FIREARM ATTACHMENT APPARATUS FOR DRY FIRE TRAINING
This disclosure describes a firearm attachment and apparatus for more effectively dry-firing a firearm device during marksmanship training. The firearm attachment includes a coupling portion that is configured to fixedly couple the firearm attachment to a slidable member (e.g., a slide of a pistol or a charging handle of a rifle) of the firearm device, and a tethering aperture that is positioned at a distal end of firearm attachment, relative to the coupling portion. When the firearm attachment is coupled to the firearm device via the coupling portion, and a rearward force is applied at the tethering aperture, the firearm attachment pulls the slidable member of the firearm device into a set position for dry-firing the firearm device. The rearward force can be applied by a sling apparatus that attaches to or through the tethering aperture of the firearm attachment.
This application claims the priority filing benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/942,250, filed on Feb. 20, 2014 under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), the entire disclosures of which is incorporated herein by reference herein for all purposes.
BACKGROUNDDry-fire training generally involves a procedure of simulating the firing of a firearm without the use of live ammunition or rounds (e.g., bullets filled with gunpowder). In this context, an unloaded firearm being used during a dry-fire practice session may correspond to a small arms weapon or “small firearm,” such as a pistol (e.g., an automatic or semi-automatic handgun) or a rifle (e.g., a bolt-action, automatic, or semi-automatic rifle). To dry-fire a corresponding firearm, a shooter can pull the set trigger of the firearm; in response, a hammer or other striking implement will drop into or otherwise move into the firing chamber of the firearm (e.g., and empty firing chamber or a firing chamber containing a dummy round or a snap-cap).
Subsequent to a dry-fire action, the trigger mechanism of the firearm will typically need to be manually reset by the shooter. By way of example, a manual slide movement may be required to reset the trigger mechanism of a pistol, and a manual charging handle/bolt carrier group movement may be required to reset the trigger mechanism of a rifle. In either scenario, a shooter ordinarily must use both hands to reset the trigger mechanism of his or her firearm device. In contrast, when a firearm is discharged using a live round, a concussive force of a back blast or recoil of a fired bullet will automatically move the slide of a pistol or the charging handle/bolt carrier group of a rifle to reset the corresponding trigger mechanism.
With respect to dry-fire training, the components of marksmanship can include, but are not limited to including, practicing the drawing and/or initial positioning of a firearm, target acquisition drills, firearm sight alignment and/or sight picture drills, trigger control drills and breathing exercises, shooting stance drills, as well as general firearm assembly, loading, and grip familiarization. In practice, after a firearm is dry-fired by a shooter, the shooter will need to alter their posture/positioning, target acquisition, sighting, grip, shooting stance, etc., in order to reset the trigger mechanism of their firearm (e.g., by simulating a recoil action). In many situations, this required activity is detrimental to marksmanship training.
For instance, it is often desirable for a shooter to be able to maintain their positioning, grip, stance, etc., during dry-fire training to best simulate the firing of successive live rounds of ammunition with their firearm. Preserved shooter positioning is also desirable for marksmanship evaluation purposes. In this regard, a trainer may be able to more astutely recognize even minor deviations in firearm manipulation and firing habits of a shooter under evaluation, when positioning, grip, stance, etc., are maintained between successive simulated firings of the shooter's firearm. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have a means for consistently reproducing various marksmanship attributes during dry-fire training without substantial repositioning or movement on the part of a shooter.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis summary is provided to introduce, in a simplified form, a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is this summary intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Various embodiments of the disclosure describe apparatus for improving marksmanship training by consistently simulating the firing of successive live rounds of ammunition with a firearm device during dry-fire training, when the firearm device is not loaded with bullets. With the use of the firearm training implements described herein a shooter's positioning, grip, stance, etc., can be maintained during a dry-fire training session, to allow a firearms trainer to recognize even minor variances in firearm manipulation and firing habits of the shooter.
In accordance with some aspects of the invention, a firearm attachment is described for dry-firing a firearm device during marksmanship practice. This firearm attachment can include at least a coupling portion configured to fixedly couple the firearm attachment to a slidable member of the firearm device, and a tethering aperture positioned at a distal end of firearm attachment, relative to the coupling portion. In various implementations, when the firearm attachment is coupled to the firearm device via the coupling portion, and a rearward force is applied at the tethering aperture, the firearm attachment can pull the slidable member of the firearm device into a set position for dry-firing the firearm device.
