Parker D Grade Trigger Plate

[Parker-Hawes]

I am not sure but I saw it here. I think it had to be 15 plus years ago. I found it quite funny and it really seemed to fit the ducks on my 12 GHE ! It sounded like a term Ed Muderlak might have coined though I cannot be sure if that is a certainty. Best, Paul
PS I do still like all of the Parker ducks.

[Dean Romig]

You're right Paul - it was most definitely ol' EDM hisself.

In fact, I think he made that reference in his book "Parker Guns, The Old Reliable"




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[mobirdhunter]

Let's not forget the "three dog" DHs. I'm partial to them. They seem to appear on very early hammerless D grade guns. This is from a 1 frame, 32 inch DH made in 1889. Of course, it's a Gordon Setter.

[Jim Kremmel]

Are these the “flying turnips”, or in this case “standing turnips”? Thoughts on what game birds they were meant to be?

[J. A. EARLY]

Originally Posted by Jim Kremmel

Are these the “flying turnips”, or in this case “standing turnips”? Thoughts on what game birds they were meant to be?

Guineafowl. Shoot them in your back yard when you get tired of their noise. As close as one can get. Someone had a photo of the wrong bird in front of them when they started engraving and like "lemmings off a cliff "everyone followed along. Maybe the first engraver of these looked out the window at a flock of them and thought good enough. Take a look! We call them Gennies here in the South.

[Dean Romig]

They look like walking clamshells.
Probably meant to be quail of some sort.

The term coined by the late Ed Muderlak, flying turnips, was made in reference to the exceptionally plump ducks in flight.






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[stumpstalker]

Dean:

I know we can’t interview these engravers. But what do you think was the thought-process behind these blueprinted “game-bird” designs?

Deliberate offbeat stylization; an artist’s quip; comic relief within the confines of a strict framework of manufacturing consistency and quality control?

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Russell E. Cleary

Dean:

I know we can’t interview these engravers. But what do you think was the thought-process behind these blueprinted “game-bird” designs?

Deliberate offbeat stylization; an artist’s quip; comic relief within the confines of a strict framework of manufacturing consistency and quality control?

AI seems to be the new buzzword (Artificial Intelligence), but it is, in fact, a term often used in the circles I associate with.
It's meaning, at least to us, is "Alcohol Inspired" I often look at these floorplates and wonder if there wasn't a small amount of that 'inspiration' behind the comical motif.

[Woodcock survey]

Originally Posted by edgarspencer

AI seems to be the new buzzword (Artificial Intelligence), but it is, in fact, a term often used in the circles I associate with.
It's meaning, at least to us, is "Alcohol Inspired" I often look at these floorplates and wonder if there wasn't a small amount of that 'inspiration' behind the comical motif.

I can always depend on you to get to the meat and bones of any subject, cut to the chase as is said, bring it to a definitive conclusion. Could go on but you get the idea. The fact that humor is involved is an added plus.

[mobirdhunter]

I find this topic fascinating, both at the level of the stylized game birds and the engraving process itself. I have a GH Damascus 20 from the early 1920s on which you can see the ghost of the original transferred drawing and how far off the engraver was in following it. The templates were, I assume, done by an engraver of higher rank, but following the transferred outlines onto the gun itself was done by much less skilled engravers on the lower grades. Seeing something of the process left on the gun is a reminder of the human element that is a part of all of these wonderful guns.

If I can get a close-up picture of my GH, I'll post it. The engraver made the bird go from a plump, well fed bird, to a starving, thin one.