Firearm bench rest

A marksman may quickly establish the correct vertical elevation of a firearm resting on a firearm forestock support plate by providing a platform having supports adapted to rest on a surface; hingedly supporting said support plate rear end to said platform; and adjusting the elevation of said support plate front end by rotating an eccentrically mounted support member. The orientation may be adjusted by providing a stop bar depending from a front end of said support plate; mounting a rear end of said support plate for horizontal rotation with respect to a platform; and urging said stop bar to rest against either a first windage screw advancing from one side of said platform or a second windage screw advancing from the other side of said platform.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to rests for small long-barreled personal firearms 
such as rifles, and more particularly to adjustable rifle rests suitable 
for use in target shooting. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Numerous firearm rests have been proposed which are suitable for use in 
aiming and steadying a rifle for use in target shooting. 
Wold, U.S. Pat. No. 3,012,350, discloses a bench rest pedestal including a 
triangular base having three arms, each arm being provided with a leveling 
screw; a housing receiving a vertical rack; and a gun forestock cradle. 
The housing includes a horizontal pinion engaging rack, the pinion being 
provided with an adjusting knob. A left-handed shooter must reverse the 
position of the bench rest pedestal with respect to the position of the 
bench rest pedestal when operated by a right-handed shooter. 
Other firearm bench rests are suitable for use in only one direction and 
are provided with knobs providing vertical or horizontal adjustment. The 
knobs typically are provided on one side of the rest, so that such rests 
may be awkward to use by a marksman whose handedness does not agree with 
the design of the bench rests. 
Firearm bench rests designed for vertical adjustment typically are adjusted 
by use of a single screw, rack, or the like. If the threads or teeth are 
thick or spaced widely apart, adjustment is quick, but fine adjustment is 
not available. If the threads or teeth are spaced closely together, fine 
adjustment is provided, but the precise firing position may be achievable 
only after the adjustment mechanism is turned for a considerable period of 
time. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a firearm 
bench rest which is not only adjustable, but which is easily used by both 
left-handed and right-handed marksmen. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a firearm bench rest 
which includes both coarse and fine vertical adjustment means. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method of using 
a firearm bench rest to provide quick and accurate aiming of a firearm. 
These and other objects are provided by a firearm bench rest including a 
firearm forestock support plate supported by a platform. The platform may 
be T-shaped, including a front bar and a rear bar joined perpendicularly 
to the front bar at its midsection. The rear bar is supported at its rear 
portion by a rear support, and the front bar may be supported at its ends 
by vertical screws. A fluid level may be supported on the top surface of 
the front bar. 
A hinge mounted to the platform rear bar may support the rear portion of 
the firearm forestock support plate. This hinge also includes a screw 
allowing the firearm forestock support plate to horizontally rotate over 
the hinge. 
The front portion of the platform rear bar may include brackets carrying an 
eccentrically mounted rotatable support member. To each side of the 
rotatable support member is a lever. A threaded elevation screw may pass 
through an internally threaded flange of each lever. As the screw is 
advanced, the lever is rotated. As the lever rotates, the rotatable 
support member turns. As the front portion of the firearm forestock 
support plate rests on the eccentrically mounted rotatable support member, 
rotation of the lever elevates the front portion of the firearm forestock 
support plate. 
Elevation adjustment is thereby facilitated by first turning the 
load-bearing vertical screws, and secondly turning the elevation screws. 
The elevation screws have a thread density higher than that of the 
vertical screws, and are not load-bearing. The approximate elevation is 
set by the vertical screws, and is then adjusted by use of the elevation 
screws. 
The method of use includes orientation of the bench rest by its placement 
on the support surface. A stop bar depends from the front end of the 
firearm forestock support plate. First and second horizontally disposed 
windage screws are mounted to either side of the stop bar and advance 
toward the stop bar. A horizontally rotatable spring support bar is 
hingedly mounted at its proximal end to the front bar adjacent to the stop 
bar. The distal end of the spring support bar supports one end of a 
tension spring. The other end of the tension spring is mounted to the 
firearm forestock support plate. By rotating the spring support bar to one 
side or the other, the firearm forestock support plate is biased toward 
the distal end of the spring support bar. In this manner the stop bar 
rests against the windage screw desired, according to the handedness of 
the marksman. The marksman then uses the selected windage screw to adjust 
the orientation of the firearm forestock support plate to properly orient 
the firearm.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 1 depicts the preferred embodiment of a firearm bench rest 10 
according to the invention supporting a rifle 11. Bench rest 10 includes a 
platform 13 supporting a firearm forestock support plate 16. Clamping 
blocks such as 44 secure the forestock 12 of the firearm. 
As best seen in FIG. 5, platform 13 includes a front bar 14 welded to a 
rear bar 15. Rear bar 15 is mounted to the middle of front bar 14 and is 
perpendicular to front bar 14, thereby presenting a T-shaped profile. 
Front bar 14 and rear bar 15 may be formed from aluminum channel stock 
which is three inches wide and 11/2 in deep. 
