Pete,
The comment earlier was that they were"reamed". Did that mean someone with a 2 3/4 reamer or a forcing cone reamer took the barrel chambers out?
I do not recall if the chambers were lengthened. I know that RMC confirmed from the photos that some one had been in there. I seem to recall that when he measured the wall thickness, it was on the thin side.
You can see the tool marks in these photos.
While it's easy enough to see that someone did something to the chambers, what's the explanation for the hull having blown out the side? Are we thinking that the damage to the hull occurred because the barrel blew? Personally, I'd be suspicious of something IN FRONT of the shell, resulting in it blowing out the side. In other words, an obstruction. If I recall this case correctly, wasn't there some speculation that perhaps a base wad had lodged in the barrel?
I'd like to hear opinions on what caused the damage to the hull. Since it fractured OUT, why would it damage the shell, which is inside? I'm thinking it's much more likely that an obstruction, which caused the shell to blow out the side, took the barrel with it. Comments?
