Reaction shooting target

An economical reaction shooting target consisting of three targets movably secured to a frame that supports the targets above the ground. Initially, a central target that stands vertically is presented to the shooter. The central target pivotally attaches to the frame so that the central target falls backward once a bullet strikes it. When the central target falls backward, ears on the central target disengage arms provided on two spring loaded side targets, allowing the side targets to swing forward and be presented to the shooter. Various images of good guys and bad guys may be randomly chosen to be attached to the side targets, requiring the shooter to quickly determine whether to shoot the images on the side targets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 1. Field of the Invention
 The present invention relates to an economical shooting target that, when
 struck by a bullet will automatically release two additional targets. The
 two additional targets can be provided with images of bad guys or good
 guys in various situations so that the shooter must quickly decide whether
 the images presented on the targets are friendly or unfriendly, teaching
 the shooter how to quickly decide whether to shoot the images or not, thus
 simulating and allowing the officers to practice making the type of
 crucial real life decisions that police officer are often required to
 make.
 2. Description of the Related Art
 Law enforcement personnel, such as policemen, need to practice shooting
 their guns under conditions that closely approximate real life situations
 so that when they are called upon to make a quick decision on whether or
 not to shoot someone in the field, they will be able to make good
 decisions and will be able to make those decisions quickly. Failure of the
 officer to make good decisions about whether to shoot or not shoot can
 result in innocent people being injured or killed, and failure of the
 officer to make a decision quickly about whether to shoot or not to shoot
 can result in the officer being injured or killed.
 The problem in providing all officers with this type of training is that
 many of the reaction shooting targets, i.e. those that require an officer
 to make quick decisions on whether to shoot or not are quite expensive to
 purchase. Small municipal police departments often can not afford to
 purchase these expensive shooting targets on their limited budgets. Thus,
 officers in smaller communities often are not adequately trained to make
 the most crucial decisions that they may face in their jobs.
 The present invention is a reaction shooting target that is economical
 enough to be affordable to almost any police department and still provides
 officers with a tool that will allow them to practice quick decision and
 shooting techniques.
 The present invention is a reaction shooting target that is provided with
 three targets: a central target that falls backward when struck by a
 bullet, and two targets that immediately swing forward into locked frontal
 positions when the central target falls backward. Various pictures of bad
 guys and good guys can be attached to the two swing out targets so that
 the shooter must quickly identify whether the images displayed on the
 swing out targets are friendly or unfriendly and they the shooter must
 shoot only the unfriendly images when the images present a situation where
 shooting the unfriendly image would be appropriate.
 Someone must manually reset the reaction target. The images are changed
 each time the target is reset. This results in a random presentation of
 images to the shooter, forcing the shooter to look closely at each image
 and to make quick decision based on what the shooter sees.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention is an economical reaction shooting target. A heavy
 frame holds the targets of the reaction shooting target upright above the
 ground. Three targets movably attach to the frame: a central target and
 two side targets. The first target is a central target that falls backward
 when struck by a bullet. The central target has a pair of ears attached to
 the bottom of it and the ears extend downward when the central target is
 in its vertical in use position. When the central target falls backward to
 its horizontal out of use position, the ears pivot upward and disengage
 notched arms provided on each of the two side target. Immediately upon
 disengagement of the arms from the ears, spring loaded mechanisms provided
 on the two side targets cause the side targets to swing outward until they
 come to rest in a forward position, i.e. the two side targets are aligned
 in the same plane and face the shooter. The spring-loaded mechanisms hold
 the two side targets in these forward positions while the shooter is
 shooting at the side targets. The side targets will remain in their
 forward positions until the reaction shooting target is manually reset.
 In order to manually reset the reaction shooting target, the two side
 targets are swing back in a 90 degree arch from their forward positions
 and the central target is raised to its vertical position so that the ears
 reengage the notched arms, preventing the spring loaded mechanisms from
 pushing the side targets forward until the central target is once again
 struck by a bullet and thereby caused to fall backward.
 At the same time that the reaction shooting target is manually reset, new
 pictures or images can be attached to the side targets so the next time
 the central target is struck by a bullet, a new set of images will be
 presented to the shooter by the two side targets. The images may include
 pictures of good guys and bad guys in various situations so that the
 shooter must quickly decide whether the images presented on the targets
 are friendly or unfriendly and whether the shooter should shoot the images
 or not.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
 REACTION SHOOTING TARGET
 Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3 there is illustrated a reaction shooting
 target 10 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
 present invention. As shown, the reaction shooting target 10 has three
 movable targets 12, 14, and 16 attached to a supporting frame 30. The
 central target 12 moves between a vertical in use position 20 and a
 horizontal out of use position 22, and the two side targets 14 and 16 each
 move between a retracted out of use position or orientation 24, i.e.
 approximately 90 degrees from the vertical in use position 20 of the
 central target 12, and a released in use position or orientation 26 where
 the two targets 14 and 16 are aligned in the same plane and face the
 shooter. The two targets 14 and 16 remain in a vertical orientation in
 both their retracted positions 24 and their released in use positions 26.
