Wrinkle free gun butt pad for shooting garment

Aug. 16,1960 r. e. Allen 2,948,899

WRINKLE FREE GUN BUTT PAD FOR SHOOTING GARMENT

Filed July 18, 1957

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2,9'48,899

Patented Aug. 16, 1960

United States Patent Office

2,948,899

WRINKLE FREE GUN BUTT PAD FOR SHOOTING GARMENT

Robert E. Allen, 211 Court, Des Moines, Iowa

Filed July 18, 1957, Ser. No. 672,734

Claims. (Cl. 2—94)

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section drawn to the same scale as Fig. 3 but taken on the line 4—4 of Fig. 2 and with broken lines showing ithe effect of a thicker pad in the pad pocket.

g In the drawings the invention is seen to be a shooting garment having a pocket 10 secured to one of the front panels 12 and 14. A resilient pad 16 can be inserted behind the gun butt bearing element 18 which extends from the shoulder down to approximately the armpit line of the garment as shown in Fig. 1. These elements together with other details of construction as set out in further detail below are the present invention. Pocket 10 can be seen in Figures 3 and 4 to be stitched to the garment as to occupy the space behind the gun butt bearjg ing element 18 which is generally a suitable pliable, rough surfaced material, such as a rough finish leather, that is quilted or otherwise secured to the garment at a place on the shoulder to which the gun butt is raised in shooting. Since some over all pattern type of stitching or quilting 2Q is used on the leather to secure it to the garment material, it will be held flat if the material of the garment is held flat. In the pocket 10 is inserted the resilient pad element 16 which may be of any suitable resilient padding material such as foam rubber or plastic. This pad _2g does not have to be very thick. One-eighth inch thickness will provide the resiliency necessary to keep the leather 18 from acquiring deep roll wrinkles and wrinkle set, but a thicker pad is necessary to keep the leather straight and completely wrinkle free in that sense. As 30 the pad is merely carried in the pocket and was found to operate even if not otherwise secured to the garment, the pad may be removed easily to permit dry cleaning the garment. This could not be done if a rubber pad were secured to the garment in a substantially permanent ₃g manner. Thicker or thinner pads than the one previously in the garment may be inserted easily also. In Fig. 4 the use of a thicker pad is illustrated by the broken lines showing the modification of the cloth of the pocket. Also illustrated is the fact that a thicker pad 40 is merely made narrower. The thicker pad is designated 16α to distinguish it clearly from pad 16.

In order to position the pad and gun butt bearing element 18 most advantageously, the garment is provided with the adjustable straps 20 and 22. By tightening one ₄g of these straps and loosening the other, it is possible within reason to position the pad where it feels best to the particular shooter wearing the garment carrying the pad. Also aiding in the proper positioning of the pad on the shooter is the double button tab 24 on the front of the _eo garment. The straps 20 and 22 are preferably resilient to permit freedom of movement to the shooter in raising his arms and swinging his body. It is these straps and the tab that were were placed on the garment with the intention of keeping the pad from wrinkling. It has been ₅g discovered, however, that they are more useful in placement of the pad. Hence they are now part of a new combination of elements. It has been found that since the pad is kept flat for a better grip on the gun butt so that slipping and chafing do not occur, it is possible to actually ₆q dispense with the recoil pad, at least in some cases. Further unusual results are that the pad in the garment does not need to be as thick as that used in the recoil pad on the gun butt in order to give the shooter about the same protection. Applicant is not sure why this is so, but it _6g is thought that much less padding will give the same protection if the padding is arranged so as to spread the force of the recoil over a wider area. Also the shoulder can stand more in the way of the kick of the gun if the shoulder is not sore from chafing.

I have disclosed my invention by illustrating and describing the preferred practical embodiment of it, and I now set out with the particularity required by statute the

This invention is a shooting garment that features a wrinkle free gun butt pad most advantageously combined with adjustable members associated with the garment for bringing the pad into the most suitable position for shooting for the particular person wearing it. Also featured is a removable resilient element to permit changing the thickness of the pad. Previous attempts of the industry to prevent wrinkling of gun butt pads have been limited to quilting or stitching the pad to the garment in some over all pattern. This was supposed to prevent the leather gun butt bearing portion of the pad from wrinkling. While such stitching retarded wrinkling, it did not prevent it. Garment and pad would wrinkle together and acquire a set wrinkle. This fold or roll of pad and garment material encouraged movement of the gun butt during shooting by acting like a roller. Even a slight movement of the gun butt can affect seriously the accuracy of shooting. This sliding motion also sometimes caused the shooter considerable discomfort and sometimes real pain by chafing the shoulder under the pad. Even a gun equipped with a recoil pad will chafe.

I have improved greatly on the result obtained from the use of the pad by the step of providing a resilient member that is constantly urging the pad into a wrinkle set free nearly straight position. By means of this technique gun butt rolling wrinkles are avoided. Coupled with this new means for holding wrinkle set out of the pad is a new use for the chest straps which previously were intended to prevent the pad from wrinkling. Now these chest straps are used for the purpose of locating accurately the pad on the shoulder of the person wearing the garment in combination with a double button front strap on the garment.

Accordingly, the principal purpose of this invention is to provide a novel shooting garment pad for the gun butt; one that:

(1) Is wrinkle free.

(2) Can use pad elements of varying thicknesses.

(3) Does not interfere with the cleaning of the garment.

(4) Protects the wearer against injury.

(5) Makes the gun butt recoil pad optional for at least some shooters.

(6) Improves shooting accuracy.

(7) Can be located most advantageously on the shooter.

While these specifically listed objects are the main ones that I have for my invention, I intend to include as objects hereof any others as may be clear to one skilled in making shooting clothing after he has read this specification and examined the drawings herewith that are briefly described as follows:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one form of shooting garment to which the pad is affixed and shown on a light line representation of a person.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged inside elevation of a fragment of the garment.

Fig. 3 is a still further enlarged vertical section taken on the line 3—3 of Fig. 1, and

2,948,899 particular structure I believe I have invented in the following claims.