In accordance with other aspects, the tethering aperture may have an annular shape that is configured to be coupled to a sling apparatus. In this regard, the sling apparatus may have a tethering portion that is disposed through the tethering aperture to couple the sling apparatus to the firearm attachment.
In an embodiment, a rearward force can be applied at the tethering aperture of the firearm attachment by the sling apparatus to pull the slidable member of the firearm device into a set position for firing the firearm device.
In various implementations the firearm device to which the firearm attachment can be coupled may be a pistol or a rifle. When the firearm device is a pistol, the coupling portion may be configured to securely fit over and on top of a rearward portion of a slide of the pistol. When the firearm device is a rifle, the coupling portion can be configured to securely fit over and on top of a rearward portion of a charging handle of the rifle.
Further, in some aspects, the coupling portion can include a grip implement that is located on one or more internal sides of the coupling portion and connects the coupling portion to the rearward portion of the slide of the pistol. Similarly, the coupling portion can include a grip implement that connects the coupling portion to the rearward portion of the charging handle of the rifle.
In accordance with one embodiment, an apparatus is described that includes both a firearm attachment configured to fixedly attach to a slidable member of a firearm device, and a sling device that couples to the firearm attachment at a tethering aperture of the firearm attachment. When the firearm attachment is coupled to the firearm, and a rearward force is applied at the firearm attachment by the sling device, the firearm attachment can pull the slidable member of the firearm into a set position for firing the firearm.
In another aspect of the disclosure, the sling device can include a tethering portion that is disposed through the tethering aperture to couple the sling device to the firearm attachment.
In one implementation, the firearm may be a pistol and the firearm attachment can be configured to securely fit over and on top of a rearward portion of a slide of the pistol. In this arrangement, the firearm attachment can include a grip implement that is located on one or more internal sides of the firearm attachment and connects to the rearward portion of the slide of the pistol.
In an embodiment, the firearm may be a rifle and the firearm attachment can be configured to securely fit over and on top of a rearward portion of a charging handle of the rifle. In this arrangement, the firearm attachment may include a grip implement that connects to the rearward portion of the charging handle of the rifle.
Various example embodiments are described in detail below by way of example and with reference to the drawings, in which:
Representative examples of a dry-fire attachment and dry-fire apparatus are described within this section. These examples are provided to add context to, and to aid in the understanding of the subject matter of this disclosure. It should be apparent to one having ordinary skill in firearms usage and marksmanship that the present disclosure may be practiced with or without some of the specific details described herein. Various modifications and/or alterations can be made to the subject matter described herein, and illustrated in the corresponding figures, to achieve similar advantages and results, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
References are made in this section to the accompanying figures, which form a part of the disclosure and in which are shown, by way of illustration, various implementations corresponding to the described embodiments herein. Although the embodiments of this disclosure are described in sufficient detail to enable one having ordinary skill in the art to practice the described implementations, it should be understood that these examples are not to be construed as being overly limiting or all-inclusive.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure,
In contrast, a loaded pistol 20 (e.g., a pistol loaded with charged bullets) is fired when a shooter pulls the trigger 19 of the pistol 20 in a rearward direction with respect to the frame 14. In this instance, the slide 12 and barrel 18 collectively move in a slight rearward direction until a bullet exits the muzzle of the barrel 18, at which point, the slide 12 releases from the barrel 18 and continues to move in a rearward direction until the recoil position is achieved. Once in the recoil position, a bullet shell for a fired round is ejected from the pistol 20, and a new round is moved into the barrel 18 as the slide 12 again achieves a closed position (e.g., the pistol shown in
During a dry-fire training session, a shooter 32 may assume a shooting stance and grip his or her weapon (e.g., as depicted in
During a simulated recoil movement, as described herein with respect to
In some configurations, the coupling portion 62 of the firearm attachment 38B may include a grip implement that is located on one or more internal sides of the coupling portion 62 to connect the coupling portion 62 of the firearm attachment 38B to a rearward portion of the pistol slide 12. Further, the tethering aperture 64 may have an annular shape that enables the tethering portion 36 of a sling device 34 to be disposed there through (e.g., in the manner shown in
In various marksmanship training scenarios, the sling device 88 may be fixedly coupled to an attachment point on a shooter 82 or an attachment point external to a shooter 82 (e.g., as depicted in
Alternatively, a dry-fire firearm attachment for a rifle 84 may be configured as a modified charging handle (e.g., the charging handle 86 depicted in
In this configuration, a recoil action can be easily simulated by a shooter slightly pushing forward on the grip 116 of the firearm to effectuate a rearward force being applied at the dry-fire back plate 122 (e.g., by pulling the slide 112 back to reset the firearm device). In this regard, it should be understood that the sling device 132 may include a body harness to attach to a shooter (e.g., as disclosed with respect to
The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. However, it should be apparent to one skilled in the art that some of the specific details may not be required in order to practice the described embodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments are presented herein for purposes of illustration and description. These descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive, all-inclusive, or to limit the described embodiments to the precise forms or details disclosed. Further, it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the disclosure.
