Stabilizing Attachment For Hand Guns

Abstract

A stabilizing attachment for a hand gun. The attachment has a generally U-shaped arm rod which is attached to and extends rearwardly from the butt end of the hand grip of the gun to receive the shooter's forearm. The laterally spaced side members of the arm rod have rear upturned extremities joined by an arcuate upwardly arching connecting portion mounting a shock pad which seats against the radius bone of the forearm. The attachment reduces recoil, positively orients the bore of the gun relative to the forearm to improve shooting accuracy, increases leverage against recoil, eliminates wrist movement, and prevents twisting of the gun out of the hand when fired.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to guns and more particularly to a stabilizing attachment for a hand gun.

2. Prior Art

Hand guns suffer from the drawback of relatively poor shooting accuracy except in the hands of a highly skilled marksman. This is due in large part to wrist motion which renders it difficult to hold the gun steady when aiming and to resist the recoil force when firing. Moreover, the recoil force produced when a hand gun is fired is often sufficient to twist the gun from the shooter's hand.

A variety of stabilizing devices for hand guns have been devised to minimize or eliminate the problems discussed above. Generally speaking, such a stabilizing attachment comprises a brace which extends between the hand grip of the gun and the shooter's forearm to positively orient the bore of the gun relative to the forearm. Examples of such stabilizing attachments are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,027,556, 3,162,966, and 3,184,877.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved stabilizing attachment for hand guns. This improved attachment includes a generally U-shaped arm rod with laterally spaced side members having upturned rear extremities joined by an arcuate upwardly arching connecting portion. The front extremities of the arm rod members are secured to the butt end of the gun hand grip. When attached to the hand grip, the arm rod extends rearwardly from the grip and then upwardly away from the plane of the butt end of the grip to define an opening for receiving the shooter's forearm. The rear connecting portion of the arm rod extends up and over the forearm and mounts a shock pad that seats downwardly against the radius bone of the forearm to positively orient or align the gun bore relative to the forearm. Thus, the present stabilizing attachment effectively provides a rigid brace which extends between the shooter's hand and forearm in bridging relation to his wrist in such a way as to prevent wrist motion in all directions. The attachment reduces recoil, improves shooting accuracy, increases leverage against recoil, prevents twisting of the gun from the shooter's hand during firing, and provides instantaneous correct elevation and on target pointing.

A feature of the present stabilizing attachment resides in the fact that the arm rod is constructed of a material, such as aluminum, which is sufficiently stiff to accomplish the above recited functions of the attachment and yet sufficiently yieldable to enable the arm rod to be bent to the optimum configuration for each individual shooter.

Another feature involves adjustable attachment of the arm rod to the hand grip of the gun to permit fore and aft longitudinal adjustment of the rod relative to the hand grip to the optimum position for each shooter.

In the disclosed embodiment of the invention, the arm rod attachment to the hand grip of the gun includes mounting plates to be interposed between the side grip plates of the hand grip and the hand grip frame. This attachment is installed on a hand gun by removing the grip plates, placing the mounting plates for the attachment against opposite sides of the hand grip frame, and then reattaching the grip plates to the gun in such a way that the mounting plates are firmly secured between the grip frame and the grip plates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a hand gun equipped with the present stabilizing attachment and illustrates, in broken lines, the shooter's hand and forearm;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the stabilizing attachment;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged rear elevation of the stabilizing attachment; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 4--4 in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning to these drawings, there is illustrated a hand gun 10 equipped with a stabilizing attachment 12 of the invention. The hand gun has a rear hand grip 14 with a central frame 16. Attached by a bolt 18 to opposite sides of this hand grip frame are facing grip plates 20. The particular hand gun shown is a revolver. It will become evident from the ensuing description, however, that the present stabilizing attachment may be designed for use with virtually any type of hand gun.

The stabilizing attachment includes a generally U-shaped arm rod 22 and mounting means 24 for securing the rod to the butt end of the hand grip 14. The arm rod has a pair of laterally spaced side members 26 with rear upturned extremities 28 joined by an arcuate upwardly arching connecting portion 30. Applied to this connecting portion is a tube 32 of resilient material, such as neoprene, which forms a shock pad. The arm rod side members 26 have generally parallel front extremities 34 and central portions 36 which turn outwardly at oblique angles relative to the front extremities and then rearwardly, parallel to the front extremities, to join the rear upturned arm rod extremities 28.

The illustrated arm rod mounting means 24 comprises a pair of spaced parallel mounting plates 38 and mounting blocks 40 rigidly joined to the outer surfaces of the plates, adjacent the lower plate edges. The mounting plates have substantially the same outline and dimensions as the hand grip frame 16 and grip plates 20. Extending through the mounting blocks 40, parallel to the mounting plates and the upper mounting block surfaces, are bores 42 for slidably receiving the front extremities 34 of the arm rod side members 26. These front extremities are releasably secured to the blocks by set screws 44 or other means, such as spring loaded detents.

