IMPROVEMENTS IN TARGETS FOR RIFLE PRACTICE
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Clarke of Dane John Works, Canterbury in the
County of Kent for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN TARGETS FOR
RIFLE PRACTICE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Francis Clarke at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th March 1883.
FRANCIS CLARKE of Dane John Works, Canterbury in the County of Kent,
" IMPROVEMENTS IN TARGETS FOR RIFLE PRACTICE'
"
My Invention relates to moving and disappearing targets for rifle practice.
The moving targets comprise several arrangements of targets travelling along on
the ground level either in the saine or different directions at once, and either across
or more or less in the direction of the line of fire and either in straight or zigzag
or sinuous lines according to the kind of shooting to be practised.
One arrangement of moving targets consists of one or more series of wheeled
carriages supporting the targets which may be in the form of man or of other
form, said carriages being mounted to run upon a light railway laid on sleepers on
the ground and made to travel to and fro thereon by means of endless chain or
rope connections lying between the rails and running round sheaves at the
extremities of the track to which the several carriages are connected.
The endless chain or rope may be supported by suitable intermediate guiding
pulleys if necessary and they are set in motion by an endless chain geared with
one of the sheaves around which the first mentioned chain passes and worked by
means of a winch operated by the marker from a point in front and to one side of
the targets protected by a suitable mantlet. A steel fender is laid upon the
ground immediately in front of the railway to protect it and the carriages from
the shots the fender having an inclined face to deflect the shots upwards and
standing up sufficiently high to leave only the targets exposed. This fender is
constructed in short lengths or sections bolted together by end flanges to facilitate
transport and the railway may also be laid down and taken up in short sections s0
as to be easily removed from place to place. The targets may be grouped in series
or otherwise in any desired number or order and at any desired intervals along
the chain and screens are placed at intervals in front of the track by passing
behind which the targets are made to disappear from view.

page_text: The targets may either travel to and fro upon the same railway track or two
tracks may be laid parallel side by side and connected by curved tracks at the
extremities so as to form an endless railway around which the targets may be
made to travel continuously or otherwise, the targets upon the parts of the track
nearest and farthest from the firing point consequently moving in the opposite
direction and crossing one another.
Another arrangement designed for practising the judging of distances consists of
one two or more railway tracks laid at a more or less acute angle to one another
each in a more or less direct line with an appropriate firing point so that by the
advancing and retiring motion of the targets upon such tracks the length of the
range is continually varied. The tracks instead of being straight may be zigzag
sinuous or curved in order to render the motion of the target more complex and
combine practice in shooting at moving objects with practice in judging distances.
In either case the targets are supported upon wheeled carriages each travelling
on a railway as before except that in this case a fender is carried upon the
carriage itself. The carriages are connected to and operated by an endless chain
or rope laid between the rails as before and passing round suitable driving, guinding
and supporting sheaves the same chain being used for two or more tracks and
driven by another endless chain worked by a winch at the marker's station.
Another arrangement in which the targets are made to appear and disappear
only, without varying the range, consists of a long horizontal shaft supported close
down upon the surface of the ground in suitable bearings fixed on sleepers upon
which shaft the targets are clamped or fixed in series or otherwise so as to be
brought up into view singly or in sets in any desired number or order, by the
rotation of the shaft in its bearings, a hole being dug in the ground beneath each
target to admit of the complete rotation of the shaft and targets. A fender
constructed in sections as before is laid in front of the shaft to protect it and its
bearings from the shots only those from the target which are thrown up, appearing
above the fender. The shaft is also constructed in sections united by couplings
and it is rotated by an endless chain worked by a winch at the marking point
which is protected by a suitable mantlet

