open mechanism in the forestock.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

As seen in FIG. 1, the improved shotgun [0022] 10 of the present invention has a stock 12, a receiver 14 and a barrel group 16.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, [0023] stock 12 may have at its butt end a shoulder pad 18 mounted to a rigid base plate 20. Base plate 20 is rigidly and orthogonally mounted to internal slide arm 22. Slide arm 22 slides within a channel in stock body 24 along a plane generally vertically bisecting stock 12 so as to cooperate with a resilient shock absorber such as conventionally known in the art housed within stock body 24. Slide body 26 is also rigidly orthogonally mounted to base plate 20 so as to extend co-extensively along an upper surface of stock body 24. Slide body 26 slides over interface 27 relative to stock body 24 when stock body 24 recoils in direction A due to recoil following firing of the shotgun. Slide body 26 is shaped conformally with stock body 24 so that with slide arm 22 in its normally extended non-compressed position, other than a hairline at interface 27, slide body 26 and stock body 24 appear as a unitary whole in the shape of a conventional rigid shotgun stock.
As better seen in FIG. 3[0024] a, U-shaped insert 28 may be slid in direction B into the cavity between base plate 20 and the adjacent end of plate 30 mounted to stock body 24. Channel 32 in U-shaped insert 28 slides snugly over slide arm 22 until the upper ends of U-shaped insert 28 abut the lower surface of slide body 26 so as to completely cover slide arm 22. With U-shaped insert 28 so mounted, the operation of slide arm 22, that is, the operation of the resilient recoil absorber, is disabled so that stock 12 performs as a conventional rigid stock. The outer surface of U-shaped insert 28 is shaped so as to conform to the lateral cross-sectional shape of stock body 24 and base plate 20. U-shaped insert 28 may be releasably locked into place between base plate 20 and end plate 30 by means of a friction fit assisted by, for example, a spring-loaded ball bearing latch mechanism wherein ball bearing 34 resiliently mounted in end plate 30 releasably engages a corresponding cup or aperture 36 in U-shaped insert 28.
As seen in FIG. 4, at the opposite end of [0025] stock body 24 opposite to plate 30, a female receiver coupler 38 is mounted into forestock 12 a. Forestock 12 a is longitudinally bored so as to snugly receive sleeve 40 of coupler 38 journalled into and along the bore. Sleeve 40 is itself hollow having a pair of oppositely disposed cutouts 42 along its length defining therebetween an opposed facing pair of threaded lands 44. Sleeve 40 is rigidly mounted to annular collar 46 so as to extend perpendicularly therefrom. Annular collar 46 is shaped and sized so that its outer perimeter is conformal to the end surface of forestock 12 a when sleeve 40 is mounted within the longitudinal bore of forestock 12 a.
In the illustrated embodiment, not intended to be limiting, the alignment of sleeve [0026] 40 within the bore of forestock 12 a is assisted and maintained by fiberglassing the sleeve into the bore, assisted by the fiberglass engaging longitudinal grooves 40 a in sleeve 40.
The [0027] cylindrical aperture 46 a of collar 46 is coaxial with, and of corresponding diameter to, the internal cylindrical cavity of sleeve 40 so as to receive therethrough male coupling shaft 48 when inserted in direction C into sleeve 40 along axis D.
[0028] Male coupling shaft 48 is in the shape of a two sided cant, that is, when viewed in cross-section in a plane perpendicular to axis D, shaft 48 is obround with the two parallel sides of the obround corresponding to a pair of parallel planar faces 50 and the oppositely disposed curved ends of the obround corresponding to a pair of threaded uniformly curved surfaces 52. A base 54 is mounted to the non-threaded end of shaft 48.
[0029] Male coupling shaft 48 may be inserted or removed from sleeve 40 when shaft 48 is rotated about axis D, so that threaded surfaces 52 are aligned with, so as to be exposed through, cutouts 42. The result is that the threads on threaded surfaces 52 are disengaged from the threads on threaded lands 44. Thus, shaft 48 is inserted in direction C into sleeve 40 by aligning planar faces 50 so as to slide over threaded lands 44 until shaft 48 is completely journalled within sleeve 40. Shaft 48 may then be rotated in direction E about axis D by 90 degrees so as to mate the threads on surfaces 52 with the threads on lands 44. With the threads so engaged, the receiver coupler pair, which mates male coupling shaft 48 to female receiver coupler 38, are releasably locked together.
In one embodiment, a [0030] pin 53 or like protrusion seen in FIG. 5 on base 54 engages, so as to slide along, arcuate groove 55 on collar 46 as base 54 is mated against collar 46. The end 55 a of groove 55 arrests rotation of base 54 relative to collar 46 by engaging pin 53. End 55 a acts as a stop to prevent over-tightening and to ensure and ease correct alignment of the receiver coupler pair once mated so that locking 56 aligns with locking aperture 58.