As best seen in FIG. 3, rear bar 15 is supported by rear support 18, which 
may be formed from nylon polymer material. Rear support 18 is secured to 
rear bar 15 by a fastener inserted into a drilled and tapped hole. Front 
bar 14 is supported by steel screws 32,33 which are vertically disposed 
and respectively are supported by bases 19, 17. Each vertical screw has a 
density of eleven threads per inch and is provided with a brass knob 22 
and a brass locking nut 20, which has a handle inclined at ten degrees 
from horizontal. The initial orientation of bench rest 10 is established 
by the placement of support 18 and bases 17, 19. The approximate height of 
front bar 14 is established by rotation of knobs 22. Fluid level 21 is 
used to ensure that platform 13 is level. Locking nuts 20 then are 
tightened to prevent further change in the height of front bar 14. 
Fine Elevation Adjustment 
As best seen in FIG. 4, rear bar 15 supports a hinge 23 at its rear portion 
and a bracket 25 at its front portion. Firearm forestock support plate 16 
is mounted at its rear portion at a first plate location 24 to hinge 23 
for rotation in a vertical plane. Turning to FIG. 5, a solid cylindrical 
rotatable support member 26, which may be formed from nylon polymer 
material, is eccentrically mounted on a horizontal pin 51 which is 
supported by bracket 25. Pin 51 is mounted at its respective ends to the 
proximal ends of first and second levers 28, 29. Levers 28, 29 
respectively are connected at their distal ends to horizontal pins 52. 
Elevation screws 30 are mounted to each side of rear bar 15 and each passes 
through a pin 52. Rotation of an elevation screw knob 53, as shown by the 
arrow in the left side of FIG. 4, advances a screw 30. The distal end of 
lever 28 is moved rearward (as shown by the left-oriented arrow in FIG. 4) 
as screw 30 is advanced. This causes rotation of pin 51, which rotates 
support member 26 in the direction shown by the arrow to the left of 
support member 26 in FIG. 4. The forestock support plate 16 rests at a 
second plate location 27 on support member 26. As support member 26 is 
eccentrically mounted on pin 51, the elevation of the second plate 
location 27 changes responsive to the advancing of a knob 53. 
In the preferred embodiment, the thread density of vertical screws 32,33 
may be eleven threads per inch (2.54 cm). The thread density of screws 30 
is preferably higher than the thread density of the vertical screws, and 
may be 20 threads per inch (2.54 cm). Fine elevation adjustment is thereby 
made by turning either knob 53 found to be convenient by the marksman. 
Knobs 53 may be provided with washers formed of polymer material such as 
nylon. 
The marksman therefore may quickly establish the correct vertical elevation 
of a firearm resting on a firearm forestock support plate by providing a 
platform having supports adapted to rest on a surface; hingedly supporting 
said support plate rear end to said platform; and adjusting the elevation 
of said support plate front end by rotating an eccentrically mounted 
support member. 
Fine orientation adjustment 
Rotatable support member 26 preferably formed from a smooth material such 
as nylon. Support plate 16 is free to slide at its second plate location 
27 to either side over support member 26 within a limited range. Support 
plate 16 is rotatably supported at its location 35 about a pin 36 (see 
FIG. 2) which passes through channel member 54 (see FIG. 4). Channel 
member 54 is free to rotate in the vertical plane on hinge 23. Therefore, 
support plate may rotate in the horizontal about pin 36 to a limited 
extent. 
As best seen in FIG. 3, a stop bar 37 depends from the front end of support 
plate 16. Windage screws 38,39 (see FIG. 5) are horizontally mounted to 
either side of stop bar 37 and each advances towards it. A spring support 
bar 40 is mounted at its proximal end 41 to the upper surface of front bar 
14 for horizontal rotation. Spring support bar 40 also has a distal end 42 
which supports one end of a tension spring 43. The other end of tension 
spring 43 is supported by the front end of support plate 16. Bar 40 may be 
flipped to either side as shown by the arrows in FIG. 5. As seen by the 
arrows in FIG. 3, support plate 16 thereby is urged by spring 43 to one 
side until stop bar 37 rests against one of the windage screws 38, 39. The 
windage screw selected then may be advanced or retracted by turning its 
knob, thereby accomplishing fine orientation adjustment of support plate 
16. 
Support plate 16 is provided with fixed clamping block 44 and slidable 
clamping block 45 as seen in FIG. 2. Compression springs 46 are mounted 
between blocks 44,45 on horizontal pins connecting blocks 44,45. Knobs 49, 
50 may be turned to advance or retract block screws 47, 48 to clamp 
forestock 12. 
The marksman therefore may quickly adjust the orientation of a firearm 
resting on a firearm forestock support plate by providing a stop bar 
depending from a front end of said support plate; mounting a rear end of 
said support plate for horizontal rotation with respect to a platform; and 
urging said stop bar to rest against either a first windage screw 
advancing from one side of said platform or a second windage screw 
advancing from the other side of said platform. 
Since the invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from 
the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the preceding description 
is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive, since the scope of the 
invention is defined by the claims rather than by the description 
preceding them.