page_text: "
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Francis Clarke in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th September.
1883.
FRANCIS CLARKE of Dane John Works, Canterbury in the County of Kent
IMPROVEMENTS IN TARGETS FOR RIFLE PRACTICE
"
My Invention relates to " moving" and "disappearing" targets for rifle
practice.
The moving targets comprise several arrangements of targets travelling along on
the ground level either in the same or different directions at once, and either
across or more or less obliquely to the line of fire and either in straight or zigzag
or sinuous lines according to the kind of shooting to be practised.
In order that the Invention may be more readily understood I have illustrated
it in the accompanying drawings, and will proceed to describe it with reference
thereto.
One arrangement of moving targets as represented in plan in figure 1, consists
of one or more wheeled carriages A, each supporting a target B representing a
man or of other form, said carriage or carriages being mounted to run upon a light
railway C laid on sleepers on the ground and made to travel to and fro thereon by
means of endless chain or rope gear D lying between the rails and running round
sheaves at the extremities of the track to which the carriage or carriages are
connected. The endless chain or rope may be supported by suitable intermediate
guiding pulleys, if necessary, and is worked by means of a winch E operated by.
the marker from a point in front of, and to one side of the targets, protected by a
suitable mantlet. A fender F of steel, iron or other suitable material is laid upon.
the ground immediately in front of the railway, to protect it and the carriages
from the shots, the fender standing up sufficiently high to leave only the targets,
exposed, and having either an inclined or concave face to deflect the shots upward
or a convex face to deflect the shots downward. This fender is constructed in
short lengths or sections bolted together by end flanges (as shown in figure 3) to
facilitate transport, and the railway may also be laid down and taken up in short
sections so as to be easily removed from place to place.
The targets may be grouped in series or otherwise in any desired number or
order, and at any desired intervals along the chain, and in practice screens are
placed at intervals in front of the track by passing behind which the targets are
made to disappear from view.
Instead of the target or targets travelling to and fro upon the same railway
track as above described two tracks may be laid parallel side by side and
connected by curved tracks at the extremities so as to form an endless railway
around which the targets may be made to travel continuously or otherwise, the
targets upon the parts of the track nearest and farthest from the firing point,
consequently moving in opposite directions and crossing one another.
This arrangement is represented in longitudinal sectional elevation and plan in
figure 2 and in cross sectional elevation on a larger scale in figure 3. A are the
carriages and B the targets as before. CC are the two parallel tracks, connected
by curved ends C₁ for the carriages to run on and D is an endless chain parallel
with the track and running round horizontal sheaves D' concentric with the curved
ends of the track. The carriage has a projecting piece which is attached to the
chain. The carriages run, and are guided upon the straight portion of the tracks
as shown in figure 3, but at the curved end portions the outside wheels only are
supported on the track the carriage being supported at the other side by the chain
sheave only, in order to facilitate the passage round the curves. G is a guard or

page_text: casing to prevent the target being thrown over by the wind. The fender F is
constructed in sections bolted together as before explained. E is the winch from
which the targets are operated by an endless chain E¹ running round a sheave D
on the same axis with one of sheaves D³.
Another arrangement designed for practising the judging of distance is
represented in plan in figure 4, and elevation in figure 5. It consists of one two
or more railway tracks C laid more or less obliquely to the line of fire from an
appropriate firing point so that by the advancing and retiring motion of the
targets upon such tracks the length of the range is continually varied. The tracks
instead of being straight may be zigzag sinuous or curved as shown, in order to
render the motion of the target more complex and combine practice in shooting at
moving objects with practice in judging distances.
In either case the targets B are supported upon wheeled carriages A each
travelling on a railway as before described in reference to figure 1. F is a fender
to protect the tracks and carriages. The carriages A are connected to and operated
by an endless chain or rope D running between the rails and passing round
suitable driving, guiding and supporting sheaves, the same chain being used for
two or more tracks and worked by a winch E at the marker's station.
Another arrangement in which the targets are made to appear and disappear
only without varying the range is represented in plan in figure 6, and end
elevation in figure 7, and on a larger scale in part plan figure 8 and end view
figure 9. This arrangement consists of a long horizontal shaft H supported close
down near the surface of the ground in suitable bearings fixed on sleepers upon
which shaft the targets B are clamped or fixed in series or otherwise the several
series radiating in different directions from the shaft so as to be brought up into
view singly or in sets in any desired number or order, by the rotation of the shaft
in its bearings, a hole being dug in the ground beneath each target to admit of the
complete rotation of the shaft and targets. A fender F constructed in sections as
before is laid in front of the shaft to protect it and its bearings from the shots,
only those targets which are thrown up, appearing above the fender.
The shaft is also constructed in sections united by couplings and it is rotated by
an endless chain D running on a sheave D' keyed on the shaft and worked by a
winch E at the marking point which is protected by a suitable mantlet O.
The targets may be made so as to present a convex surface to the shots, except
in the arrangement shewn in figure 2 in which case the targets would be flat.
Having described, the nature of the said Invention and the manner of performing
the same I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is :
1st. The respective combinations and arrangements of the Targets, carriages, the
track or railway whereon they run, the endless chain gear or rope by which they
are propelled, and the fender for protecting the same, all constructed substantially
as described and shown in the respective figures of the drawings.
2nd. The combination and arrangement of targets fixed on a horizontal revolving
shaft arranged as described, its operative gear, and the fender substantially as
shown and described.
In witness whereof, I the said Francis Clarke, have hereunto set iny hand
and seal this Sixth day of September A.D. 1883.