Spring loaded locking [0031] pin 56 in collar 46 releasably engages corresponding locking aperture 58 on base 54 when the threads on the pair of curved surfaces 52 and the pair of threaded lands 44 are uniformly aligned. To release locking pin 56 from engagement from locking aperture 58, locking pin 56 is retracted in direction F by a user pulling back on thumb operated button 60, mounted adjacent the upper surface of annular collar 46, against the return biasing force of resilient spring 51 housed within a spring housing 62. It is understood that, although spring housing 62 is shown as being exposed on the upper surface of forestock 12 a, that spring housing 62 may also be recessed into a corresponding cavity in forestock 12 a so that for aesthetic purposes, only thumb operated button 60 is exposed on the upper surface of forestock 12 a.
As seen in FIGS. 6 and 7, [0032] receiver 14 is a housing comprising base 54, left side wall 64, right side wall 66, the trigger housing 68, and the internal firing mechanism between trigger 70 and the firing pins 71. Except as set out herein, the internal firing mechanism may have parts from a conventional receiver assembly such as sold by Browning™ under the trademark Citori as would be well known to, and well understood by, a person skilled in the art. A Browning Citori shotgun is shown in exploded view in FIG. 1a with the firing mechanism partially cut-away. On each of the left and right side walls, a circular recess 72 may be provided with provides no function other than to receive an embossed coin bearing the applicant's trademark.
[0033] Male coupling shaft 48 is itself hollow so as to receive journalled therethrough a threaded bolt 74. Bolt 74 is journalled through borehole 48 a in shaft 48 so as to protrude through aperture 54 a in base 54. The threaded end of bolt 74 protruding through aperture 54 a mounts the internal firing mechanism rigidly between the side walls and rearwardly against base 54. In one embodiment, side walls 64 and 66 are rigidly mounted to base 54 by bolting corresponding side walls to the corresponding flanges of base 54 using bolt holes 54 b.
[0034] Barrel group 16 is quickly dismountable from between sidewalls 73 on receiver 14 by the operation of a barrel release trigger 76. As better seen in FIG. 8a, trigger 76 is slidably mounted on pin 76 a. Pin 76 a is immediately forward of trigger housing 68. Release trigger 76 has an elongated aperture 76 b through each of two bifurcated sides 78. Aperture 76 b permits slidable movement of release trigger 76 in direction rearwardly past trigger guard 68. Trigger 76 is resiliently urged forwardly, by a spring or other similar well known means (not shown). Nylon inserts 76 c are mounted on the forward upper surface 76 d of trigger 76. Inserts 76 c provide frictionless bearing surfaces between surface 76 d and the lower surface of base 86 so that trigger 76 translates smoothly parallel to base 86.
An elongated locking [0035] block 80, which is generally tee-shaped, has an elongated slide portion 80 a and a transverse portion 80 b. A recess 82 on the underside of transverse portion 80 b engages projections 84 on the upper surface of release trigger 76. Elongated slide portion 80 a extends rearwardly into the Citori component housing between side walls 64 by sliding over the base of the housing above trigger guard 68. Sliding movement of trigger 76 also slides block 80.
[0036] Receiver 14 has a lower planar base 86 between side wall extensions 64′ and 66′. Side wall extension 64′ and 66′ extend forwardly of side walls 64 and 66 respectively and are coplanar therewith. They support at their forward end a hinge pin 88.
Symmetrically positioned beneath the breech end [0037] 16 a of the barrel 16 is locking lug 90, which has formed at its forward end a hinge-pin recess 90 a. Positioned rearwardly of lug 90 are a pair of transversally spaced apart locking arms 92 which depend from the breech end 16 a and which have a rearwardly facing locking notch 92 a formed therein.
Disassembly of the [0038] barrels 16 from the receiver 14 requires that the operator slidably move release trigger 76 rearwardly toward trigger guard 68. Engagement of projections 84 on the upper surface of trigger 76 with recess 82 on the underside of transverse portion 80 b of locking block 80 co-operatively also moves block 80 toward trigger guard 68. This movement withdraws the forward edge 94 of transverse portion 80 b from engagement with locking notch 92 a formed in locking arms 92 as forward edge 94 is withdrawn into slot 75. As hinge-pin recess 90 a of locking lug 90 is still in engagement with hinge pin 88, barrels 16 may be rotated in a downwardly arcuate direction, in direction H, to free locking arms 92 from base 86 of receiver 14. Once locking arms 92 are freed, the barrels 16 may then be drawn rearwardly in a slightly upward direction to release recess 90 a in locking lug 90 from engagement with hinge pin 88.
A cocking [0039] wing 100 is pivotally mounted about pin 76 a within elongate aperture 80 c of block 80 and between sides 78 of release trigger 76. Pin 76 a is journalled through a laterally extending hole 102 in cocking wing 100. Upper end 100 a of cocking wing 100 extends upwardly into the Citori™ component housing between side walls 64 in the manner of a conventional Citori™ cocking wing. The lower forwardly extending end 100 b of cocking wing 100 extends through channel 75 a below slot 75 so as to be engaged, in the manner of a conventional Citori™ cocking wing, by the end of barrel group 16 as the barrels are pivoted about pin 88 into the closed position. Cocking wing 100 is pivoted about pin 76 a as the barrels are closed, that is, as the barrels engage end 100 b of cocking wing 100.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. [0040]

