Military Aiming Apparatus.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Mar., 1898-Accepted, 30th Apr., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Military Aiming Apparatus.
I, ROBERT ERFORT of Stallgasse 5, Hagenau, in the Province of Alsace, in the
German Empire, Master Locksmith, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement: -
The subject of the present invention is an apparatus for holding the gun in
aiming at targets, by means of which the teacher can exercise an exact control
over the shooter, the gun remaining firmly in the position which the shooter has
given. it.
The present invention is principally designed for recruits to whom aiming has
been hitherto chiefly taught by the use of a sand-bag. With the latter plan,
however, the teacher has no real control, since the loose sand in the bag, gusts of
wind and the like, do not permit of the gun retaining its exact position.
Furthermore the shooter has to grasp the butt of the gun, and on relinquishing
his hold must, unintentionally, alter the position more or less.
These drawbacks are overcome by the present invention, which consists of two
screw spindles, which carry the bearings or supports for the stock and butt of the
The spindle for the stock is movable only in a vertical direction, whilst
that for the butt has also a lateral movement.
gun.
On the drawings,
Fig. 1 shows a side view of the bearing for the butt;
Fig. 2 an end view of the same;
Fig. 3 an end view of the slide for effecting a lateral movement;
Fig. 4 a plan view of the same, partly in horizontal section;
Fig. 5 an end view of the spindle and bearing for the stock;
Fig. 6 a side view of same.
Figs. 7, 8 and 9 show the general arrangement of the apparatus when in use.
On the aiming-stand A (Figs. 7 to 9) a hollow spindle a is screwed, in which
the spindle b, carrying the bearing c for the gun-stock, may be moved up and
down by means of the hand-wheel d.
The bearing c for the gun-stock is rotatably secured to the spindle and is
covered by the gun-holder f, which can be opened towards the left, against the
pressure of a spring f', and which firmly retains the stock of the gun after inser-
tion in the bearing c.
On the stand A is also a screw spindle b¹ arranged in a hollow spindle a¹. The
spindle 61 carries the hinged bearing c¹ for the butt of the gun, and can be moved
up and down by means of the hand wheel d¹.
g
The bearing c for the butt is likewise covered by a gun-holder 9 which can be
opened towards the right, against the pressure of a spring g', and which firmly
holds the butt of the gun.
The hollow spindle a¹ with its screw spindle is mounted on a slide h, which
can, by the knob ', be slid laterally between the guide bars i, and is held by means
of springs o pressing against these bars.

page_text: The guide slot between the bars i runs with a curve in the direction of the arrow
(Fig. 4), so that on inserting the stock, the butt may be moved to the left or right.
The legs of the stand A, on which the apparatus is secured, are jointed together
so that the apparatus can be raised either with the upper parts of the legs of the
stand, or with the top board of the stand alone.
The manner of operating the apparatus is as follows:
The gun, or aiming-gun, with the gun strap lengthened out, is first laid in the
stock-bearing c; then in the butt-bearing c¹; and the gun-holder f closed down
to the left and to the right. Then the breast height is adjusted by turning the
wheel d, according to the stature of the shooter. Next the lateral adjustment is
effected, by moving the slide h to the right or left as required, by means of the
knob h. When this has been done, the shooter then exactly directs the gun at
the target by giving some turns to the hand wheel d¹ at the butt of the gun.
Whilst the use of a sand liag (as is now customary) in aiming is limited to the
standing position, the present apparatus offers a great advantage, inasmuch as
the arrangement, in consequence of the detachable stand, can be adjusted to the
necessary breast height also for the kneeling or lying positions, as shown in
Figs. 8 and 9.
In using an aiming-gun the teacher can since it is as firmly fixed as in a vice-
with ease explain to the shooter his mistake. He loads for this purpose with
aiming ammunition, lets the recruit adjust and fire, and combines in this manner
theory and practice.
If several apparatus are secured to the same stand A, the teacher can then
rapidly train a large number of recruits, as a movement of the slide h, or of one
of the two hand-wheels d or d¹ is sufficient to at once give the adjusted gun another
direction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
An aiming apparatus consisting of two screw spindles (b, 61) carrying bear-
ings (cc) for the gun, and arranged in such manner that the screw spindle (b)
carrying the axially rotatable stock-bearing (c) and provided with gun-holder (f)
can be adjusted by means of a hand wheel (d) only in vertical direction, whilst the
screw spindle (6) carrying the hinged butt-bearing (c¹) and provided with butt
holder (g) can in addition to the vertical movement given to it by the hand-
wheel (1) also receive a lateral movement by means of a slide (h) capable of being
fixed in any position, all substantially as set forth.
Dated this 24th day of March 1808
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.