new_guy:

This might be a thread hijack, but looking at the Douglass, can you explain the shape of the forend? It looks like on the side, the forends goes up and around the barrels, similar to the Chapuis. And, I think I saw a California/Merkel Rigby's forend shaped the same way - I think it was in Boddington's "Buffalo!" book.

I personally don't care for that look.

Does it serve a purpose? I would think that it would give the hand more surface area of wood so as to decrease the amount of heat the hand is exposed to during firing.

Or is it just a cosmetic decision?

Thanks,