ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,256,816, issued on March 25.
"Fold-out accessory rest for pole" was invented by Richard V. Hutton Jr. (Bozeman, Mont.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A fold-out accessory rest is for securement to a trekking or ski pole or tripod leg in a folded-up position and then easily deployed by unfolding the rest for supporting a firearm, scope, camera, or other accessory. The rest includes a rest body for mounting on a pole/leg, a strap-supporting flap rotatably connected at its lower end near a lower part of the rest body, and a rest-strap rotatably connected at a proximal end near the rest-body's middle part and at a distal end to the distal en...