ADJUSTING DEVICE FOR A SHOTGUN

Abstract

The invention relates to a method of improving and to an adjusting device for performing adjustment of the butt of a shotgun to a specific shooter in order to improve the accuracy of fire. It has been realized that the adjustment of the butt of a shotgun to fit a shooter is markedly facilitated through the use of an adjusting device according to embodiments and methods of the invention.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an adjusting device to improve accuracy of fire for shotguns.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In some countries large effort is put into minimizing the amount of wounded game. Investigations have shown that in some areas almost one third of all geese live with pellets in their body as a result of wounding. In order to lower this shocking number, the recommended maximum shooting distance was lowered, which proved to decrease the number of wounded geese. However, the problem of wounding continues. Among persons skilled in the art there seems to be consensus that the problem is mainly due to shooters firing at too large distances and therefore discussions have been on training shooters even more in abilities to judge distances.

When a shooter buys a shotgun, it is standard procedure that the shooter tries the shotgun for a period of time and returns it to the arms dealer to have it adjusted according to estimations the arms dealer make by looking at the shooter and according to what the shooter has experienced when shooting with the shotgun. Alternatively more expensive shotguns may be bought which involve the possibility of adjusting e.g. the position of the upper part of the shotgun relative to the rest of the shotgun, in which way the shooter may make small adjustments on his own hands, in case he finds that the shotgun does not hit as precisely as desired.

Small adjustments made by the arms dealer or the shooter himself this way help to increase the precision for shotguns and have done so for several years.

However, in order to decrease the frequency of wounding of game during hunting, a very precise adjustment of shotguns is needed, which is very time-consuming if possible at all through adjustments as described above. Thus a need exists for a method and apparatus assisting a shooter in adjusting a shotgun easier and more precisely than seen in prior art.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,038 discloses a shotgun sighting system and method. Some problems related to the teaching of this document are that sufficient precision cannot be obtained and that it may be difficult to make the adjustments of the shotgun.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve the precision of shots fired from a shotgun. It is a further object of the invention to facilitate easier adjustment of the shotgun.

Moreover, and as a result of this, it is a further object of the invention to decrease the frequency of wounding of game during hunting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention it has been realized that an improved precision of shots fired from shotguns may be obtained fast and easily through adjustment of the shotgun according to measures done with an adjusting device such as herein described.

The invention relates to a method of improving adjustment of the butt of a shotgun to a specific shooter in order to improve the accuracy of fire comprising the steps of:

• • positioning and fixing the shotgun by fixing means facilitating that the rib is aligned precisely towards a target spot,
  • firing a shot from the fixed position resulting in a shooting pattern of pellets around the target spot,
  • marking an aiming spot in the shooting pattern,
  • attaching an adjusting device on the rib of the shotgun, and
  • adjusting the adjusting device until the sight track between the aiming surfaces of the adjusting device, the front bead and the aiming spot is aligned in order to adjust the butt of the shotgun accordingly.

It has been realized that the adjustment of the butt of a shotgun to fit a shooter is markedly facilitated through the use of an adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention, which results in an improved accuracy of fire. Through the use of an adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention, the shooter will have a greater conformity between the aiming direction and the shooting direction and the shooter will, if desired, have decided for himself how the pellet pattern of a shot fired from the shotgun will be distributed around the aiming direction.

In a standard method, if the shooter does not desire otherwise, the pellets from a single shot of an adjusted shotgun will be distributed in a pellet pattern which relative to the aiming direction is distributed typically with ⅕ of the pellets being below the aiming direction and ⅘ of the pellets being above the aiming direction. Thereby an improved accuracy of fire is obtained as compared to shooting with a shotgun which has only been adjusted according to estimates.

This improvement of individual adjustment of shotguns has proved to decrease the frequency of wounding of game as a direct consequence of the improved precision of each shot.

The adjusting of the adjusting device to align the aiming surfaces is preferably done by sliding it along the rib or by adjusting the height/lateral position of the adjusting device.

With the present invention care is taken to distinguish between a target spot and an aiming spot. The target spot is where the rib of the shotgun is pointing whereas the aiming spot is that spot in the shooting pattern marking where the aiming should be towards in order to distribute the pellets satisfyingly around the spot. In the prior art seen, the target spot and the aiming spot are considered the same, which will not necessarily be the case and most often at least slight deviations will occur. On the contrary, the awareness of the difference between the target spot and the aiming spot is important to observe the improved precision in accordance with the present invention. The deviation between the target spot and an average aiming spot may e.g. vary between different shotgun manufacturers and between different shotguns in a same series. With the present invention an increased precision has been observed through firing a shot as part of the adjustment process together with the further steps as herein described.

In an embodiment of the invention, said method further comprises the step of

• • placing an oblong rigid object along the aiming surfaces of the front bead and the adjusting device, the oblong rigid object extending further above the butt of the shotgun to indicate the desired height of the aiming eye above the butt in order to hit a target as desired, whereby the vertical distance between the oblong rigid object and the butt can be measured and compared to the cheek distance.

The function of the oblong rigid object is described in more detail in the detailed description.

