I saw a .270 blow up years ago and that was enough for me.
I was unaware that any .270's had ever been barreled in Damascus, otherwise I fail to see the connection.
It is not that unusual to here of a modern gun Blowing Up while using approved factory loads.
Don't know about yourself, but I don't "Have" to shoot Period but I do choose to & assume you do also as you are a member here, again totally inconsistent with your reasoning.
I do have some Damascus/Twist barrels which I choose not to fire due to their condition but others which I have no qualms about using.
Among those I do not shoot is a lightweight 12ga hammer double with pre-1887 Birmingham black powder proofs. It is loose & off face & its bores resemble a sewer pipe. I keep it solely because it belonged to my Grandfather. Yet I am fully aware the man who had it before I got it (An Uncle) did use it. He was not a hunter but kept it on his farm for Varmint Control. It was not shot often but when it was it normally had a "High Brass" 2 3/4" 3 3/4DE-1ĽOZ-4 load in its short chamber. In spite of all that abuse it did not blow Up.
In answer to the original question i have yet to see or here of a shotgun barrel which has blown up purely "Because" it was made of Damascus or Twist steel. Far & away the most common cause of a blow up in a shotgun is a bore obstruction, followed by a drastic overload & finally by a flaw in the barrel itself. In regards to this final cause it is well worth noting that for many years it was far more common to find a "Seam" in a steel barrel which was contained inside the walls & therefore not detected. Most of these would fail proof but occasionally one would pass & then sometime later after continued use would Split upon firing a normal load. Due to the manner in which they were built these seams were simply unheard of in welded barrel construction.
