RIFLE SLING WITH STABILIZING LOOP

Abstract

The rifle sling with stabilizing loop includes a central loop having a forward portion and a rearward portion. The forward portion is flexible, and the rearward portion is substantially stiff, thus maintaining the central loop in an open, non-collapsed state. The rifle sling further includes a forward strap having opposed first and second ends, the first end being adapted for releasable attachment to a forestock of a firearm, the second end being fixed to the forward portion of the central loop. A rearward strap is further provided, the rearward strap having opposed first and second ends. The first end of the rearward strap is adapted for releasable attachment to a butt of a firearm, and the second end of the rearward strap is slidably secured to the rearward portion of the central loop.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/472,735, filed Apr. 7, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to firearms, and particularly to a rifle sling with stabilizing loop having a non-collapsible loop for stabilizing the elbow of a user's arm when firing a rifle.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Rifle slings for stabilizing the elbow of an individual firing a rifle are known. Such a rifle sling 100 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The rifle sling 100 includes a continuous, endless loop 134 having a fixed length, the loop 134 defining a forward portion 140 and a rear portion 141. The rifle sling 100 further includes a forward strap 135 and a rearward strap 130. One end 132 of the rearward strap 130 is connected to a sleeve 133 that encircles and slides along the rear portion 141 of the loop 134. The other end 131 of strap 130 is connected to the butt 123 of the rifle R.

[0006] The forward strap 135 extends through a buckle 136, then through eyelet 121 on the forestock 122 of rifle R, back through the buckle 136, terminates in a free end 139. The opposite end 137 of the forward strap 135 is rigidly connected to the forward portion 140 of the loop 134. The forward strap 135 permits adjustment of the distance from the forestock 122 to the forward portion 140 of loop 134. This permits the sling to be adjusted to fit individuals of differing statures, arm lengths, etc.

[0007] Typically, the sleeve 133 slides along the loop 134 so that the sleeve 133 may be in a first position on the rear portion 141 when the rifle is being carried with the sling 100 extending over a shoulder of an individual in conventional fashion, and may be in a second position on the rear portion 141 when the rifle is being fired in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0008] In FIG. 3, one hand 52 of the shooter is positioned behind the eyelet 121 on the forestock 122 (i.e., in front of the butt 123) of the rifle R, while the elbow and/or upper arm 51 is nestled and seated in the endless loop 134. The elbow 51 draws the forward strap 135 and the loop 134 taut to steady the rifle R. It should be understood that slings similar to sling 100 may be used with other types of weapons, such as shotguns, and their use is not limited to use with rifles.

[0009] Such slings such as the sling 100 include flexible straps formed from fabric or the like. Due to the flexible nature of the straps, the loop 134 is often in a collapsed state. Thus, insertion of the user's arm into the loop 134 is relatively difficult and time consuming. When hunting, though, time is typically of great importance, as a hunter often must don the strap as soon as prey is spotted.

[0010] Thus, a rifle sling with a stabilizing loop solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The rifle sling with stabilizing loop includes a central loop having a forward portion and a rearward portion. The forward portion is flexible, and the rearward portion is substantially stiff, thus maintaining the central loop in an open, non-collapsed state. The rifle sling further includes a forward strap having opposed first and second ends, the first end being adapted for releasable attachment to a forestock of a firearm, the second end being fixed to the forward portion of the central loop. A rearward strap is further provided, the rearward strap having opposed first and second ends. The first end of the rearward strap is adapted for releasable attachment to a butt of a firearm, and the second end of the rearward strap is slidably secured to the rearward portion of the central loop.

[0012] These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a rifle sling with stabilizing loop according to the present invention, shown with the rifle in a firing position.

[0014] FIG. 2 is an environmental, perspective view of a prior art rifle sling.

[0015] FIG. 3 is an environmental, perspective view of the prior art rifle sling of FIG. 2.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the rifle sling of FIG. 1.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the rifle sling of FIG. 1, showing details of the central loop.

[0018] FIG. 6 is an environmental, perspective view of the rifle sling with a stabilizing loop according to the present invention, shown with the rifle slung over the shoulder.

[0019] Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] The rifle sling with stabilizing loop, the sling being designated generally as 10 in the drawings, is best seen in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5. Similar to the prior art rifle sling 100 described above, the rifle sling 10 includes a central loop 34, a forward strap 35 and a rearward strap 30. As best shown in FIG. 5, one end 32 of the rearward strap 30 forms a loop or sleeve 33, which encircles and is free to slide along a rear portion 41 of the central loop 34. As shown in FIG. 1, the opposite end 31 of the rearward strap 30 is connected to the butt 123 of the rifle R. It should be understood that the rifle R is shown for exemplary purposes only, and that the rifle sling 10 may be applied to any suitable type of weapon, including shotguns and the like.

[0021] The central loop 34 includes a forward portion 40 and rearward portion 41. As opposed to prior art sling 100, the rearward portion 41 of the central loop 34 is formed from stiff, but flexible material, rather than being formed from a loose strap or the like. The forward portion 40 is preferably formed from the joining of flexible straps 60, 62, as shown in FIG. 5, which may be formed from leather, nylon, fabric or the like. The relatively stiff rear portion 41 may be formed from leather cord, rubber, rope, flexible plastic or the like. As opposed to the flexible straps used in the prior art sling 100, the relatively stiff rearward portion 41 maintains the central loop 34 in a non-collapsed state, thus keeping the central loop 34 open and accessible at all times. Preferably, the stiff rearward portion 41 has a substantially semi-circular, arcuate profile, as shown.