In an embodiment of the invention, said method further comprises the step of

• • placing a lateral marking means along the aiming surface of the front bead and extending further directly above the butt of the shotgun, in order to facilitate easy and more exact measurement of the lateral distance between the oblong rigid object and the butt of said shotgun.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lateral marking means is a string. In an embodiment of the invention, the oblong rigid object comprises string fastening means in one end to facilitate fastening of this string. Preferably the string fastening means is positioned close to the front bead, when the oblong rigid object is in position on the shotgun, whereby the stretched string will mark a line at least essentially going through the aiming surface of the front bead.

In an embodiment of the invention, said method further comprises the step of

• • adjusting the vertical distance to correspond to the cheek distance by any means capable of raising or lowering at least the upper part of the butt.

In an embodiment of the invention, said method further comprises the step of

• • adjusting the lateral position of at least the upper part of the butt on the basis of the measured lateral distance by any means capable of adjusting said lateral position.

In an embodiment of the invention, said method further comprises the step of

• • the shooter taking the shotgun to his shoulder into his natural firing position, upon which the cheek distance from the aiming eye to the upper side of the butt is measured.

A further advantage according to embodiments of the present invention is that the shooter needs not be present at the time of adjustment of the shotgun, in that his cheek distance is all that is needed. This cheek distance can be measured independently of the adjustment procedure and may anyhow result in a very precise adjustment of the butt to the individual user.

Moreover the invention relates to an adjusting device for adjustment of the butt of a shotgun to a specific shooter in order to improve the accuracy of fire, said adjusting device comprises mounting means for mounting said adjusting device on said shotgun,

said adjusting device comprises adjusting means for adjusting the sight track between an aiming surface of said adjusting device and a front bead of said shotgun, characterized in that
said adjusting device comprises an oblong rigid object to indicate the sight track during adjustment of the butt to facilitate an easier adjusting process of the butt.

When said adjusting device comprises an oblong rigid object to indicate the sight track, the adjusting process is made much easier. In this way the oblong rigid object ensures that the line of sight is at hand all the time during adjustment of the butt of the shotgun. Hence adjustment e.g. at the arms dealer is facilitated. This should be seen in comparison to prior art, in which no indications of ideal positions are present during adjustment of the butt of the shotgun.

In the description the oblong rigid object is referred to as an individual object; however it may also be designated as part of the adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention.

In an embodiment of the invention, said adjusting device comprises holding means for holding said oblong rigid object in place in order to facilitate an easier adjusting process.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the oblong rigid object is by any holding means held in place on the shotgun during adjustment of the butt. The holding means may be formed in any conventional manner, such as be provided by a rough surface, adhesive, tape, side walls, a notch etc.

In an embodiment of the invention, said holding means is a notch.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention the holding means is a notch in the adjusting device in order to facilitate easy attaching/detaching.

In an embodiment of the invention, said holding means comprises a clamp.

In another advantageous embodiment of the invention the holding means comprises a clamp in the adjusting device in order to facilitate easy attaching/detaching.

In an embodiment of the invention, the oblong rigid object is a stick made in a rigid material such as plastic, wood or metal.

It is noted that part of the functionality of the oblong rigid object could be carried out by a string; however a rigid object is preferred.

In an embodiment of the invention, the oblong rigid object is a telescopic stick in order to be sufficiently prolonged during use without losing the stiffness.

In an embodiment of the invention, the oblong rigid object has a length of at least the distance from the front bead to the front part of the butt.

Preferably the length of the oblong rigid object is suitable for indicating the sight track throughout the distance from the front bead to the back of the butt. In an embodiment of the invention said oblong rigid object is at least 50 cm long.

In an embodiment of the invention, one end of the oblong rigid object comprises a magnet in order to fix the oblong rigid object to the front end of the rib.

The end of the oblong rigid object will typically by the aid of a magnet be fixed behind and abut the front bead in order to indicate the line of sight.

In an embodiment of the invention, one end of the oblong rigid object comprises a string fastening means to facilitate fastening of a lateral marking means.

A lateral marking means, such as a string, may be used to facilitate more easy and exact measurement of the lateral distance between the oblong rigid object and the butt of said shotgun, in that the lateral marking means can be used to mark the lateral position of the butt in the same plane as the oblong rigid object.

In order to fasten the string in the front bead end of the oblong rigid object, a string fastening means, such as a spike, a small dowel, a hook, or any other means capable of fastening a string.

In an embodiment of the invention, the adjusting device comprises a lower element and a changeable element comprising a notch.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention a number of different elements with varying heights and widths may be used as a changeable element on top of a lower element of the adjusting device. Hereby that element, which suits the required vertical and lateral adjustment the best, can be mounted on the lower element. This mounting can be done in any conventional way, such as by sliding into a groove in the lower element.

In an embodiment of the invention, the adjusting device is detachably mounted on the shotgun.

Therefore the adjusting device may be mounted and used for the purpose of adjusting the shotgun and then afterwards be detached again before using the shotgun for shooting. Alternatively the adjusting device may be mounted and used for the purpose of adjusting the shotgun and then be retained on the shotgun during shooting.

In an embodiment of the invention, the adjusting device is removed from the shotgun after adjustment.

The aiming surface of the adjusting device will typically be an upwardly pointing surface relative to the normal holding position of a shotgun. In some embodiments of the invention, the aiming surface is an upper surface of the adjusting device.

With the term shooter as used herein may be understood shooter, hunter, huntsman or the like.