 The reaction shooting target 10 is supported above the ground 28 by the
 heavy supporting frame 30 that is preferably constructed of metal such as
 angle iron or other similar material. FIG. 1 shows the reaction shooting
 target 10 with the three targets 12, 14, and 16, removed to show the frame
 30. The frame consists of a rectangular portion 30A, a central frame
 portion 30B, a front portion 30C with two side extensions 30D, and two
 movable wing portions 30D. The rectangular portion 30A that rests on the
 ground 22 to form a supporting base for the reaction shooting target 10,
 and the central frame portion 30B pivotally attaches to the rectangular
 portion 30A. The central frame portion 30B supports the central target 12
 that attaches to it. The central frame portion 30B pivots between its
 vertical position 20 and its horizontal position 22 relative to the
 rectangular portion 30A. The front portion 30C attaches to a front 32 of
 the rectangular portion 30A and extends sideways beyond the rectangular
 portion 30A to form two side extensions 30D, one on either side of the
 rectangular portion 30A. The two movable wing portions 30E movably
 attached to the two side extensions 30D by means of spring loaded
 mechanisms 34 that support the side targets 14 and 16 and bias them so
 that they tend to move to their released in use positions 26.
 Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the central target 12 attaches to the
 central frame portion 30B and each of the two side targets 14 and 16
 attaches to a movable wing portion 30E or the frame 30. The central target
 12 and the central frame portion 30B fall or pivot backward together as a
 unit, i.e. move from the vertical position 20 to its horizontal position
 22, when the central target 12 is struck by a bullet that is fired by a
 shooter. The central frame portion 30B has a pair of ears 36 extending
 downward from a bottom 38 of the central frame portion 30B when the
 central target 12 is in its vertical in use position 20, as shown in FIGS.
 1 and 2. Each of the ears 36 is associated with a notched arm 38 that is
 provided on each of the movable wing portions 30E. When the central target
 12 falls backward to its horizontal out of use position 22, the ears 36
 pivot upward and disengage the notched arms 38. The purpose of the notched
 arms 38 is to engage the ears 36 and thereby hold the movable wing
 portions 30E in their retracted out of use positions 24. As illustrated in
 FIG. 3, when the ears 36 disengage the notched arms 38, the spring loaded
 mechanisms 34 immediately cause the two side targets 14 and 16 and their
 associated movable wing portions 30E to swing outward until they come to
 rest in their released in use position 26. In their released in use
 positions 26, the side targets 14 and 16 are aligned in the same plane and
 face the shooter. Each of the side extensions 30D is provided with a stop
 40 that engages the two movable wing portions 30E to stop and hold the
 side targets 14 and 16 in their released in use position 26. The spring
 loaded mechanisms 34 hold the two side targets 14 and 16 in their forward
 released in use positions 26 while the shooter is shooting at the side
 targets 14 and 16. The side targets 14 and 16 will remain in their forward
 released positions 26 until the reaction shooting target 10 is manually
 reset.
 In order to manually reset the reaction shooting target 10, the two side
 targets 14 and 16 are swing backward in a 90 degree arc from their forward
 released positions 26 back to their retracted positions 24, and the
 central target 12 is raised from its horizontal position 22 to its
 vertical position 20 so that the ears 36 reengage the notched arms 38,
 preventing the spring loaded mechanisms 34 from pushing the side targets
 14 and 16 forward until the central target 12 is once again struck by a
 bullet and thereby caused to fall backward.
 At the same time that the reaction shooting target 10 is manually reset,
 new pictures or images 42A, 42B, 42C, etc. can be attached to the central
 target and to the side targets 14 and 16 so the next time the central
 target 12 is struck by a bullet, a new set of images 42B, 42C, etc. will
 be presented to the shooter by the two side targets 14 and 16. The images
 42B, 42C, etc. may include pictures of good guys and bad guys in various
 situations so that the shooter must quickly decide whether the images 42B,
 42C, etc. presented on the targets 14 and 16 are friendly or unfriendly
 and whether the shooter should shoot the images 42B, 42C, etc. or not.
 While the invention has been described with a certain degree of
 particularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details
 of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from
 the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the
 invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for the
 purposes of exemplification, but is to be limited only by the scope of the
 attached claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which
 each element thereof is entitled.