[0022] The forward strap 35 is fixed at one end 39 to the forward portion 40 of the central loop 34 by stitching or the like, as shown in FIG. 5, and the opposite end 38 is attached to the forestock 122 of the rifle R. In order to adjust the length of the forward strap 35, a plurality of adjustment apertures 12 may be formed therethrough. The forward strap 35 may be folded or looped and held at a desired length by a Chicago screw 14 or similar fastener. The adjustable length of the forward strap 35 permits the sling 10 to be adjusted to fit individuals of differing statures, arms lengths, etc. The free end 38 of the forward strap 35 terminates in a swivel or any suitable type of connector for releasable attachment to the forestock 122 of the rifle R.

[0023] Similarly, the rearward strap 30 preferably also has an adjustable length. A plurality of adjustment apertures 16 may be fainted therethrough. The rearward strap 30 may be folded or looped and held at a desired length by a Chicago screw 18 or similar fastener (a Chicago screw has an internally threaded socket extending from a first disk and a threaded stud extending from a second disk, which forms the head of the screw, so that the disks retain the screw in the aperture 16). It should be understood that the rearward strap 30 and the forward strap 35 may have any suitable type of length adjustment, such as buckles, hook and loop fasteners, hooks or the like.

[0024] The rearward strap 30 forms a loop or sleeve 33 at one end 32, as described above. This allows the loop or sleeve 33 to slide along the rearward portion 41 of the central loop 34. FIG. 6 shows the rearward strap 30 in a first position with respect to the central loop 34. In FIG. 6, the rifle R is being carried with the sling 10 extending over a shoulder of the user. In this position, the loop or sleeve 33 is substantially centrally located on the rearward portion 41 of the central loop 34. FIG. 6 also illustrates the use of a Chicago screw 18 to form the length adjustable loop 32 via apertures 16. Similar to the rifle attachment end 38 of the forward strap 35, the rifle attachment end 20 of the rearward strap 30 terminates in a swivel or any suitable type of connector for releasable attachment to the butt 123 of rifle R. In FIG. 1, the sleeve or loop 33 at the end 32 is circumferentially adjusted with respect to the rearward portion 41 of the central loop 34 when the rifle R is being fired.

[0025] In use, as shown in FIG. 1, one hand 52 of the user is positioned behind the eyelet 121 on the forestock 122 (i.e., in front of the butt 123) of the rifle R, while the elbow and/or upper arm 51 is nestled and seated in the non-collapsible central loop 34. The shooter's elbow 51 draws the forward strap 35 and the central loop 34 taut to steady the rifle R. With the rearward strap 30 rotated (with respect to the central loop 34 and the rearward strap's position shown in FIGS. 4 and 6) as shown in FIG. 1, the rearward strap 30 is positioned out of the way of the user's elbow/upper arm 51, so that no tension is produced in the sling 10 through contact with the user's mid-section. Further, in the position of FIG. 1, the user may grasp the front portion of the forward strap 35, as shown, thus inducing tension therein to maintain the user's elbow 51 in stable position.

[0026] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A rifle sling with stabilizing loop, comprising: a central loop having a forward portion and a rearward portion, the forward portion being flexible and the rearward portion being substantially stiff; an elongate forward strap having opposed first and second ends, the first end being adapted for releasable attachment to a forestock of a firearm, the second end being fixed to the forward portion of the central loop; and an elongate rearward strap having opposed first and second ends, the first end being adapted for releasable attachment to a butt of a firearm, the second end being slidably attached to the rearward portion of the central loop.

2. The rifle sling as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for selectively adjusting the length of said forward strap.

3. The rifle sling as recited in claim 1, further comprising means for selectively adjusting the length of said rearward strap.

4. The rifle sling as recited in claim 1, wherein said central loop has sufficient stiffness to maintain an open, non-collapsed state,

5. The rifle sling as recited in claim 1, wherein the rearward portion of said central loop is formed from a material selected from the group consisting of leather cord, rubber, rope, and flexible plastic.

6. A rifle sling with stabilizing loop, comprising: a central loop having a forward portion and a rearward portion, the forward portion being flexible and the rear portion being substantially stiff, the central loop having sufficient stiffness to maintain an open, non-collapsed state; an elongate forward strap having opposed first and second ends, the first end being adapted for releasable attachment to a forestock of a firearm, the second end being fixed to the forward portion of the central loop; and an elongate rearward strap having opposed first and second ends, the first end being adapted for releasable attachment to a butt of a firearm, the second end being slidably disposed on the rear portion of the central loop.

7. The rifle sling as recited in claim 6, further comprising means for selectively adjusting the length of said forward strap.

8. The rifle sling as recited in claim 6, further comprising means for selectively adjusting the length of said rearward strap.

9. The rifle sling as recited in claim 6, wherein the rearward portion of said central loop is formed from a material selected from the group consisting of leather cord, rubber, rope, and flexible plastic.

10. The rifle sling as recited in claim 6, wherein the rearward portion of said central loop is substantially arcuate.

11. The rifle sling with a stabilizing loop as recited in claim 10, wherein the rearward portion of said central loop is substantially semi-circular.

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