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A shotgun comprising:

a stock having a butt end and an opposite second end,

a receiver for containing a moving parts group, said receiver having a rear end and a forward end and releasably mountable at said rear end by a releasable coupler to said second end of said stock,

a barrel group having a discharge end and an opposite loading end, said loading end releasably mountable by a pivotable coupler to said forward end of said receiver,

wherein said moving parts group, when mounted in said receiver, contains all of the moving parts between a trigger and a firing pin in moving operation relative to said receiver during firing of said shotgun when said barrel and said stock are mounted to said receiver,

wherein said releasable coupler includes a manually operable coupler release, said coupler release manually actuable so that said coupler mounts said receiver to, or demounts said receiver from, said stock upon tool-less, hand actuation by a user of said coupler release.

2. The shotgun of claim 1 wherein said releasable coupler comprises a rigid elongate member releasably mountable into a receiving socket.

3. The shotgun of claim 2 wherein said rigid elongate member threadably mounts into said receiving socket.

4. The shotgun of claim 2 wherein said receiving socket is a rigid tubular member mountable into a bore in said second end of said stock, and wherein said rigid elongate member is mountable to said rear end of said receiver so as to cantilever said rigid elongate member from said rear end of said receiver into co-axial alignment with said tubular member when said tubular member is mounted to said stock and said stock is mounted to said receiver.

5. The shotgun of claim 4 wherein said rigid elongate member is a bolt-like member threadably mountable to said tubular member.

6. The shotgun of claim 5 wherein said bolt-like member is a bolt having interrupted thread, said bolt having oppositely disposed parallel planar lands along thread-disengaging portions of a length of said bolt, said lands extending contiguously between oppositely disposed interrupted thread surfaces along thread-engaging portions of said length of said bolt,

and wherein said tubular member has an interrupted thread inner surface for threaded engagement with said thread-engaging portions of said bolt, said tubular member having apertures therein, said apertures aligned and sized so that as said bolt is rotated relative to said tubular member while in threaded engagement with said tubular member, said thread-engaging portions are rotated out of thread engaging radial alignment with said interrupted thread inner surface of said tubular member and into radial alignment with said apertures in said threaded walls, thereby aligning said thread-disengaging portions of said bolt with said interrupted thread inner surfaces,

whereby said bolt is disengaged from said tubular member and may be withdrawn therefrom.

