Shooting rest and use of a shooting rest for supporting a firearm at a fore-end to a substantially vertical external support body

Abstract

A shooting rest comprising a body defining a centre line parallel to a first main direction of the body. The first main direction is adapted to be aligned with a direction of a barrel of a firearm when the shooting rest is fastened to a fore-end of the firearm. Furthermore, the body defines a second main direction transverse to the first main direction, wherein the main directions define a lateral plane. The shooting rest further comprises at least one supporting element which is fastened to the body movably at a fastening point. The supporting element comprises an arm and a pointed tip. Each supporting element can be arranged in at least a first position and a second position so that in the first position, the pointed tip is, in the second main direction, spaced by a predetermined distance.

1 . A shooting rest comprising:
 a body defining a centre line parallel to a first main direction of the body,   wherein the first main direction is adapted to be aligned with a direction of a barrel of a firearm when the shooting rest is fastened to a fore-end of the firearm,   and wherein the body, in the lateral direction, defines a second main direction transverse to the first main direction,   wherein the first main direction and the second main direction define a lateral plane,   at least one supporting element which is fastened to the body movably at a fastening point, wherein said at least one supporting element comprises an arm and a pointed tip at an end of the arm at a distance from said fastening point; and wherein   each of said at least one supporting element is arrangeable in at least a first position and a second position so that:
 in the first position, the pointed tip is, in the second main direction, spaced from the centre line of the body by a distance of at least one half of the width of the body in a direction parallel to the second main direction, and a projection of the pointed tip on said lateral plane forms a first angle to the second main direction, the first angle being greater than zero and opening in the direction of the centre line of the body; 
 the pointed tip of said at least one supporting element arranged in the first position is below said lateral plane; 
 the pointed tip is adapted to stick to an external support body, such as a tree trunk or a wall of a building, by exerting a force on the shooting rest in a direction parallel to the first main direction when said at least one supporting element is arranged in the first position and in contact with the external support body; 
   and each of said at least one supporting element is lockable in at least the first position.   
     
     
         2 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , wherein the pointed tip of each of the at least one supporting element is, in the second position, spaced from the centre line of the body by a distance smaller than one half of the width of the body parallel to the second main direction. 
     
     
         3 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , wherein said at least one supporting element has a length not exceeding the length of the body in the first main direction. 
     
     
         4 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , wherein each of said at least one supporting element is arranged to remain in the second position by spring force. 
     
     
         5 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , comprising at least one locking member, wherein each of said at least one locking member locks at least one supporting element in the first position. 
     
     
         6 . The shooting rest according to  claim 5 , wherein each of said at least one locking member locks at least one supporting element automatically in the first position when the supporting element is arranged in the first position. 
     
     
         7 . The shooting rest according to  claim 5 , wherein each of said at least one supporting element is provided with a respective locking member. 
     
     
         8 . The shooting rest according to  claim 5 , wherein each of said at least one locking member comprises a releasing member arranged to release at least one supporting element from locking. 
     
     
         9 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , wherein the arm of at least one supporting element comprises a handling element for changing the position of the supporting element, wherein the handling element is a protrusion, a recess, or a hole. 
     
     
         10 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , comprising a fastening part for a sling of the firearm. 
     
     
         11 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , comprising a fastening member for fastening the shooting rest in connection to the fore-end of the firearm. 
     
     
         12 . The shooting rest according to  claim 11 , wherein the body is shaped so that the shooting rest is fastenable against the bottom of the fore-end of the firearm by the fastening member, to a sling swivel stud at the bottom of the fore-end, or to a rail mounting system at the bottom of the fore-end, by the fastening member. 
     
     
         13 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , wherein the body of the shooting rest comprises a rail part for mounting accessories or auxiliary devices, such as a bipod. 
     
     
         14 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , comprising two supporting elements whose fastening points are arranged in the body, on different sides of the centre line, and wherein the pointed tips of the supporting elements, when arranged in the first position, are on different sides of the centre line. 
     
     
         15 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a section of the arm of at least one supporting element is sharp-edged, and wherein the sharp-edged section of the arm is adapted to stick at least partly to an external support body, such as a tree trunk or a wall of a building, by exerting a force in a direction parallel to the first main direction on the shooting rest when said at least one supporting element is arranged in the first position and in contact with the external support body. 
     
     
         16 . The shooting rest according to  claim 1 , wherein at least a section of the arm of at least one supporting element tapers towards the pointed tip in at least one direction. 
     
     
         17 . A method, comprising using the shooting rest according to  claim 1  for supporting a firearm at a point of its fore-end to a substantially vertical external support body.