The terms “sight track” and “line of sight” are both used to indicate a track between points. With the term “sight track” it may however be clearer that an aiming eye does not necessarily need to be a part of the track in order for the term to make sense.

In an embodiment of the invention, said mounting means comprises means for mounting on a rib of said shotgun.

Preferably the adjusting device is mounted directly on the rib of the shotgun. Almost all shotguns are equipped with a rib, some ribs are parallel to the barrels and some ribs are slightly inclining relative to the barrels, however common for all is that the rib is manufactured such that the adjusting devices according to embodiments of the invention may be mounted on the rib. The mounting may be carried out in any conventional way, such as the manufacturing of the adjusting device in a size fitting exactly the rib of the shotgun or maybe manufacturing the adjusting device in a slightly elastic material in order for the adjusting device to grip around the rib or tying a line around the barrels to hold the adjusting device. Some embodiments of mounting means are described more in detail later. It is important to notice that the examples mentioned should be considered solely as illustrative and not as limiting for the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment of the invention, the adjusting device is detachably mounted on the rib.

The word detachably here holds the same meaning as above.

In an embodiment of the invention, the adjusting device is held onto a rib of said shotgun by at least one magnet.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the attaching of the adjusting device is carried out by means of magnets. This ensures that one adjusting device will be able to fit any shotgun regardless of the width of the rib of the shotgun. Moreover magnets facilitate an easy attachment to the rib and adjustment of the adjusting device on the rib can be done simply by sliding the adjusting device along the rib.

In an embodiment of the invention, said adjusting device is held onto a rib of said shotgun by squeezing means.

The squeezing means may be a suitable material of which at least a part of the adjusting device is made, i.e. plastic, rubber or metal.

In an embodiment of the invention, said adjusting means comprises raising means for adjusting the position of said aiming surface of said adjusting means relative to a rib of said shotgun.

In one embodiment of the adjusting device the adjusting means comprises raising means, capable of enlarging the effective height of the aiming surface of the adjusting device above the rib. These raising means may carry out the height adjustment in any conventional manner such as providing lifting arms with teeth and turning a knob connected to a threaded pin, producing lifting arms in a soft material such that they can remain fixed at a certain height or any other way. It is important to notice that the examples mentioned should be considered solely as illustrative and not as limiting for the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment of the invention, the adjusting device comprises raising means comprising a base element and an upper element comprising lifting arms.

The base element is mounted on the rib and the upper element is displaceably mounted on the base element through lifting arms fixed on the upper element.

In an embodiment of the invention, said adjusting means comprises sliding means allowing said adjusting device to slide along the barrels of said shotgun.

In another embodiment of the invention the adjusting device is capable of sliding along the barrels while still being mounted on the shotgun. The sliding may as well and in most embodiments happen along the rib of said shotgun. These sliding means may be provided by manufacturing the adjusting device in a material that does not stick to the rib of the shotgun. It is important to notice that the example mentioned should be considered solely as illustrative and not as limiting for the scope of the invention.

In an embodiment of the invention, said adjusting device comprises azimuthal means for aiding the shooter reaching an improved azimuthal aiming of said shotgun.

In an embodiment of the invention, the azimuthal means comprises one or more pins.

In an embodiment of the invention, the azimuthal means comprises one centre pin positioned perpendicularly to the aiming surface of the adjusting device.

In an embodiment of the invention, the azimuthal means comprises two pins positioned perpendicularly to the aiming surface of the adjusting device.

In an embodiment of the invention, the one or more pins are sideways adjustable.

In an embodiment of the invention, said azimuthal means comprises a notch in the adjusting device.

Moreover the invention relates to a shotgun comprising an adjusting device according to any of the claims 7-29.

A shotgun comprising an adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention is improved in that an improved precision of shots fired from the shotgun may be obtained, either following adjustment of the shotgun by the aid of the adjusting device or by using the retained adjusting device as kind of substitute for a rear sight on the shotgun.

With the term shotgun as used herein may be understood shotgun, sporting gun, hunting gun, fowling piece or the like, provided that the gun is a type from which a single shot contains a number of pellets, such as 1-900. The shotgun may be any brand and should not be limited to certain types of shotguns as the adjusting device such as herein described may be used on any known kind of shotguns, with a possible variation in the width of the adjusting device as the only necessary amendment in order to suit the varying widths of ribs on different brands of shotguns.

Moreover, the invention relates to a use of an adjusting device according to any of the claims 7-29 on a shotgun.

Adjustment of the shotgun is carried out through the use of the adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention on a shotgun.

The adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention is designed for use with a shotgun, which may either be during the process of adjustment of the shotgun and/or following an adjustment process. The use of the adjusting device is especially suitable for pellet-firing weapons which do typically not have a rear sight, and individual adjustment for each shooter is therefore important.

Moreover, the invention relates to a method of adjusting the butt of a shotgun to a specific shooter in order to improve the accuracy of fire by way of an adjusting device according to any of the claims 7-29.

THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now de described more in detail with reference to the drawings of which

FIGS. 1a-1k show different embodiments of an adjusting device according to the invention,

FIGS. 2a-2c show further different embodiments of an adjusting device according to the invention,

FIG. 3 shows a shotgun according to an embodiment of the invention,

FIGS. 4a and 4b show examples of distributions of pellets resulting from a shot of a shotgun, and

FIGS. 5 and 6 show steps in a method of adjusting a shotgun using an adjusting device according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Shotguns are especially useful for firing at short ranges and do typically not comprise adjustable sights as an integral part of the gun, because speed at aiming is of higher importance than precision in aiming. This is the case because a typical situation may be a hunter faced with a fast-moving target at a distance of around 20 m, or at least below 35 m. In this situation the spending of time on fixing the sight possibly through both a front and a rear sight would often cause the target to have time to escape.

Hence the majority of shotguns are produced on large scale with standard measures with the fitting of sights being limited to typically once within the first year of ownership, when the arms dealer adjusts the butt of the shotgun according to best estimates, i.e. typically large deviations are corrected only. In this way a shooter's shotgun typically will have a shooting direction deviating at least a little bit from his aiming direction. However, this deviation may often be small enough that a number of pellets may still hit in proximity of the aiming spot and the shooter will for most targets not discover that the shooting and aiming direction does not completely correspond to each other.

However, this small difference in aiming and shooting direction may be of crucial importance. For example, if the majority of the pellets are positioned below the aiming direction for the shotgun, a very precise aiming may result in a clean kill of an animal, but aiming at fast-moving targets the aiming is often displaced slightly and in the example here a shot that goes lower than desired may result in a bad result, i.e. wounding of a game is very likely to occur.

In order to avoid wounding, it is therefore extremely important that the shooter is well aware of how the pellets at a target will be distributed around the aiming direction as well as that he can trust that the aiming direction and the shooting direction are substantially the same. A standard desired distribution of pellets in a shot fired from a shotgun is ⅘ of the pellets above the aiming direction and ⅕ of the pellets below the aiming direction. However such a pattern may be adjusted according to the desires of the individual shooter, which is of no problem as long as the shooter is aware of how the pattern looks and accounts for that when shooting.

As mentioned it is important to ensure improved conformity between an aiming direction and a shooting direction of a shotgun, which is dealt with through a precise adjustment of the butt of the shotgun suitable for the individual shooter, whereby the pellet pattern will be more precisely distributed and the shooter will hit targets more precisely when firing a shotgun and thereby lowering the frequency of wounding of game during hunting.

How an improved conformity between the aiming direction and the shooting direction is obtained will now be described more in detail.

Shotgun sights differ significantly from the sights used on rifles and other firearms. Since a shotgun fires a pattern of pellets rather than a single slug, speed of aiming and pointing are generally more important than precise accuracy. For example, bird hunting, and trap shooting both demand aiming at comparatively close, fast-moving targets, as opposed to rifle shooting where the target is usually at a longer range and the angular rate of movement is much slower.

Because of these different requirements, the sights used on other types of long arms are generally unsuitable for shotguns. For example, conventional iron sights for rifles generally have an open or “peep” rear sight on the receiver and a bead at the muzzle end of the barrel, the goal being to achieve very precise adjustment in both elevation and azimuth. However, this arrangement requires comparatively slow and deliberate aiming, and moreover the sight picture is comparatively small, so that these types of sights are generally ill-suited for use on shotguns. Telescopic rifle sights can achieve even greater accuracy, but for similar reasons they too are unsuitable for use on shotguns (except for deer hunting and other specialized applications where the gun fires a single slug as opposed to a pattern of pellets).

Shotgun sights, by contrast, ordinarily lack a rear sight aperture. Instead, there is usually a rib along the top of the barrel (or between the barrels in the case of a side-by-side), with a small bead being mounted at the forward end of the rib. This arrangement permits extremely fast aiming when firing at close, fast moving targets and due to the closeness of the target, the pattern of pellets ensure that often at least some of the pellets will hit the target as long as the aiming is approximately in the right direction and hence often it is not a big deal whether the aiming direction and the shooting direction is not exactly the same.

Being satisfied with a precision wherein at least some of the pellets will hit the target may actually often be the reason why wounding occurs. If a shot is fired in a slightly different direction as desired it is obvious that the shot will still hit when the distance is kept low, which conform with the known method of avoiding wounding, namely lowering the distances from which game may be shot at.

However, by improving the precision of each shot improvements may be seen not only on the low distances but also on the distances traditionally used for shotguns, i.e. up to 35 m. Thereby clean kills occur more frequently and wounding of game occurs less frequently.

As mentioned, large deviations between shooting and aiming direction may be dealt with at the arms dealer at present on the basis of estimations. In order to deal with the small deviations some shooters have been training their abilities on making small corrections in their aiming direction of the shotgun in order to obtain a desired shooting direction. However in the case of a fast-moving target suddenly appearing, a very quick reaction from the shooter is required, and this training may easily be forgotten and the natural firing position will lead to a shot being fired in a shooting direction governed by an aiming direction towards the target, which as previously explained may not always hit as desired.

With an adjusting device and methods of adjustment according to embodiments of the invention, the shooters have achieved an ideal possibility to improve their accuracy of fire for shots from a shotgun. The adjusting device and a method of adjusting the butt of a shotgun according to a specific shooter is shown and explained through examples here below.

