US2847909A

US2847909A - Rifle rest

Info

Publication number: US2847909A
Application number: US629535A
Authority: US
Inventors: Russell S Kester
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-12-20
Filing date: 1956-12-20
Publication date: 1958-08-19
Anticipated expiration: 1975-08-19

Description

RIFLE REST Filed Deo. 20, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 QV. i 24 3o. lo 4 Q0 4 INVENTOR. 'RUSSELL S. KES-rez BY I ATTOQHEYS R. s. KEs'rER 2,847,909

Aug. 19, 1958 RIFLE REST 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 20, 1956 ATTOQ N EYS United States Paten-t 2,847,909 Patented Aug. 19, 1958 tice invention relatesgener'ally to rifle rests, and more particularlyrhas referencertoanlimproved'- rest to be used 1n; obtamin'gtmaximum stability of the firearm while one isfaimingthe weapon-atstationary targets or game, andl tot hel: further. used in relieving one of the necessity of supportingthe weight ofI the weapon, so as to still further promot'esaccuracy of aiming while at the same time providingincreased. comfortzfor the user.

Rie rests, to be employed during the aiming and tiring of the weapon, are not of course new in and of themselves: However, it has been noted, in connection with rh'efprior art"devices,.that in some instances said devices have'. been lacking inadaptabilityfor aording a proper support for the rie atlocations spaced along the length ofthe weapon, suchA as toinsure tothe maximum accurate. aimingy andfring thereof.

It hasbeen noted in connection with the devices of the priorlarttht'thesame are not, in some instances, fully collapsible andportable, and have tended to be excessivelyfcomplicated and heavy pin construction.

. Ithasfurther beennoted, in connection with gun rests previously conceived, that elevation and lowering of the muzzle of the .weapon in many instances has involved the lfull'` supportingI ofthe weapon at its stockby the user,

anddiasifurther involved the necessity of the users swinging the stock end upwardly or downwardly-to effect swinging'zmovement of'the muzzle end of the rie' in a vertical planetfor the purpose of locating the sights directly onntheztarget. This ofcourse has tended to produce inaccuracies, in view of the fact that in many instances it is difficult for the user to swiftly pivot the weapon, when following the'practice described, to the desired-position and then hold the same in position for ring.

`Still'furtherfin the devices heretofore conceived-of whiehl'have'knowledge, adjustments of the rifle position havenotbeen capable of being effected with; the desired speed. Reference is here had to a mainadjustment of the rie position at a selected angle of inclination or at the; horizontal, said main adjustments being of course necessary, and ,being followed by minute adjustments, eiectedtby thel marksmanthrough moving the weapon itselfupon the rest for the purpose of locating the sight onthe target.

Theimainiobjectof the present invention is to provide arie'rest which will have none of the deficiencies above noted.

Amore-'specific object is to form the rest in a manner such that: it can be manufacturedl readily, at low cost, from-.inexpensive components, with the rest mainly comprisingrelatively light bit strong rods, either tubular or off solid construction.

Another object-is toprovide a rie rest in which the support for the rear lend of the stock will be of flexible material, so that the stock support can yield within a predetermined-'range in 'a downward direction ifit is desired toi swingl the muzzle upwardly, said ilexible supportV at the samejtirne 'stilli providing a firm base on which the stock will resti`l l' Still another object is to providel a rifle rest in which the main adjustment of the rie position can be effected swiftly merely by pivoting of a front leg frame upon the main frame or bench of the device, with the adjustment being' retained by engagement of the front leg frame in the ground.

Still another object is to forma device of the character described which, though affording a two-point support for `the weapon, and characterized' by its ready adjust-.lv ability in the manner previously described herein, will drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a top planview of a rifle rest according to the present invention, a supported rifle being shown in phantom lines, with the marksmanseated in position to re the rile,.the marksman also being-shown in dotted` outline;

Figurey 2 is a side elevational view of the deviceand` of a supported rifle in which phantom lines show-the support and the rie in one position 3f-adjustment;

Figure 3 isa perspective view of the rie rest in which a` portion of theA rifle stock supportmember has been broken away;

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse-sectional view substantially on linel 4 4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view, on the same scale as Figure 4, taken substantially on line 5-5 of Figure 2 with the rifle removed;

Figure 6v is a detail sectional view, still further en larged, of the connection of the brace means to the rear leg'frame; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the device collapsed for storage or transportation.

