1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a firearm recoil reducing device and more particularly to a movable fore end of a firearm in which a compression spring abuts the fore end which is held by the shooter's hand and move rearwadly against the compression spring to reduce the recoil action when the firearm is discharged.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recoil devices for firearms, such as rifles and shotguns, are well known in the art as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,679,192; 3,115,063; 3,683,534; 4,088,057 and 4,156,979. U.S. Pat. No. 2,679,192 discloses a piston which is forwardly driven by the gas generated by the cartridge explosion in a tube against the spring. The mass of the forwardly moving piston tends to drive the entire gun assembly forwardly in the direction opposite the recoil on the firer's shoulder.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,979 discloses a take-off saddle through which the explosive gas is directed upon an inertia weight which is moved forwardly against a buffer spring. The spring compresses and the energy released by the spring subtracts from the recoil. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,115,063, male and female ring members are positioned in the magazine tube of the firearm. The ring members are compressible both longitudinally and radially. The relative expansion and contraction of the rings creates a high frictional resistance to dissipate the recoil energy.
It is also known, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,060, to utilize a heavy metal piston positioned against a foam rubber cushion in a magazine follower that engages the shells. The magazine spring is secured to the outer end of the piston and equal pressure is applied to the piston. U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,057 includes a movable inertia weight positioned in a cylinder mounted on the firearm. The gas generated by the cartridge explosion is confined between the weight and a fixed seal ring attached to the gun. The rearward force generated by the gas pressure is dampened by the piston. The gas pressure is also utilized to exert a force on the fixed seal ring to move the gun forwardly from the shooter's shoulder.
While it has been suggested by the prior art devices to utilize recoil buffers to reduce the shock applied to the shooter's shoulder when the firearm is discharged, the known devices generally require substantial change and alteration to the magazine and are not relatively adaptable to both pump action and single action shotguns. Therefore, there is need for a recoil buffer associated with the conventional fore end of a firearm and readily adaptable to both pump action and single action shotguns without requiring major modification to the shotgun and without increasing the weight of the fore end.