Example 1

Embodiments of the Adjusting Device

Different embodiments of adjusting devices according to embodiments of the invention are shown in FIGS. 1a-1k and 2a-2c. The embodiments shown should not be interpreted as limiting but only indicative on how adjusting devices according to embodiments of the invention may look.

An embodiment of an adjusting device according to the invention is shown in FIG. 1a. The adjusting device comprises a horizontal part 11 and two vertical parts 10, the vertical parts 10 arranged in order to grip around the sides of the rib of the shotgun, and the lower surface of the horizontal part 11 arranged in order to abut the upper surface of the rib of the shotgun. The distance between the vertical parts 10 is indicated in FIG. 1a with the letter d, the adjusting device may in some embodiments be manufactured with this distance d adjusted to fit the width of the rib of the shotgun.

Another embodiment of an adjusting device according to the invention is shown in FIG. 1b. The adjusting device comprises a horizontal part 11 and two vertical parts 12, the vertical parts 12 being adjusted as compared to the vertical parts 10 of FIG. 1a. The indicated slight inclination of the inner sides of the vertical parts 12 is indicating that at least the vertical parts 12 of an adjusting device according to an embodiment of the invention may be made in a flexible material, whereby the distance between the two vertical parts 12 may vary and therefore two identical adjusting devices may be used for shotguns with different width of the ribs.

In another embodiment of the invention, which may be combined with the embodiment above, the horizontal part 11 may be made in a flexible material, such that the horizontal part 11 may be stretched to be used on different widths of shotguns.

Yet another embodiment of an adjusting device according to the invention is shown in FIG. 1c. In this embodiment the adjusting device is split into a horizontal base element 13 with vertical parts 14 and an upper element 15 comprising lifting arms 16. On the base element a knob 17 is mounted through the turning of which the upper element 15 may be raised or lowered relatively to the base element 13. This embodiment may be carried out in any conventional manner e.g. with the aid of teeth, threaded pins and/or the like. Moreover this embodiment may be carried out through the use of suitable choice of material to ease the height handling adjustment.

Yet a further embodiment of an adjusting device according to the invention is shown in FIG. 1d. and the same seen from the side in FIG. 1e. In this embodiment the mounting means is two magnets 18 capable of attaching the adjusting device on top of the rib of a shotgun. The adjusting device of this embodiment comprises a replaceable aiming part 19, comprising a horizontal part 19a suitable for acting as an aiming surface and optionally side parts 19b suitable for ensuring azimuthally precision as described in further details below and holding the stick during adjustment.

Further embodiments of an adjusting device according to the invention are shown in FIGS. 1f-1k. In these embodiments the mounting means is two magnets 18 capable of attaching the adjusting device on top of the rib of a shotgun, wherein the magnets are placed in a lower element 100 comprising a groove 101. Depending on how large vertical and lateral adjustments are necessary for the individual shotgun, a number of different changeable elements will according to this embodiment be part of a kit in combination with the lower element 100. Different widths and heights of this changeable element are within the scope of the invention.

Two examples of such changeable elements 102 and 105 are shown in FIGS. 1h and 1j and the same seen from the side in FIGS. 1i and 1k. The changeable elements have bottoms 103 and 106 shaped in order to fit the groove 101 of the lower element 100. Moreover the changeable elements have a notch 104 and 107, which during the adjustment steps will serve as aiming surface and, upon mounting the stick, as holding means for this.

A shooter with a very high cheek distance may find a need for a higher aiming part 19 than a shooter with a normal cheek distance. The use of a replaceable aiming part 19 ensures that any shooter, regardless of the individual cheek distance, will be able to use the adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 2a-2c show embodiments corresponding to the embodiments in FIGS. 1a-1c, wherein the adjusting device further comprises two pins 20 placed essentially vertically on top of the adjusting device. If retaining the adjusting device on the shotgun during shooting, these pins 20 will help the shooter to have a better indication whether his aiming is azimuthally precise.

In further embodiments, not shown in the figures, the pins 20 may be sideways adjustable by any conventional means, whereby any sideways difference between aiming direction and shooting direction may be corrected in the same way as explained herein for the height adjustment.

Example 2

Adjustment of a Shotgun to a Specific Shooter

A method according to an embodiment of the invention of adjusting a shotgun by the aid of an adjusting device according to an embodiment of the invention will be described here below with reference to FIGS. 3-6.

In a first step the shooter, for whom the shotgun 30 is to be adjusted, takes the shotgun 30 to his shoulder into his natural firing position by which a cheek distance 36 from the aiming eye 35 to the upper side of the butt 31 can be measured as indicated in FIG. 3. The definition of a cheek distance and how to measure it will be explained more in detail later. In a natural firing position a shooter will point the barrel 32 in the aiming direction by using the front bead 34 and the rib 33 as aid for aiming.

In a second step the shotgun is positioned and fixed by fixing means facilitating that the rib is aligned precisely towards a target spot 40, which is indicated on e.g. a sheet of cardboard 43. The fixing may be any fixing means known in the art, such as a screw clamp or the like. The precise aligning towards the target spot 40 is carried out by holding the eye in complete alignment with the rib 56, i.e. holding the eye precisely low enough to not being able to see the upper surface of the rib 56 but being able to see the front bead 51 and make the front bead 51 align exactly with the target spot 40. The fixed position of the shotgun should be kept throughout the next steps in order to ensure an exact adjustment.

