Abstract:
The invention provides for a shotgun mountable shell holder which may be readily attached to the forearm of a shotgun. The present invention includes a first member having a forearm mounting region and a second member having a shell mounting region. The present invention is constructed so that when it is mounted to a shotgun it may hold an additional round of ammunition near the forehand of the shooter along the forearm or grip of the gun.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an auxiliary shell holder for use with a shotgun. Specifically, the present invention relates to a device for holding a shell in a convenient position adjacent to the shotgun forearm or grip. The position of the shell provides the user of the shotgun with the ability to readily grasp the shell and quickly load the shell into the gun. 
     It is well known that it is often desirable or necessary to have an extra shell available for rapid loading of a shotgun when the internal supply of ammunition within the gun has been depleted. Often a shooter may be firing at a moving target or a target which is otherwise difficult to hit. It may be necessary to fire at such a target several times. Regulations often limit the number of shells which may be loaded. Fumbling for a shell in a coat pocket or pouch may mean the loss of the shot at a fast moving target. 
     In an effort to provide a readily accessible ammunition supply to a shooter in the field, many devices exist which allow the user to carry numerous rounds of ammunition outside of the shotgun. For example, several different types of ammunition carrying belts, harnesses, straps, pouches, packs, and other personal storage devices exist which are well known in the art. Unfortunately, all of these devices have a common problem. They all are directed to carrying ammunition on the shooter&#39;s person. 
     In order to access ammunition from bodily carried storage containers, the shooter must take one or both of his or her hands away from his or her weapon in order to grasp the individual rounds and then bring his or her hands back to the weapon in order to chamber the round. While such action is not especially difficult, it results in a lowering of the shotgun and may take several critical seconds causing the shooter to lose sight of the target thus making the availability of additional rounds of ammunition mute. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,576 to Moravek avoids the necessity of bodily carried ammunition by providing a cartridge holder that may be mounted directly to a weapon. However, the Moravek cartridge holder utilizes an elastic band construction which may interfere with the functioning of many modem weapons, notably pump-action shotguns. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,157 to Scott et al provides for a shotgun stock that has been modified to include a compartment which is capable of holding extra shells within the confines of this stock compartment itself. Numerous devices exist which affix to a shotgun stock to provide a similar shell carrying capacity. Unfortunately, much like bodily carried ammunition holders, stock integral or stock mounted shell holders do not provide for a means of quickly grasping a shell while potentially maintaining the level and position of the shotgun. 
     The present invention overcomes the problems associated with bodily carried or stock mounted ammunition devices, as well as the shortcomings of the Moravek device, by providing an ammunition holder which may be readily attached to the forearm of a shotgun and hold an additional shell, conveniently positioned near the shooter&#39;s hand, along the forearm grip of the gun. By holding an additional round near the grip of the shotgun the shooter may load the additional round without having to lower the shotgun or take his or her hand(s) away from the gun. Thus, the present invention may be used to quickly supply an additional round to the shooter without reducing the readiness of the shotgun. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention provides a shotgun mountable shell holder which may be readily attached to the forearm of a shotgun. The present invention is preferably embodied in an L-shaped structure which consists of a first member having a forearm mounting region and a second member having a shell mounting region. The present invention is constructed so that when it is mounted to a shotgun it may hold an additional shell near the forehand of the shooter along the forearm or grip of the gun. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A detailed description of the invention is hereafter described with specific reference being made to the drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a side perspective of an embodiment of the shotgun mountable shell holder wherein the shell mounting region includes an elastic sleeve; 
     FIG. 2 is a side perspective showing the placement of an embodiment of the shotgun mountable shell holder wherein the shell mounting region includes a shell retaining clip, on the end of the forearm of a shotgun; and 
     FIG. 3 is a side perspective of a shotgun with the shotgun mountable shell holder mounted to the end of the forearm. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Many shotguns include a forearm that has an end portion which protrudes out of the forearm and extends toward the end of the shotgun barrel. Typically, such forearm end portions have a diameter less than that of the forearm itself, and are threaded to receive an end cap. 