Claims
1. A firearm attachment for dry-firing a firearm device, the firearm attachment comprising:
- a coupling portion configured to fixedly couple the firearm attachment to a slidable member of the firearm device; and
- a tethering aperture positioned at a distal end of firearm attachment, relative to the coupling portion,
- wherein when the firearm attachment is coupled to the firearm device via the coupling portion, and a rearward force is applied at the tethering aperture, the firearm attachment pulls the slidable member of the firearm device into a set position for dry-firing the firearm device.
2. The firearm attachment of claim 1, wherein the tethering aperture has an annular shape that is configured to be coupled to a sling apparatus.
3. The firearm attachment of claim 2, wherein the sling apparatus comprises a tethering portion that is disposed through the tethering aperture to couple the sling apparatus to the firearm attachment.
4. The firearm attachment of claim 2, wherein the rearward force is applied at the tethering aperture of the firearm attachment by the sling apparatus.
5. The firearm attachment of claim 1, wherein:
- the firearm device is a pistol; and
- the coupling portion is configured to securely fit over and on top of a rearward portion of a slide of the pistol.
6. The firearm attachment of claim 5, wherein the coupling portion includes a grip implement that is located on one or more internal sides of the coupling portion and connects the coupling portion to the rearward portion of the slide of the pistol.
7. The firearm attachment of claim 1, wherein:
- the firearm device is a rifle; and
- the coupling portion is configured to securely fit over and on top of a rearward portion of a charging handle of the rifle.
8. The firearm attachment of claim 7, wherein the coupling portion includes a grip implement that connects the coupling portion to the rearward portion of the charging handle of the rifle.
9. An apparatus, comprising:
- a firearm attachment configured to fixedly attach to a slidable member of a firearm device; and
- a sling device that couples to the firearm attachment at a tethering aperture of the firearm attachment,
- wherein when the firearm attachment is coupled to the firearm, and a rearward force is applied at the firearm attachment by the sling device, the firearm attachment pulls the slidable member of the firearm into a set position for firing the firearm.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the tethering aperture has an annular shape that is configured to be coupled to the sling device.
11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the sling device comprises a tethering portion that is disposed through the tethering aperture to couple the sling device to the firearm attachment.
12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the rearward force is applied at the tethering aperture of the firearm attachment.
13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein:
- the firearm is a pistol; and
- the firearm attachment is configured to securely fit over and on top of a rearward portion of a slide of the pistol.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the firearm attachment includes a grip implement that is located on one or more internal sides of the firearm attachment and connects to the rearward portion of the slide of the pistol.
15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein:
- the firearm is a rifle; and
- the firearm attachment is configured to securely fit over and on top of a rearward portion of a charging handle of the rifle.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the firearm attachment includes a grip implement that connects to the rearward portion of the charging handle of the rifle.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 23, 2014
Publication Date: Aug 20, 2015
Inventor: Jonathan Ray Kiehn (Lynnwood, WA)
Application Number: 14/582,162