Abstract:
A rifle mount includes two support legs that are pivotally connected together and which rest on a hunter&#39;s thighs to support a rifle in a ready position. The hunter merely moves the rifle into a shooting position when executing a shot, and can aim the rifle by moving his or her thighs.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to the general art of firearms, and to the particular field of rests and supports for firearms. 
   2. Discussion of the Related Art 
   It is well known that hunting is one of the most popular sports in America. Millions of hunters participate in the sport during all seasons. For this reason, the arts associated with hunting and hunting equipment contain many examples of devices and methods intended to make hunting easier and more efficient. 
   One form of hunting requires a hunter to remain stationary for long periods of time. During this waiting time, the hunter is required to be ready to execute a shot whenever a target presents itself. Thus, the hunter must remain stationary for long periods, but ready to shoot at a moment&#39;s notice. This may require the hunter to hold his or her firearm in a shooting position for great lengths of time. Not only is this uncomfortable, it may adversely affect the hunter&#39;s aim due to fatigue. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a support for a firearm that will permit a hunter to remain stationary with the firearm in a firing position. 
   While the art contains many examples of firearm supports, these supports all have various shortcomings that prevent the hunter from being able to remain stationary for long periods of time yet to have the firearm in firing position ready for an accurate shot. For example, some firearm supports include a tube that is based on the ground. These supports may require the hunter to adopt an uncomfortable position or require the hunter to pick up the firearm to shoot. In the first case, the hunter may not be in the most desirable shooting position when a target appears and in the second case the hunter may lose the opportunity for an accurate shot during the time the firearm is being removed from the support and/or moved into shooting position. Other firearm supports attach the firearm to a support, such as a tree or even to the hunter&#39;s lap. These supports do not permit accurate and rapid shooting. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a support for a firearm that will permit a hunter to remain stationary with the firearm in a firing position while holding the firearm in a shooting position during the wait. 
   Aiming a firearm is never easy, and accurately and quickly aiming a firearm is often what separates a successful shot from an unsuccessful shot. As discussed above, while the art contains many examples of firearm supports, these known firearm supports are not amenable to accurate and rapid aiming of a firearm after a long period of firearm support. 
   Therefore, there is a need for a support for a firearm that will permit a hunter to remain stationary with the firearm in a firing position while holding the firearm in a shooting position during the wait and will permit the hunter to quickly and accurately aim the firearm for a shot. 
   PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
   It is a main object of the present invention to provide a support for a firearm that will permit a hunter to remain stationary with the firearm in a firing position. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a support for a firearm that will permit a hunter to remain stationary with the firearm in a firing position while holding the firearm in a shooting position during the wait. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a support for a firearm that will permit a hunter to remain stationary with the firearm in a firing position while holding the firearm in a shooting position during the wait and will permit the hunter to quickly and accurately aim the firearm for a shot. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   These, and other, objects are achieved by a rifle mount which comprises a support which includes first and second crossed legs; a fastener pivotally coupling the first leg of the two crossed legs to the second leg of the two crossed legs; a first arcuate support base on the first leg, the first support base being adapted to rest on a user&#39;s thigh when in use; a second arcuate support base on the second leg of the second support base, the second support base being adapted to rest on a user&#39;s thigh when in use; a strap anchor ring on the fastener; and a support strap attached to the strap anchor ring and which is sized and adapted to fit around the neck of the user when the support strap is in use. 
   The rifle mount embodying the present invention thus will comfortably hold a rifle on a hunter&#39;s lap at or near a shooting position for long periods of time without tiring the hunter. The hunter can then quickly move the rifle into a comfortable shooting position and can assist the aiming process by simply moving his or her legs together to raise the rifle or moving his or her legs apart to lower the rifle. The movement of the rifle and the aiming of the rifle can be quickly done. Since the hunter has not been required to hold the rifle for long periods of time, the aiming process will be as accurate as possible for the hunter. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a rifle mount embodying the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an elevational view of the rifle mount shown in FIG.  1 . 
       FIG. 3  is an elevational view taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG.  1 . 
       FIG. 4  shows the rifle mount embodying the present invention supporting a rifle in a waiting position. 
       FIG. 5  shows the rifle mount embodying the present invention supporting a rifle in an aiming and shooting position. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
   Referring to the Figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a rifle mount  10 . Rifle mount  10  comprises a first support leg  12 . First support leg  12  includes a hollow body  14  having a tubular wall  16 . A first end  18  is a base end when first support leg  12  is in a use orientation as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . A second end  20  is a rifle-contacting end when first support leg  12  is in the use orientation. A longitudinal axis  22  extends between the first end  18  of the first support leg  12  and the second end  20  of the first support leg  12 . 
   An end cap  26  is on the first end  18  of first support leg  12 . 
   The first support leg  12  has an axial bore  30  defined in the hollow body  14 . The axial bore  30  of first support leg  12  extends between the first end  18  of the first support leg  12  and the second end  20  of the first support leg  12 . 
   A first fastener-accommodating hole  34  is defined through the tubular wall  16  of the first support leg  12 . The first fastener-accommodating hole  34  of the first support leg  12  has a center  36 . 