In a third step a shot is fired from the fixed position towards the target spot 40 from a distance of approximately 20 m. The number of pellets will then be readably distributed around the target spot 40 in a shooting pattern 42 as indicated in FIG. 4a. Obviously the pellets will create a shooting pattern 42 consisting of distinct points; however the majority of the pellets will normally lie within an area as indicated with 42. The distance of approximately 20 m should not be considered limiting for the invention, but may vary within a normal shooting range.

In a fourth step an aiming spot 41 is marked on the sheet. The purpose of the aiming spot 41 is that the shooter can indicate how he would like the shooting pattern 42 to be distributed around a certain aiming spot 41. Therefore, after adjustment of the shotgun 50 using an adjusting device 52 according to an embodiment of the invention, a shooting pattern from the adjusted shotgun 50 by an aimed shot towards the aiming spot 41 from the shooter will be distributed in the same way as the shooting pattern 42 is distributed around the aiming spot 41.

Another example of a shooting pattern 45 and corresponding aiming spot 44 is indicated in FIG. 4b. In this situation a need for both a height and a lateral adjustment of the butt is relevant.

The aiming spot 41 relative to the shooting pattern 42 may obviously be set as desired by the individual shooter. As standard, this aiming spot 41 should be placed inside the shooting pattern 42 with approximately ⅕ of the shooting pattern area positioned below the aiming spot and approximately ⅘ of the shooting pattern area positioned above the aiming spot due to an increased tendency of aiming too low rather than too high when shooting with a shotgun towards a fast-moving target.

It should be noted that although the distribution of ⅕ below and app. ⅘ above the aiming spot is typical, some shooters prefer this distribution to be different, such as having almost the full shooting pattern placed above the aiming spot, i.e. the aiming spot is marked on or even below the bottom border of the shooting pattern 42. Several such adjustments of the shooting pattern around the aiming spot are possible depending on how the individual shooter feels most comfortable when shooting.

In a fifth step the adjusting device is attached on the rib 56 of the shotgun 50. Usually shotguns are equipped with a rib 56 along the top of the barrel 57, the width of which varies from brand to brand, however typically it is between 5 and 15 mm. The adjusting device 52 may be manufactured with a certain distance d as seen in FIG. 1a in order to fit to the specific brand or it may be manufactured with flexible means as was explained with reference to FIG. 1b such that a range of rib widths may be covered with the same adjusting device 52. Further and preferably the adjusting device is attached with e.g. magnets as explained with reference to FIGS. 1d-1g.

In a sixth step the adjusting device 52 is adjusted by sliding it along the rib 56 or by adjusting the height of the adjusting device 52 (depending on the specific adjusting device 52 used) until the sight track 54 between the aiming surfaces of the adjusting device 52, the front bead 51 and the aiming spot 41 is aligned as indicated in FIG. 5.

When using the adjusting device as disclosed in FIGS. 1f-1k, a suitable changeable element 102 or 105 is selected and mounted on the lower element 100 and then the sliding adjustment is carried out. Obviously the changeable element 102 or 105 may be changed during adjustment in case another changeable element 102 or 105 turns out to cover the necessary adjustments in vertical and lateral directions better.

A further advantage by using an adjusting device as disclosed in FIGS. 1f-1k is that the required lateral adjustment of the adjusting device may be carried out by adjusting the position of the changeable element 102 or 105 in the groove 101; hence the magnets 18 may be maintained in the center of the rib and thereby maintain their firm grip on the rib even through a relatively large lateral adjustment.

When performing the method as described, the same distance as in the third step (e.g. approximately 20 m) should be held between the shotgun 50 and the aiming spot 41 in order for the pellets to be distributed and any deviation between shooting direction and aiming direction to be clear. This distance is truncated in FIG. 5 in order to show the relevant parts clearly. Through this sixth step it is obtained that it is clear from the line between the aiming surface of the adjusting device 52 and the front bead 51 at which height the specific shooter should keep his aiming eye 53 above the butt 58 in order for the shotgun to hit around the aiming spot 41 as desired in the previous step.

In a seventh step an oblong rigid object 60, such as a stick, is placed along the aiming surfaces of the front bead 51 and the adjusting device 52, the stick 60 extends further above the butt 58 of the shotgun following the line of sight 54 found in last step. Hereby the stick indicates the height 55 above the butt 58, in which the aiming eye 53 should be held in order to hit the aiming spot 41 as desired. The vertical distance 55 between the stick and the butt 58 can then be measured and compared to the cheek distance 36 as measured in the first step. In FIG. 5 the aiming eye 53 is indicated at the height desired in order to obtain an improved accuracy of fire, from which the height 55 is easily read with the use of e.g. the stick 60. With reference number 61 is indicated the height of the cheek distance above the butt 58, whereby the difference in the cheek distance 36 between height 61 and the butt 58 and the desired vertical distance 55 is easily seen.

In an eighth step a string (not shown) is attached to the end of the stick close to the front bead. This string is stretched along the rib and butt and kept in the same plane as the stick, whereby the necessary lateral adjustment can be read off.

In a ninth step, the vertical distance 55 is adjusted to match the previously measured cheek distance 36. This means that at least the upper surface of the butt 58 of the shotgun 50 is raised or lowered until the vertical distance between the line of stick 60 and the butt 58 corresponds to the measured cheek distance 36. Likewise any necessary lateral adjustment found in the eighth step is made by laterally adjusting the butt 58.

