Thank you Hammergun for the reference. And thanks Smallbore for the details of firing an unlocked gun.
I have my theories of what happens when a break open gun is fired, but lacking some hi-speed film cannot prove them. However, if you look at crude zip guns made of two pipes, you can surmise that the shell and barrel become one unit and recoil together agaist the breech. Which would explain the strong imprints of the barrels on the breech face, those cannot be made simply by repeated closings of the gun, unless the owner has the strength of a gorrilla!
The subject is fascinating but not having proof we can only speculate and some of that speculation contradicts long accepted authority.
