GARMENT FOR POSITIONING A FIREARM

A firearm positioning system for spacing a butt of a firearm forwardly from a chest of a user includes a shirt or similar garment with a pocket positioned on the front side of the shirt near one of a pair of arm holes of the shirt. A pad is insertable into the pocket to space the butt of the firearm forwardly of the chest of the user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to firearm positioning system and more particularly pertains to a new firearm positioning system for spacing a butt of a firearm forwardly from a chest of a user.

When operating a rifle, shotgun, or other long arm, a butt of a stock of the firearm is positioned against the chest or shoulder of an individual. This positioning aids in maintaining the firearm in a fixed position and in facilitating the individual absorbing recoil from the firearm in a predictable and manageable manner. This positioning also affects the distance at which the trigger of the firearm is positioned in relation to the chest of the individual. The distance of the trigger from the chest has important ergonomic implications for the individual. Different factors-such as length of the individual's neck, breadth of the individual's shoulders, and thickness of the individual's chest and clothing-impact the ability of the individual to position the trigger at a distance from the chest which is safe, comfortable, and makes operation of the firearm easier.

Most stocks for such firearms are designed at a length to be adaptable to most individuals, but some individuals benefit from increasing the distance of the trigger from the chest without disengaging the butt of the firearm from the chest. The prior art includes devices which attach to the stock of the firearm to extend the distance of the trigger from the chest. Some of these devices suffer from failing to reliably secure to the stock of the firearm or not providing enough of an extension. Devices which permanently attach to or replace the stock can be expensive and typically require professional installation.

Other devices in the prior art include garments with padding, but these are directed more to absorbing the recoil of the firearm and not extending the distance of the trigger from the chest. These garments subsequently do not have padding thick enough for use as a positioning system, nor are do they provide interchangeable components for adjusting the thickness of the garment to adapt to different users, different stock lengths, changes in clothing thickness, and other factors impacting the distance of the trigger from the chest.

A system is therefore desirable which addresses this problem by providing pads of varying thicknesses into a garment to position the trigger of the firearm at a selected distance from the chest of the individual while maintaining engagement between the chest and the butt of the firearm.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a garment configured for being worn on a torso of a user. The garment has a pair of arm holes extending through the garment into an interior space bounded by the garment, and the arm holes of the pair of arm holes are positioned opposite each other. A pocket is coupled to the garment and is positioned on a front side of the garment nearer to an associated one of the pair of arm holes than another one of the pair of arm holes. The pocket is configured for being positioned over a chest of the user adjacent to an arm and a shoulder of the user. A pad is positionable in the pocket. The pad has a rear surface which faces the front side of the garment when the pad is positioned in the pocket and a front surface which faces away from the garment when the pad is positioned in the pocket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular toFIGS.1through4thereof, a new firearm positioning system embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral10will be described.

As best illustrated inFIGS.1through4, the firearm positioning system10generally comprises a garment12configured for being worn on a torso68of a user66. The garment12is a shirt14but may be a vest, a jacket, or the like. The garment12has a pair of arm holes16extending through the garment12into an interior space18bounded by the garment12. The arm holes16of the pair of arm holes16are positioned opposite each other. A pocket22is coupled to the garment12and is positioned on a front side20of the garment12nearer to an associated one of the pair of arm holes16than another one of the pair of arm holes16. The associated arm hole16may define either a left arm hole or a right arm hole. The pocket22is configured for being positioned over a chest70of the user66adjacent to an arm74and a shoulder72of the user66.

The pocket22comprises a front panel24, a bottom panel26, and a pair of lateral panels28. The front panel24is spaced forwardly from the front side20of the garment12. The bottom panel26is coupled to and extends between the garment12and the front panel24. The bottom panel26is positioned on a bottom edge30of the front panel24. The pair of lateral panels28is coupled to and extends between the garment12and the front panel24. Each lateral panel28of the pair of lateral panels28is positioned on an associated lateral edge32of a pair of lateral edges32of the front panel24. The front panel24, the bottom panel26, and the pair of lateral panels28may be integrally formed or coupled together via stitching or other conventional means. The front panel24, the bottom panel26, the pair of lateral panels28, and the garment12define a cavity34, and a top edge36of the pocket22and the garment12defines an opening38to the cavity34.

The pocket22further comprises a flap40and a connector46. The flap40is coupled to the front side20of the garment12adjacent the top edge36of the pocket22. The flap40is movable between a closed position42and an open position44with respect to the opening38. The connector46is coupled to the flap40and the front panel24to releasably connect the flap40to the front panel24in the closed position42. The connector46comprises a first mating member48which is attached to the flap40and a second mating member50which is attached to the front panel24. The connector46comprises a hook-and-loop fastener52but may comprise a snap fastener, a butt80on fastener, a zipper, or the like.

Each one of a plurality of pads54is interchangeably positionable in the pocket22. Each pad54of the plurality of pads54has a rear surface56which faces the front side20of the garment12when the pad54is positioned in the pocket22and a front surface58which faces away from the garment12when the pad54is positioned in the pocket22. Each pad54of the plurality of pads54has a thickness between the front surface58and the rear surface56, and the thickness of each pad54of the plurality of pads54is different from the thickness of each other pad54of the plurality of pads54. The thickness of each pad54of the plurality of pads54is between 0.25 inches and 4.0 inches. The plurality of pads54may, for example, have thicknesses at increments of 0.25 inches, wherein a thinnest pad54of the plurality of pads54has a thickness of 0.25 inches and a thickest pad54of the plurality of pads54has a thickness of 4.0 inches. The thickness of each pad54of the plurality of pads54is constant between a top surface60and a bottom surface62of the pad54and between a pair of lateral surfaces64of the pad54.

Each pad54of the plurality of pads54has a height between the top surface60and the bottom surface62of between 7.0 inches and 9.0 inches and a width between said pair of lateral surfaces64of the pad54of between 3.5 inches and 5.5 inches. Each pad54of the plurality of pads54comprises a resiliently compressible material such that the pad54is configured for absorbing a force from a recoiling of a firearm76. The resiliently compressible material comprises rubber but may comprise a polymer, a polymer foam, a woven natural or synthetic fiber, or the like.

In use, the firearm76positioning system10is used to space the firearm76forwardly of the chest70of the user66. The firearm76may be a rifle, shotgun, or other long gun having a stock78with a butt80for bracing against the user66chest70. The garment12is worn on the torso68of the user66, and a selected one of the plurality of pads54is inserted into the pocket22. The user66aims the firearm76, which includes placing the butt80of the firearm76against the pocket22. The selected pad54causes the butt80of the firearm76to be spaced forwardly from the chest70of the user66. The selected pad54is chosen based on the selected pad's54thickness, which defines a distance from a trigger82of the firearm76to the chest70of the user66.