A particular advantage in using a stick 60 is that after adjustment of the adjusting device 52, the arms dealer is able to see the line of sight suiting the shotgun to be adjusted, and the arms dealer can then adjust the butt 58 correspondingly without the need for the shooter to be present.

The raising or lowering and lateral adjustment of the butt may be carried out by any means capable of doing so. The standard method used for the majority of shotguns will be well-known to the person skilled in the art, i.e. the adjustment of the complete butt relative to the barrels is carried out by applying hot oil to the relevant part of the butt whereby it becomes possible to twist the butt sufficiently to adjust the shotgun as desired. Some shotguns, typically the more expensive ones, offer the possibility of adjusting the butt in other ways such as by being manufactured with a two-part butt, wherein the upper part of the butt may be adjusted separately relative to the main part of the butt. Further such possibilities may be seen within the art. These possibilities are built into the shotguns in order for the shooter by himself trying to make small adjustments in order to obtain a better precision in case he has a feeling that a small adjustment is necessary. With the adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention the shooter will know exactly how much the upper part of the butt should be raised and in that way the shooter will partly be able to adjust the shotgun himself without the use of hot oil. Other ways of adjusting at least the upper part of the butt well-known to the person skilled in the art are within the scope of the invention.

It should be noted that in a further method of adjusting a shotgun by using an embodiment of an adjusting device according to the invention, it may be relevant in the raising or lowering of the butt to adjust the angling of the upper surface of the butt and not only a single point where the cheek distance is measured.

The steps as set forth in the above example of a method of adjusting a shotgun by the aid of an adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention should not be considered as limiting for how the adjustment should be carried out. Some additional steps may be added, some steps may be omitted, and some steps may be reversed.

The method of adjusting a shotgun as just described is very advantageous, e.g. in that the majority of steps may be carried out already at manufacturing of the shotgun. That means that shotguns adjusted according to embodiments of the invention at manufacturing may be shipped to arms dealers with a label telling which vertical distance 55 identifies this exact shotgun. A simple measuring of an individual shooter's cheek distance at the arms dealer will then tell whether a shotgun fits directly to the individual shooter or exactly how much the butt should be adjusted.

Moreover an adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention allows the possibility of the individual shooter with a shotgun to find out exactly how the aiming and shooting of his shotgun corresponds and by himself make an adjustment or bring the information to an arms dealer for adjustment.

How the cheek distance is defined and measured should be clear from the following.

Standard shotguns have no rear sight opening to look through; hence proper elevation of the barrel is typically sought through the shooter keeping his aiming eye closely level with the rib, usually with the cheek held against the upper surface of the butt.

Therefore, the upper surface of the butt of the shotgun is what defines how a shooter will naturally place the shotgun when aiming. Even though this placing of the shotgun of course may be varied, e.g. in order to obtain a better precision as in prior art, there is a clear tendency that each person as a starting point will place the upper surface of the butt in the same position on the cheek or maybe chin unless doing otherwise on purpose. Therefore, as contrary to trying to make small variations in this position as in prior art to search for better precision, it is important to ensure that when a shooter takes his shotgun into his individual natural position, the shooting direction corresponds to the aiming direction.

In order to use the adjusting device as described herein, a distance which will be specific for the individual shooter is needed. This so-called cheek distance is found by measuring the distance from the shooter's eye to the upper surface of the butt of the shotgun, when the shooter holds the shotgun in his natural firing position. A shooters natural firing position may be defined as the position wherein it feels natural and comfortable to hold the shotgun for shooting. Typically the mentioned distance is measured perpendicularly to the barrels as indicated in FIG. 3; however other references used may still result in improved precision and are therefore within the scope of the invention, such as perpendicularly to the butt or the like.

The cheek distance may be different from person to person both due to different shapes of face and body and due to different persons' individual ways to hold a shotgun in a natural firing position. However the important fact is that the cheek distance is a constant for the individual person and therefore an excellent parameter to use as starting point for adjusting the shotgun.

In some embodiments of the invention, the adjusting device is provided with azimuthal means.

In an embodiment of the invention the azimuthal means comprises a single pin centered on the aiming surface of the adjusting device. In another embodiment the azimuthal means comprises a notch in the adjusting device. Within the context of this document the terms azimuthal and lateral may both be used to indicate the sideways adjusting and/or aiming of the shotgun.

In an embodiment of the invention, the azimuthal means comprises two pins extending perpendicularly on the adjusting device as seen in FIGS. 2a-2c.

In another embodiment of the invention the two pins extending perpendicularly on the adjusting device may be adjustable sideways relative to the adjusting device.

Thereby small corrections sideways may be adjusted in the same way as described for height corrections above, following the same methods as already described. Obviously this may be performed simultaneously with and as integrated in the method already described for adjusting the butt of a shotgun. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the sideways adjusting is carried out with an adjusting device as seen in FIGS. 1f-1k.

