India Rubber Covering for Blow Off Pits for Use at Rifle Ranges.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 20th July, 1886.
Complete Left, 5th May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 7th June, 1887.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
India Rubber Covering for Blow Off Pits for Use at Rifle Ranges.
WILLIAM SHARP MACKIE of 19 Saint Bride Street, Ludgate Circus London E.C.
representative of Chas. Macintosh & Company London and Manchester I do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
An India Rubber covering for blow off pits for use at Rifle Ranges-I claim for
this invention the following advantages-The bullet or shot passes through the India
rubber covering-the India Rubber instantly closes up, preventing any return of
smoke, splashes, or dust thus meeting a long felt want by preserving the rifle from
injury and fouling by sand or mud.
WILLIAM SHARP MACKIE.

page_text: India Rubber Covering for Blow-Off Pits for Use at Rifle Ranges.
I WILLIAM SHARP MACKIE of. 19 St. Bride Street Ludgate Circus London E.C.
representative of Charles Macintosh and Co. of London and Manchester 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 object of this invention is to provide a covering for the blow-off pits used at
rifle ranges, through which the contents of a rifle can be discharged with perfect
safety; the return of smoke, splashes mud or dirt being thereby entirely prevented
thus meeting a long felt want and at the same time preserving the rifle from injury
and fouling by sand or mud.
The invention consists in the use of a covering of sheet india rubber attached by
its edges to a suitable frame, which is laid over the mouth of the pit, and when the
contents of a rifle are discharged through it the india rubber instantly closes up and
prevents the throwing up of any splashes, sand dust or mud from the pit.
Fig. 1 on the annexed drawings represents a plan view and Fig. 2 a vertical
section of a blow off pit covering made according to my invention.
a, a is a rectangular or other suitably shaped frame and b, b is the sheet of india
rubber stretched thereon.
It is preferred to make the frame a, a (which holds the india rubber sheet 6, 6) of
wood in order to reduce the chance of an accident should the rifle be carelessly dis-
charged so as to cause the bullet to strike the frame.
The sheet b, b may be of vulcanized or unvulcanized rubber (the former being pre-
ferred) and it may either be of solid rubber (which is preferable) or of rubber and cloth
combined.
It may also be of any suitable thickness, about one half of an inch being found
sufficient for practical purposes.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
A covering for blow-off pits used at rifle ranges, made of sheet india rubber (or of
india rubber and cloth combined) stretched over a suitable frame, substantially as
herein before described, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 4th day of May 1907
GEORGE DAVIES,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester,
Agent for the Applicant.