Just made this thing.
08-10-2009, 09:34 AM
#12
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 110
08-10-2009, 09:57 AM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Coralville, IA. USA
Posts: 3,802
I'd imagine that you could get at least $200 out of a shooting bench like that. It looks like it would be just the thing for prairie dog shooters who like to move from town to town.
It's an ingenious idea, but I think that you just made a major mistake by publishing pictures of it on the internet without securing a patent first. I'm guessing it won't be long before a company steals your idea, patents it, and leaves you SOL like the dude who invented roller-blades, and didn't make a dime off his invention because he didn't get a patent.
My suggestions for improvements would be to lengthen the forward part of the table so that one could comfortably use a bipod. If you look at where your front sling swivel is in relation to the table, you'll see that a bipod would be off the table with the shooter in position with the rifle shouldered. Secondly, I'd make the vertical portion a two-piece sliding setup, with a heavy cotter pin (like those used to secure the ball into a receiver hitch) and multiple holes to allow the shooter to adjust the height of the bench for optimum comfort and best shooting form. This would also allow the bench portion to be removed easily from the receiver portion, making mounting and dismounting the bench from the hitch receiver much easier, and making it easier to transport and store when not in use. Thirdly, I'll second the need for a foot rest of some sort. even drilling a 3/4" hole through the horizonal beam and welding in a piece of 3/4" conduit would make a good footrest.
Again, if I were you I'd take down these pictures and call the U.S. Patent Office ASAP. I believe that as long as your patent application is in progress, you still have legal rights to the design and concept.
Mike
It's an ingenious idea, but I think that you just made a major mistake by publishing pictures of it on the internet without securing a patent first. I'm guessing it won't be long before a company steals your idea, patents it, and leaves you SOL like the dude who invented roller-blades, and didn't make a dime off his invention because he didn't get a patent.
My suggestions for improvements would be to lengthen the forward part of the table so that one could comfortably use a bipod. If you look at where your front sling swivel is in relation to the table, you'll see that a bipod would be off the table with the shooter in position with the rifle shouldered. Secondly, I'd make the vertical portion a two-piece sliding setup, with a heavy cotter pin (like those used to secure the ball into a receiver hitch) and multiple holes to allow the shooter to adjust the height of the bench for optimum comfort and best shooting form. This would also allow the bench portion to be removed easily from the receiver portion, making mounting and dismounting the bench from the hitch receiver much easier, and making it easier to transport and store when not in use. Thirdly, I'll second the need for a foot rest of some sort. even drilling a 3/4" hole through the horizonal beam and welding in a piece of 3/4" conduit would make a good footrest.
Again, if I were you I'd take down these pictures and call the U.S. Patent Office ASAP. I believe that as long as your patent application is in progress, you still have legal rights to the design and concept.
Mike
08-10-2009, 10:20 AM
#14
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 110
I'd imagine that you could get at least $200 out of a shooting bench like that. It looks like it would be just the thing for prairie dog shooters who like to move from town to town.
It's an ingenious idea, but I think that you just made a major mistake by publishing pictures of it on the internet without securing a patent first. I'm guessing it won't be long before a company steals your idea, patents it, and leaves you SOL like the dude who invented roller-blades, and didn't make a dime off his invention because he didn't get a patent.
My suggestions for improvements would be to lengthen the forward part of the table so that one could comfortably use a bipod. If you look at where your front sling swivel is in relation to the table, you'll see that a bipod would be off the table with the shooter in position with the rifle shouldered. Secondly, I'd make the vertical portion a two-piece sliding setup, with a heavy cotter pin (like those used to secure the ball into a receiver hitch) and multiple holes to allow the shooter to adjust the height of the bench for optimum comfort and best shooting form. This would also allow the bench portion to be removed easily from the receiver portion, making mounting and dismounting the bench from the hitch receiver much easier, and making it easier to transport and store when not in use. Thirdly, I'll second the need for a foot rest of some sort. even drilling a 3/4" hole through the horizonal beam and welding in a piece of 3/4" conduit would make a good footrest.
Again, if I were you I'd take down these pictures and call the U.S. Patent Office ASAP. I believe that as long as your patent application is in progress, you still have legal rights to the design and concept.
Mike
It's an ingenious idea, but I think that you just made a major mistake by publishing pictures of it on the internet without securing a patent first. I'm guessing it won't be long before a company steals your idea, patents it, and leaves you SOL like the dude who invented roller-blades, and didn't make a dime off his invention because he didn't get a patent.
My suggestions for improvements would be to lengthen the forward part of the table so that one could comfortably use a bipod. If you look at where your front sling swivel is in relation to the table, you'll see that a bipod would be off the table with the shooter in position with the rifle shouldered. Secondly, I'd make the vertical portion a two-piece sliding setup, with a heavy cotter pin (like those used to secure the ball into a receiver hitch) and multiple holes to allow the shooter to adjust the height of the bench for optimum comfort and best shooting form. This would also allow the bench portion to be removed easily from the receiver portion, making mounting and dismounting the bench from the hitch receiver much easier, and making it easier to transport and store when not in use. Thirdly, I'll second the need for a foot rest of some sort. even drilling a 3/4" hole through the horizonal beam and welding in a piece of 3/4" conduit would make a good footrest.
Again, if I were you I'd take down these pictures and call the U.S. Patent Office ASAP. I believe that as long as your patent application is in progress, you still have legal rights to the design and concept.
Mike
08-10-2009, 03:33 PM
#19
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Coralville, IA. USA
Posts: 3,802
Did you see the picture before he took it down? He's not talking about a portable bench that sits on the ground. I've never seen any shooting bench like the one he designed for sale. His design is nowhere near what's described in U.S. Patent 7152358.
Mike
Mike
Last edited by driftrider; 08-10-2009 at 03:37 PM.