, The rest 10 constituting theV invention is adapted to support a rifle R at the rear end of the stock, and also at a location adjacent the forward end of the stock as shown in Figure 2. The rest may appropriately be considered as comprising-four main, relatively pivoted components, namely a main frame or bench, of a front legv frame, a rear leg frame, and a brace assembly. Each of these will be described in turn, in detail, hereinafter.

The main framehasbeengenerally designated 12, and has the general form of a rectangle elongated in a foreand-.aft direction and disposed either in a horizontal plane as shown in full lines in Figure 2, vor in any of various adjustedplanes inclined to a comparatively slight degree from the horizontal, as shown in dotted lines in the same gure of the drawing.

The main frame may be composed of tubular or solid rod stock, and includes elongated, parallel, side rails 14 straight from end to end thereof and integral or otherwise made rigid at their rear ends-with a transversely extending rear end member 16, perpendicular to the length of the side rails.

The main frame is of open-center construction, and at itsv rear end, the open center of the main frame is closed by a rectangular flexible rear stock supportv member 18, whichV can be formed of canvas or similar material, said member extending the full distance transversely of the main frame and being laced atits-periphery, as at 20, to the side rails 14, the rear end member 16, and a cross brace 22 of the main frame located intermediate thev theless suitably iirm support for `the rear end ofthe rifle f stock, so that if 'necessary onecan press theA rear" end,

of the stock downwardly to a slight degree, for the purpose of lining up the sights with the targets.

The front leg frame has been generally designated at 24, and may appropriately be considered as being of inverted U-shape, including at its upper end a horizontally, transversely'extending front support member for the rie R, about which is circumposed a length of rubber hose or similar material, providing a supporting sleeve 28 on which the rie rests. Integral with the opposite ends of the member 26 are elongated, depending legs 30` which diverge in a downward direction and terminate at their lower ends in sharpened, ground-penetrating points or anchors 32. Transversely bracing the front leg frame is a cross brace 34 fixedly connected between the divergent end portions of legs 30.

Adjacent its upper end, frame 24 pivots upon the front end of the main frame 12, about a horizontal, transverse axis parallel to the front support member 26. The pivotal connection of frame 24 to frame 10 can be effected in any of various ways. In the illustrated example, the forward extremities of side rails 14 are welded to coaxial hinge sleeves 36 extending toward each other at the front end of the main frame, and receiving a hinge rod 3S, the ends of which are xedly engaged in aligned openings 40 formed in legs adjacent the upper ends of the legs.

Alternatively, the ends of rod could be welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the back surfaces of legs 30.

At its rear end, main frame 12 is supported upon a rear leg frame generally designated at 42. This is in the form, in a preferred embodiment, of an inverted isosceles' triangle, and is formed with a horizontal, transverse, tubular hinge bar or cross piece 44 at its upper end, sleeved on and rotating upon a pin 46 the ends of which underlie side rails 14 adjacent member 16. Rigid with and extending downwardly from the ends of the sleeve or tubular cross piece 44 are downwardly convergent rear legs 48, welded or otherwise fixedly joined at their convergent ends and terminating, at said convergent ends thereof, in a tubular opening having welded therein one end of a connector pin 50 (Figure 6), the lower end of which extends downwardly from and beyond the convergent ends of legs 48.

The bracing assembly comprises an elongated, straight brace rod 52, which at its forward end is rigid with 'a tubular, transverse hinge sleeve 54 rotating upon the midlength portion of rod 4t) (see Figure 5). At its rear end, the brace rod 52 receives a pin 56 which is welded in and projects out of the brace rod, terminating in a pointed, downwardly angled extension 58 engageable in the ground G.

Welded to and extending upwardly from the rear end of rod 52 is a sleeve 60, having a threaded opening in which is engaged a clamping screw 62. Pin 50 is receivable in sleeve 60 as shown in Figure 6, and is iixedly engaged in the sleeve by means of the clamping screw.

In use of the device, it may normally be maintained in a collapsed position in which the mentioned main components thereof are disposed almost in coplanar relation, whereas to permit storage or transportation of the rest in a relatively small area, having a height or width little greater than the thickness of any of the rods previously described herein. This is shown to advantage in Figure 7. It will be noted that front leg frame 24 pivots about the axis defined by rod 38 into substantially coplanar relation to the main frame 12. Bracing assembly 52 similarly pivots about the rod 38, into a position underlying the main frame, with the bracing assembly disposed betwen the main frame and the front leg frame. The rear leg frame pivots forwardly about the axis defined by pin 46, also into underlying relation to the main frame, extending between the main frame and the bracing assembly. The final result is that the entire device is collapsible into an almost wholly at condition.

