Rifle stand

Claim 1

A rifle stand including an elongate, vertical, spade-like spike with front and rear surfaces, a horizontal top, downwardly and inwardly converging sides defining an earth piercing point, a vertically extending rearwardly opening channel and a horizontal, foot-engaging header extending transverse said top and overlying the upper end of said channel; an elongate normally horizontal butt support means with front and rear ends defining vertically disposed support surfaces and defining two laterally spaced forwardly disposed stops spaced rearward from the header and engageable with the butt ends and rearwardly disposed butt heels of rifle stocks related to the stand, means pivotally and frictionally securing the front end of the support means to the header and rearward of the spike whereby said support means is shiftable downwardly and forwardly to a vertical position adjacent said rear surface; manually operable releasable retaining means carried by the header releasably engaging the support means to hold it horizontal; stock grip-engaging means including an elongate vertical column slidable longitudinally in the channel from a down position where its upper end terminates adjacent said top to an up position where its lower end portion is engaged in and between the header and channel and a horizontal rest plate at the upper end of the column defining two laterally spaced vertically and rearwardly opening notches in common laterally spaced parallel vertical planes with said stops and on a lateral vertical plane spaced forward of the lateral vertical plane on which said stops occur, said notches receiving and engaging forwardly disposed edges of stock grips related to the stand and whose butt portions are supported and stopped by said support means, said retaining means releasably engaging and selectively stopping said column in said up and down positions.