I don't believe a Trojan's rib extension has/had any bearing whatsoever of keeping the barrels on face.

Actually, I've heard lots of folks say, that rib extensions really don't do anything unless they have a hole in them for a crossbolt.

There are Parkers out there, pigeon guns for the most part, that were specifically ordered without them.

DLH

I agree Greg and Destry. If the rib extension and the doll's head had been mechanically necessary Parker Bros. would never have produced any guns without them.

The rib extension on a Trojan really does not serve much of a purpose/ The dolls head on the other hand because of the taper on the bottom surface and the coresponding taper on the barrels serves to reduce the "springing' of the barrels away from the standing breach upon firing the gun.

So is the rib extension purely cosmetic? Does it serve any purpose at all?

Tom,Other than limiting lateral movement to some degree the rib extention was purely cosmetic. So much so that Parker Brothers must have thought that cost savings out weighed function in this case.

Other than filling that ugly slot in the frame between the breech balls, nothing really :rolleyes:

If the doll's head did anything at all to keep the barrels on face, Parker Brothers wouldn't have built pigeon guns and single trap guns without extensions or doll's heads. All Parker extensions and doll's heads are for looks only. 99.9% of Parkers that are loose on the face have doll's heads.

Bill,Thank You for your input here but I just don,t understand why Parker would use such a complex system as a dolls head if it served no purpose other than asthetics. From a machining stand point the dolls head would be a real pain to produce.

In the early sporting press, rib extensions used up thousands of lines of print in discussions pro and con. The Westley Richards doll's head was imitated by Lefever, Parker, and probably others. However, the Westley Richards DH was absolutely functional, having a locking slot at its rear. Other types of extensions, both locking and not, were considered neccesary for a gun to be considered a quality gun. However, the debate continued in the sporting press. Parker continued the doll's head because it was a prestige item and considered functional by many shooters, but probably not by Parker Brothers designers. Problems with bar distortion are not solved by the use of a doll's head. In Parker's case, bar distortion and breakage (if there ever was such a problem), was solved by the use of the radiused junction, not the doll's head.