The stabilizing attachment 12 is secured to the hand gun 10 by removing the grip plates 20 of the gun. The attachment mounting plates 38 are then placed against opposite sides of the hand grip frame 16, and the grip plates are reassembled against the outer surfaces of the mounting plates. The grip plates and mounting plates are then secured to the hand grip frame by the bolt 18. In this regard, it will be observed that the mounting plates are apertured to receive the bolt. Thus, the mounting plates, when secured to the hand gun, are interposed between and disposed in congruent relation to the hand grip frame 16 and grip plates 20 so that the attachment appears to comprise an integral part of the hand gun. The mounting blocks 40 are situated directly below the butt ends of the grip plates.

From the foregoing description and from the drawings, it will be understood that when the stabilizing attachment 12 is installed on the hand gun 10, the arm rod 22 extends rearwardly from the butt end of the hand grip 14 and then upwardly away from the plane of the butt end. The arm rod defines an opening 46 through which the shooter inserts his forearm 48 to grasp the hand grip 14 of the gun, in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The shock pad 32 on the rear connecting portion 30 of the arm rod extends over and bears downwardly against the radius bone of the forearm to positively orient the gun bore relative to the forearm. In this regard, a feature of the invention resides in the adjustable attachment of the arm rod to the gun and in the fact that the rod is constructed of a material, such as aluminum, which is relatively stiff though bendable. This feature permits the rod to be adjusted relative to the hand gun, by bending the rod and/or moving the rod longitudinally relative to the gun, to provide the rod with the optimum shape and position for each individual user.

It will be observed that the present stabilizing attachment 12 effectively provides a rigid brace which extends between the shooter's hand and forearm in bridging relation to his wrist. The attachment thus prevents wrist motion, both vertically and horizontally. The present stabilizing attachment presents several advantages. Thus, the attachment reduces recoil to a minimum, improves shooting accuracy, increases leverage against recoil, prevents recoil from twisting the gun from the user's hand, and provides instantaneous correct elevation and on target pointing. Obviously, a hand gun equipped with the present stabilizing attachment is capable of all phases of hand gun use including target shooting, hunting, and plinkin.

Claims

What is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent is:

1. A stabilizing attachment for a hand gun having a hand grip with a butt end comprising:

a generally U-shaped arm rod to extend rearwardly from the butt end of said hand grip with one side of the rod uppermost, said rod including laterally spaced side members having rear upturned extremities and an arcuate upwardly arching connecting portion joining said extremities,

means for securing the front extremities of said side members to the butt end of said hand grip, and

said arm rod defining an opening for receiving the shooter's forearm in a manner such that said rear connecting arm rod portion seats downwardly against the radius bone of the shooter's forearm to positively orient the gun bore relative to the forearm and prevent wrist motion.

2. A stabilizing attachment according to claim 1 wherein:

said arm rod is constructed of a relatively stiff though bendable material to permit the arm rod to be bent to the optimum configuration for each individual user.

3. A stabilizing attachment according to claim 1 wherein:

said mounting means includes adjustable means to permit fore and aft longitudinal adjustment of said arm rod relative to said hand grip.

4. A stabilizing attachment according to claim 1 wherein:

said mounting means comprises mounting block means to be secured to the butt end of said hand grip, said block means having bores slidably receiving the front extremities of said arm rod side members, and means releasably securing said side members in fixed positions in said bores.

5. A stabilizing attachment according to claim 4 wherein:

said arm rod is constructed of a relatively stiff though bendable material to permit the arm rod to be bent to the optimum shape for each individual user.

6. A stabilizing attachment according to claim 1 wherein:

said fastening means comprise mounting plates for attachment to opposite sides of said hand grip, and means joining the front extremities of said arm rod side members to the lower ends of said plates.

7. A stabilizing attachment according to claim 6 wherein:

said joining means comprise mounting blocks rigid on the lower ends of said plates, said blocks having bores slidably receiving the front extremities of said arm rod side members, and means releasably securing the front extremities of said members in fixed positions within said bores.

8. In combination with a hand gun having a hand grip with a butt end, a stabilizing attachment comprising:

a generally U-shaped arm rod secured to and extending rearwardly from the butt end of said hand grip, said arm rod including laterally spaced side members having rear upturned extremities and an arcuate upwardly arching connecting portion joining said extremities, and

said arm rod defining an opening for receiving the shooter's forearm in a manner such that said rear connecting arm rod portion extends over and seats downwardly against the radius bone of the forearm to positively orient the gun bore relative to the forearm and prevent wrist motion.

9. The combination according to claim 8 including:

a resilient shock pad mounted on said rear arm rod connecting portion.

10. A hand gun according to claim 8 wherein:

said arm rod is adjustable in the fore and aft direction relative to said hand grip, and

means for releasably securing said arm rod in fixed position relative to said hand grip.

11. A hand gun according to claim 10 wherein:

said arm rod is constructed of a relatively stiff though bendable material, whereby said arm rod may be bent to fit the arm of each individual user.

12. A hand gun according to claim 8 wherein:

said hand grip has a central frame and grip plates at opposite sides of said frame, and

said attachment comprises mounting plates secured to the front extremities of said arm rod side members and interposed between said grip plates and said hand grip frame.