7. A shotgun receiver for mounting to:

a stock having a butt end and an opposite second end,

and for mounting to a barrel group having a discharge end and an opposite loading end, said loading end releasably mountable by a pivotable coupler to said forward end of said receiver,

said receiver comprising a moving parts group and a releasable coupler, said receiver having a rear end and a forward end and releasably mountable at said rear end by said releasable coupler to said second end of said stock,

8. The shotgun receiver of claim 7 wherein said releasable coupler comprises a rigid elongate member releasably mountable into a receiving socket.

9. The shotgun receiver of claim 8 wherein said rigid elongate member threadably mounts into said receiving socket.

10. The shotgun receiver of claim 8 wherein said receiving socket is a rigid tubular member mountable into a bore in said second end of said stock, and wherein said rigid elongate member is mountable to said rear end of said receiver so as to cantilever said rigid elongate member from said rear end of said receiver into co-axial alignment with said tubular member when said tubular member is mounted to said stock and said stock is mounted to said receiver.

11. The shotgun receiver of claim 10 wherein said rigid elongate member is a bolt-like member threadably mountable to said tubular member.

12. The shotgun receiver of claim 11 wherein said bolt-like member is a bolt having interrupted thread, said bolt having oppositely disposed parallel planar lands along thread-disengaging portions of a length of said bolt, said lands extending contiguously between oppositely disposed interrupted thread surfaces along thread-engaging portions of said length of said bolt,

13. The shotgun of claim 1 wherein said receiver further comprises a low-locking barrel group release latch mounted to a low side of said receiver, said low side of said receiver corresponding to a trigger side of said receiver, said release latch cooperating with a locking mechanism on said barrel group for releasable locking of said barrel group on said pivotable coupler into firing engagement with said firing pin.

14. The shotgun of claim 13 wherein said release latch has a latch actuating trigger mounted to said low side of said receiver so as to extend therefrom for manual actuation by a user.

15. The shotgun of claim 14 wherein said latch actuating trigger is mounted adjacent a trigger guard of said receiver.

16. The shotgun of claim 15 wherein said latch actuating trigger is slidably mounted to said low side of said receiver.

17. The shotgun receiver of claim 7 wherein said receiver further comprises a low-locking barrel group release latch mounted to a low side of said receiver, said low side of said receiver corresponding to a trigger side of said receiver, said release latch cooperating with a locking mechanism on said barrel group for releasable locking of said barrel group on said pivotable coupler into firing engagement with said firing pin.

18. The shotgun receiver of claim 17 wherein said release latch has a latch actuating trigger mounted to said low side of said receiver so as to extend therefrom for manual actuation by a user.

19. The shotgun receiver of claim 18 wherein said latch actuating trigger is mounted adjacent a trigger guard of said receiver.

20. The shotgun receiver of claim 19 wherein said latch actuating trigger is slidably mounted to said low side of said receiver.

21. The shotgun of claim 1 wherein said butt end of said stock has a slide channel formed therein in generally co-planar alignment with a longitudinal axis of a barrel of said barrel group, said stock further comprising a recoil absorbing slide resiliently slidably mounted in said slide channel, said slide having a shoulder pad mounted at an exposed end of said slide, said exposed end protruding from said butt end, said slide having an upper portion extending from said slide channel along an upper surface of said stock, generally opposite a handgrip of said stock, a slide cover member mounted to said slide and extending generally the length of said stock and along said upper surface of said stock, said slide cover for sliding over said upper surface of said stock as said slide slides in said slide channel so as to absorb recoil upon firing of said shotgun.

22. The shotgun of claim 21 further comprising a rigid insert slidable over an exposed portion of said exposed end of said slide when said slide is fully extended from said butt end of said stock so as to disable operation of said slide.