Which way do dogs Point?

[Bill Brockway]

In the interest of scientific accuracy, I counted the number of dogs, deer, antelope, bears, birds, etc. shown in the illustrations in Bruce Meek's "The Art Of Engraving." Guess what? 10 animals facing the rear of the gun, 11 facing the muzzle. Arnold Griebel was responsible for a large share of the backward facing animals. He had a sort of standard design in which one animal faced forward, and one backward, on the same gun. There were 3 or 4 of these (pp. 137, 142, 164). One that really surprised me was Lynton McKenzie's Ruger model 1, with the squirrel barking on a tree limb (p. 172). Yep, it's facing the butt plate. In all the years I've been admiring that drawing, I never realized it was laid out "backwards."

Now, if someone will just do a definitive census of toilet bowls, hemisphere-specific.

Bill

 

[Thierry Duguet]

Hello,

I think that one of the point which is missing is movement. If your animal is pointing inward you are contracting the scene, if it is pointing outward your are expending the scene. When you expend the scene you almost attempt to integrate the scene to its wider surrounding. Of course if you have several animals it is more natural if they do not all point in the same direction but I think that it is important to keep a general sense of movement.

 

[ChrisB]

Ray, You Have a Flusher in Your Cave?!! Dang I must see that.!!

 

[KCSteve]

In the interest of scientific accuracy, I counted the number of dogs, deer, antelope, bears, birds, etc. shown in the illustrations in Bruce Meek's "The Art Of Engraving." Guess what? 10 animals facing the rear of the gun, 11 facing the muzzle. Arnold Griebel was responsible for a large share of the backward facing animals. He had a sort of standard design in which one animal faced forward, and one backward, on the same gun. There were 3 or 4 of these (pp. 137, 142, 164). One that really surprised me was Lynton McKenzie's Ruger model 1, with the squirrel barking on a tree limb (p. 172). Yep, it's facing the butt plate. In all the years I've been admiring that drawing, I never realized it was laid out "backwards."

Now, if someone will just do a definitive census of toilet bowls, hemisphere-specific.

Bill

Question (since I don't have my copy yet):

If you divide the animals into predator / prey groupings is it: Predators face out, prey faces in? That would be cosnistent with someone else said about the scene revolving around the hunter, although going on that logic birds in flight would vary based on the type of bird. Ducks / geese / dove would be flying in, quail and pheasant out since that's the normal way you encounter them when hunting.

 

[FANCYGUN]

But what if the dog is sleeping?

 

[SamW]

Or "pointing" at his/her food dish??

 

[FANCYGUN]

You're right Sam..what a sneaky little dog..pretenting to sleep