referring now to the drawings and particularly to fig1 the present gun mounting rack is seen generally at 10 to comprise two identical support members 12 , the support members 12 being spaced laterally apart a distance sufficient to allow mounting therebetween of a rifle , such as rifle 14 shown in phantom . the support members 12 are each mounted to a suitable surface at upper and lower ends thereof as will be further described hereinafter . since the support members 12 are identical in structure and operation , a description of one will suffice for disclosure of the features of both . accordingly , as further seen in fig2 and 5 , each support member 12 is seen to be comprised of slide elements 16 and 18 , the slide element 16 comprising a u - shaped track bounded by a rear wall 20 and side walls 22 connected to said wall 20 and extending perpendicularly thereto . the side walls 22 each have at least two elongated slots 24 disposed therein and lying along vertical edges 26 , the slots 24 being laterally aligned with each other . the side walls 22 extend beyond lower edge 28 of the rear wall 20 and curve laterally therefrom to form curved wall portions 30 , the curved portions 30 terminating at the intersections of the curved edges respectively defining said portions with the vertical edges 26 . the curved portions 30 thus extend vertically downwardly when the support members 12 are mounted to perform a function to be described hereinafter . the rear wall 20 at the upper end of the slide element 16 laterally expands along each side thereof to form a blade member 32 , the blade member 32 extending rearwardly of the plane of the rear wall 20 , the plane in which said blade member 32 lies being disposed at a slight angle to the plane of the rear walls 20 . upper edges 34 of the side walls 22 of the slide element 16 extend essentially from the juncture of the rear wall 20 and the blade member 32 at an angle to the rear wall 20 to intersect the vertical edges 26 and thus form pointed tongues 36 . the tongues 36 can be used as a mounting for a hat or article of clothing when the support members 12 are installed on a support structure . the slide element 16 is preferably formed of metal due to the heavyduty use of the u - shaped track formed by the walls 20 and 22 , the slide element 18 fitting within the open - sided track channel defined by said walls and being vertically movable therewithin . the slide element 18 , as can also be seen in fig3 has a rear wall 38 which is connected to a central bar member 40 by a vertical structural element 42 , the element 42 extending perpendicularly to spaced parallel walls of the rear wall 18 and central bar member 40 and connecting thereto along the respective lengths thereof . the bar member 40 has a plurality of elongated slots 44 formed therethrough and extending between parallel side walls of said bar member 40 , the slots 44 being spaced vertically along the bar member 40 . a web portion 46 extends from the forward wall surface of the bar member 40 to form curved cradle members 48 , two of the cradle members 48 being preferably disposed in vertically spaced relation forward of the bar member 40 . the upper end of the slide element 18 curves slightly from the rear wall 38 to intersect with the rear portion of the upper cradle member 40 . the lower end of the slide element 18 has an enlarged blade member 50 extending from the rear wall 38 , the plane in which the blade member 50 lies being disposed at a slight angle to the plane of the rear wall 38 . the lower edge of the slide element 18 extends normally from the rear wall 38 and then extends upwardly at an angle to intersect the lower edge of the bar member 40 and to define the lower edge of the web portion 46 , said lower edge terminating at its intersection with a lower curved portion of the lowermost cradle member 48 . as can be seen in the drawings and particularly in fig3 and 4 , split oval shaped resilient pads 52 are received on flanges 54 which extend laterally from the major body portions of the cradle members 48 , the flanges 54 essentially being continuous about the periphery of the cradle members 48 and of the web portion 46 . the pads 52 prevent scratching or marring of the finish of a rifle placed within the cradle members 48 . the slide element 18 is dimensioned such that it can be slidably received within the u - shaped track formed by the slide element 16 . when the slide elements 16 and 18 are thus brought together , at least portions of the slots 24 and 44 respectively disposed in said elements 16 and 18 align regardless of the relative vertical positions of the slide elements 16 and 18 . further , except when the upper end of the slide element 18 is substantially displaced into a juxtaposed relationship with the lower edge 28 of the rear wall 20 of the element 16 , at least two spaced aligned apertures are formed by the slots 24 and 44 laterally through the support member 12 . therefore , two bolts 56 can be inserted through the aligned slots 24 and 44 and secured by wing nuts 58 to hold the slide elements 16 and 18 together in a desired relative position . therefore , as is seen in fig1 the blade members 32 and 50 can be inserted into recesses formed in mounting brackets 60 or can be fitted between the molding surrounding a window in a vehicle and the glass pane itself such as is described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 876 , 079 . when mounted to a wall such as is shown in fig1 the brackets 60 are vertically spaced at a desired distance , the distance often being dictated by the location of suitable structure on which to secure the brackets 60 . the brackets 60 , forms of which are shown in fig6 , and 8 , provide facing recesses defining by structural tabs or curved portions and the like which receive the blade members 32 and 50 therewithin , the slide elements 16 and 18 being extended ( or contracted ) relative to each other to fit in the brackets 60 . the slide elements 16 and 18 are then bolted together as aforesaid . as particularly shown in fig2 the rear wall 20 of the slide element 16 is caused to be spaced from the surface surmounted by the support member 12 . due to the rearward tilt of the blade members 32 and 50 , the support members 12 are caused to remain out of contact with the surface surmounted thereby . thus , when the rack 10 is mounted across a window such as in a vehicle , no load is transmitted from the body of the support members 12 to the window glass . the support members 12 can be mounted across distances ranging from less than the length of the slide member 18 alone to a length of nearly the combined lengths of the two slide elements 16 and 18 . in particular , the shorter length of the rear wall 20 relative to the side walls 22 allows the blade member 50 of the slide element 18 to abut the lower edge 28 of the rear wall 20 while the slots 24 in the extended side walls 22 ( extended by the structural curved portion 30 ) extend beyond this point of abutment . this structural feature allows mount of the support members 12 between brackets 60 or moldings which are spaced oppositely apart by a distance equal to the vertical lengths of the blade members 32 and 50 and the length of the rear wall 20 of the slide lement 16 . this distance is a minimum mounting spacing not heretofore obtainable . the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention . further , since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art , it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described , and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to , falling within the scope of the invention .
a mounting rack for firearms , such as rifles , shotguns , and the like , which mounting rack can be rapidly installed under spaced portions of molding typically encircling a vehicle window . the present mounting rack comprises laterally spaced support elements , each support element being formed of coacting slide members , at least one of which members has cradle elements carried thereon . the coacting slide members each have one blade member attached thereto at opposite ends of said slide members , the blade members being received between the molding and the window glass of a vehicle or within mounting brackets located on a desired surface .