   A second fastener-accommodating hole  38  is defined through the tubular wall  16  of first support leg  12 . The second fastener-accommodating hole  38  of the first support leg  12  has a center  40 . Center  40  of second fastener-accommodating hole  38  of the first support leg  12  is co-linear with center  36  of first fastener-accommodating hole  34  of first support leg  12 . 
   A second support leg  50  is identical to first support leg  12  and includes a hollow body  52  which has a tubular wall  54 . A first end  56  is a base end when second support leg  50  is in a use orientation as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
   A second end  58  of second support leg  50  is a rifle-contacting end when second support leg  50  is in the use orientation. 
   A longitudinal axis  60  extends between the first end  56  of second support leg  50  and the second end  58  of second support leg  50 . 
   An end cap  62  is on the first end  56  of second support leg  50 . 
   Second support leg  50  has an axial bore  66  defined in the hollow body  52 . Axial bore  66  of second support leg  50  extends between the first end  56  of the second support leg  50  and the second end  58  of the second support leg  50 . 
   A first fastener-accommodating hole  70  is defined through the tubular wall  54  of the second support leg  50 , and has a center  72 . A second fastener-accommodating hole  74  is defined through the tubular wall  54  of second support leg  50  and has a center  76 . Center  76  of the second fastener-accommodating hole  74  of the second support leg  50  is co-linear with center  72  of the first fastener-accommodating hole  70  of the second support leg  50 . 
   A first support element  80  is adapted to rest on a thigh of a user when the first support element  80  is in use. First support element  80  includes an arcuate body  82  having a first surface  84 , which is a top surface when the first support element  80  is in use, and a second surface  86 , which engages the thigh of a user when the first support element  80  is in use. The first surface  84  of the body  82  of the first support element  80  is convex and the second surface  86  of the body  82  of the first support element  80  is concave. 
   A hollow tubular sleeve  90  is mounted on the first surface  84  of the body  82  of first support element  80 . Hollow tubular sleeve  90  accommodates and is fixed to first support leg  12  adjacent to first end  18  of first support leg  12 . 
   A second support element  100  is adapted to rest on a thigh of a user when the second support element  100  is in use as shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
   Second support element  100  includes an arcuate body  102  which has a first surface  104 , which is a top surface when the second support element  100  is in use, and a second surface  106 , which engages the thigh of a user when the second support element  100  is in use. The first surface  104  of the body  102  of the second support element  100  is convex and the second surface  106  of the body  102  of the second support element  100  is concave. 
   A hollow tubular sleeve  110  is mounted on the first surface  104  of the body  102  of second support element  100 . 
   Hollow tubular sleeve  110  of second support element  100  accommodates and is fixed to second support leg  50  adjacent to the first end  56  of the second support leg. 
   A threaded fastener  120  extends through the first and second fastener-accommodating holes  34 ,  38  of the first support leg  12  and through the first and second fastener-accommodating holes  70 ,  74  of the second support leg  50  when the threaded fastener  120  is in a use condition on the first and second support legs  12 ,  50  as shown in  FIG. 3  with the tubular wall  16  of the first support leg  12  adjacent to second fastener-accommodating hole  38  of the first support leg  12  in pivoting contact with the tubular wall  54  of the second support leg  50  adjacent to first fastener-accommodating hole  70  of the second support leg  50 . The first support leg  12  is pivotally attached to the second support leg  50  by the threaded fastener  120  when the threaded fastener  120  is in a use condition on the first and second support legs  12 ,  50 . 
   Threaded fastener  120  includes a proximal end  122  which is located adjacent to first fastener-accommodating hole  34  in the first support leg  12  when the threaded fastener  120  is in a use condition on the first and second support legs  12 ,  50 . A distal end  126  of threaded fastener  120  is located adjacent to second fastener-accommodating hole  74  in second support leg  50  when the threaded fastener  120  is in a use condition on the first and second support legs  12 ,  50 . 
   A strap anchor ring  130  is located on the proximal end  122  of the threaded fastener  120 . 
   A threaded nut  132  is on the distal end  126  of the threaded fastener  120  when the threaded fastener  120  is in a use condition on the first and second support legs  12 ,  50 . 
   A support strap  140  is attached to the strap anchor ring  130  and is sized and adapted to fit around the neck of the user when the support strap  140  is in use as shown in FIG.  4 . 
   The use of the rifle support  10  embodying the present invention can be understood from  FIGS. 1-5  and the foregoing discussion. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the rifle support  10  is rested on a user&#39;s thighs with the rifle supported on the rifle support  10 . To aim and shoot the rifle, the user merely lifts the rifle butt to his or her shoulder and aims and shoots the rifle in the normal manner as indicated in FIG.  5 . The user can raise the rifle by simply pressing his or her thighs toward each other, or the user can lower the rifle by simply moving his or her thighs away from each other. The pivotal connection between the two rifle support legs  12 ,  50  causes this rising or lowering movement of the rifle due to the movement of the hunter&#39;s legs. The rifle is supported on the rifle support  10  on the user&#39;s thighs and is in position for use without requiring the user to hold the rifle in his or her hands during periods of non-use. 
   The various elements of rifle mount  10  can be formed of plastic material or other suitable material. 
   It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.