In setting up the rest, the front and rear leg frames are pivoted outwardly to their Figure 2 positions, with the bracing assembly 52 extending at an acute angle to the main frame, after which pin 50 is engaged iixedly in sleeve 60. The rest has a three-point support upon the ground, aorded by the pointed tips 32 at the front end of the device, and by the tip 58 at the rear end of and located medially between the opposite sides of the device.

In this position of the parts, the front rifle support member projects upwardly above the plane of the main frame as shown in Figure 2, and supports the fore part of the rifle stock. The rear end of the rie stock is supported upon the exible member 18, and the user seats himself at right angles to the rifle rest with the rear leg frame of the structure between his legs.

The weapon will now be supported by the device at points longitudinally spaced on the weapon, with the front point of support being designated at 64 and being disposed well forwardly of the trigger. It will be readily perceived that if it is desired to elevate the muzzle, one may shift the weapon forwardly so that the stock rises to a short extent upon the front rie support member, thereby ele-v vating the muzzle instantly. Elevation of the muzzle to a slight degree can also be obtained by a slight downward pressure on the rear end of the stock, tending to depress the rear support member 18. Lowering of the muzzle is effected by retraction `of the weapon to the desired extent. l

If it is desired to effect a change in the main adjust-l ment of the rifle position, as for example from the full to the dotted line positions of Figure 2, the tip 58 at the lower end of rear leg frame 42 can be disengaged from the ground, and the rear leg, brace and main frame can be swung aboutthe axis dened by the rod or pin 38, thereby changing the angularity of the front leg frame relative to the ground surface, correspondingly.

raising or lowering the front end of the mainframe relative to the rear end of the main frame and vertically adjusting sleeve 28. In the illustrated example, the front end of the main frame has been adjusted upwardly bymoving the tip 58 to the phantom line position from the full line position of Figure 2. The tips 32 remain engaged in the ground surface, as is readily apparent, when the adjustment is made.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily 'confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and thev means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rifle rest comprising an elongated, approximately horizontal main frame; front and rear leg frames pivotally connected to the front and rear ends, respectively, of the main frame for movement about axes extending transversely of the main frame between collapsed and mainframe-supporting positions, the front leg frame projecting upwardly above the main frame when in its supporting position to support a rie at a forward location thereon, the main frame including means adjacent the rear end thereof for supporting the rear end of the rie said means embodying a ilexible support member extending transversely over the main frame adjacent the rear end and secured to the sides and rear end of said main frame; and brace means connected to the front end of the main frame at one end of the brace means, the other end of the brace means having a detachable connection to the lower end of the rear leg frame, said brace means comprising an elongated rod pivotally connected to the front end of the main frame for swinging movement about the axis of the pivotal connection of the front leg frame, said detachable connection of the brace rod to the rear leg .frame comprising a sleeve extending upwardly from the brace rod, the rear leg frame including a depending pin engageable in said sleeve to the main frame.

2. A rie rest comprising an elongated, approximately horizontal main frame; front and rear leg frames pivotally connected to the front and rear ends, respectively, of the main frame for movement about axes extending transversely of the main frame between collapsed and main-frame-supporting positions, the front leg frame projecting upwardly above the main frame when in its supporting position to support a rifle at a forward location thereon, the main frame including means adjacent the rear end thereof for supporting the rear end of the rie; and brace means connected to the front end of the main frame at one end of the brace means, the other end of the brace means having a detachable connection to the lower end of the rear leg frame, said brace means comprising an elongated rod pivotally connected to the front end of the main frame for swinging movement about the axis of the pivotal connection of the front leg frame to the main frame, said detachable connection of the brace rod to the rear leg frame comprising a sleeve extending upwardly from the brace rod, the rear leg frame including a depending pin engageable in said sleeve, the brace rod being formed rearwardly of the sleeve with a groundpenetrating point, the front leg frame including transversely spaced, ground-penetrating points co-operating with the point of the brace rod in providing a threepoint support for the rifle rest.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 557,867 Norton Apr. 7, 1896 1,484,164 Wickham Feb. 19, 1924 1,484,476 Currie Feb. 19, 1924 2,427,365 Meister Sept. 16, 1947 2,480,702 Bradford Aug. 30, 1949 2,589,039 Booth Mar. 11, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 26,379 France June 26, 1923 677,531 Germany June 13, 1939 682,126 Germany Oct. 7, 1939