However, even with sideways aiming satisfyingly adjusted, a limitation of shotgun sights stems from the comparatively rapid angular movement of the target. As has been described above, conventional rib-and-bead sights allow for rapid acquisition of a fast-moving target. However, the rapid movement of the target also means that the shooter must “lead” the target by aiming along its projected path, and conventional sights provide little or nothing in the way of a visual reference by which the shooter can accurately judge the line of flight and thereby determine a proper lead angle.

This problem may be remedied by retaining the adjusting device provided with azimuthal means on the rib of the shotgun, whereby the pin(s) or notch may be used as an indicator on how the present azimuthal adjustment of the aiming is.

By having the shotgun adjusted with the help of the adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention, the aiming eye of the shooter will naturally be held at the proper elevation relative to the rib and front bead when using a shotgun without the need of the shooter himself to correct after placing the shotgun in his natural firing position.

Moreover with the use of the adjusting device according to embodiments of the invention, a method and apparatus that does not interfere with the ability of the shooter to rapidly acquire the target and point the shotgun when using rib-and-bead sights has been obtained.

Still further a method of adjusting a shotgun with the help of an adjusting device has been obtained, which is sufficiently reliable and which is sufficiently inexpensive to manufacture that it can be made widely available to shooters.

Claims

1. Method of improving adjustment of a butt of a shotgun to a specific shooter in order to improve accuracy of fire comprising the steps of:

positioning and fixing the shotgun by fixing means facilitating that the rib is aligned precisely towards a target spot,

firing a shot from the fixed position resulting in a shooting pattern of pellets around the target spot,

marking an aiming spot in the shooting pattern,

attaching an adjusting device on the rib of the shotgun, and

adjusting the adjusting device until a sight track between the aiming surfaces of the adjusting device, a front bead and the aiming spot is aligned in order to adjust the butt of the shotgun accordingly.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises the step of

placing an oblong rigid object along the aiming surfaces of the front bead and the adjusting device, the oblong rigid object extending further above the butt of the shotgun to indicate a desired height of the aiming eye above the butt in order to hit a target as desired, whereby a vertical distance between the oblong rigid object and the butt can be measured and compared to a cheek distance.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises the step of

placing a lateral marking means along the aiming surface of the front bead and extending further directly above the butt of the shotgun, in order to facilitate easy and more exact measurement of a lateral distance between the oblong rigid object and the butt of said shotgun.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises the step of

adjusting a vertical distance to correspond to the cheek distance by any means capable of raising or lowering at least an upper part of the butt.

5. Method according to claims 1-4, wherein said method further comprises the step of

adjusting a lateral position of at least the upper part of the butt on the basis of a measured lateral distance by any means capable of adjusting said lateral position.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein said method further comprises the step of

the shooter taking the shotgun to his shoulder into his natural firing position, upon which a cheek distance from an aiming eye to an upper side of the butt is measured.

7. Adjusting device for adjustment of a butt of a shotgun to a specific shooter in order to improve accuracy of fire, said adjusting device comprising:

mounting means for mounting said adjusting device on said shotgun,

adjusting means for adjusting a sight track between an aiming surface of said adjusting device and a front bead of said shotgun, and an oblong rigid object to indicate a sight track during adjustment of the butt to facilitate an easier adjusting process of the butt.

8. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein said adjusting device comprises holding means for holding said oblong rigid object in place in order to facilitate an easier adjusting process.

9. Adjusting device according to claim 8, wherein said holding means is a notch.

10. Adjusting device according to claim 8, wherein said holding means comprises a clamp.

11. Adjusting device according to any of the claim 7, wherein the oblong rigid object is a stick made in a rigid material comprising at least one of plastic, wood and metal.

12. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein the oblong rigid object is a telescopic stick in order to be sufficiently prolonged during use without losing stiffness.

13. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein the oblong rigid object has a length of at least a distance from a front bead to a front part of the butt.

14. Adjusting device according to any of the claim 7, wherein one end of the oblong rigid object comprises a magnet in order to fix the oblong rigid object to a front end of the rib.

15. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein one end of the oblong rigid object comprises a string fastening means to facilitate fastening of a lateral marking means.

16. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting device comprises a lower element and a changeable element comprising a notch.

17. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting device is detachably mounted on the shotgun or on the rib.

18. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting device is configured to be removed from the shotgun after adjustment.

19. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein said mounting means comprises means for mounting on a rib of said shotgun.

20. (canceled)

21. Adjusting device according to any of the claim 7, wherein the adjusting device is held onto a rib of said shotgun by at least one magnet.

22. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein said adjusting device is held onto a rib of said shotgun by squeezing means.

23. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein said adjusting means comprises raising means for adjusting a position of said aiming surface of said adjusting means relative to a rib of said shotgun.

24. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein the adjusting device comprises raising means comprising a base element and an upper element comprising lifting arms.

25. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein said adjusting means comprises sliding means allowing said adjusting device to slide along barrels of said shotgun.

26. Adjusting device according to claim 7, wherein said adjusting device comprises azimuthal means for aiding the shooter reaching an improved azimuthal aiming of said shotgun.

27. Adjusting device according to claim 26, wherein the azimuthal means comprises one or more pins, or a notch in the adjusting device.

28. Adjusting device according to any of the claim 27, wherein the one or more pins are sideways adjustable.

29. (canceled)

30. A shotgun comprising an adjusting device according to claim 7.

31.-32. (canceled)