     Turning to FIG. 1, the present shotgun mountable shell holder, shown generally at  10 , includes a forearm mounting region  12  which may be embodied by a piece of molded polymer, metal or other solid material which has an opening or hole  14  that passes therethrough. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the shotgun mountable shell holder  10  has a shell mounting region  18  which includes an elastic sleeve  20  that is capable of receiving a shell and retaining it therein. The elastic sleeve  20  may be attached to the shell mounting region  18  with an adhesive or may be mechanically attached by a variety of means, such as by heat bonding, welding, or sewing together the elastic sleeve  20  and shell mounting region  18  with a binding thread. 
     FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the shotgun mountable shell holder  10 , wherein the shotgun mountable shell holder  10  is a single molded bracket and includes a shell retaining clip  22 . Clip  22  has two sides  23  and an opening  25  therebetween. Opening  25  is constructed to frictionally engage a shell which is inserted between sides  23 . A shell  24  may be ‘clipped’ into opening  25  from below the retaining clip  22 . Alternatively, shell  24  may be slid into open end  27  of shell retaining clip  22 . The shell may be subsequently ‘unclipped’ or slid out of the retaining clip  22  as shown. Desirably, the shell holder will be made of a resilient material. The embodiment of FIG. 2 may also be formed of a multi-piece construction. Desirably, the clip portion will be made of a resilient polymer or metal, such as steel, to allow the clip to expand slightly on insertion of the shell and to retain the shell therein. 
     Also shown in FIG. 2 is a partial side view of a shotgun, shown generally at  26 . The partial shotgun depicted in FIG. 2 includes a barrel  28  and a forearm  30 . The forearm  30  has an end portion  32  which is typically threaded to receive an end cap  34 . When the end cap  34  is removed from the end portion  32 , the end portion  32  may be inserted into opening  14 . The end portion  32  has a diameter less than the diameter of the opening  14 , thereby allowing the forearm mounting region  12  to be readily fitted over the end portion  32 . The end cap  34 , which has a diameter greater than that of the opening  14 , may then be replaced so as to tightly secure the shotgun mountable shell holder between the forearm  30  and the end cap  34 . When the shotgun mountable shell holder  10  is attached to a shotgun in the manner described, the shell mounting region  18  is adjacent to and parallel with the forearm  30  as best shown by FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 3, shows the shotgun mountable shell holder  10  mounted to a shotgun  26 . As can be seen from this view, when properly attached to a shotgun, the present shotgun mountable shell holder  10  allows a shooter to have an auxiliary shell placed immediately adjacent to the forearm  30 . When a shotgun is being fired, a shooter will typically have a forehand grip on the forearm  30 , immediately behind the shotgun mountable shell holder  10 . Having an additional shell in such close proximity allows the shooter to grasp the shell, remove it from the holder, and chamber the shell, in a quick fluid motion. 
     Furthermore, by adjusting the end cap  34 , the present shotgun mountable shell holder  10  may be rotated around the end portion  32  to be repositioned around the forearm  30  depending on the individual preferences of the shooter. This feature increases efficiency even further by allowing individual shooters to position the shotgun mountable shell holder as desired. 
     It may be necessary with pump-action shotguns for the shell mounting region  18  to face toward the barrel  28  to avoid interference with the slide action of the forearm  30 . In addition, the design of forearm mounting region  12  may differ according to the type of shotgun. Desirably, the forearm mounting region  12  cooperates with whatever form of end portion  32  construction may be present. 
     Finally, the invention also contemplates placing several shells in the holder, either by providing a clip long enough to accommodate two or more shells end-to-end or by adding additional separate clips. 
     While this invention may be embodied in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and described in detail herein specific preferred embodiments of the invention. The present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments illustrated. 
     This completes the description of the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein which equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto.