Lloyd, I actually did not surmise that your gun was a Flues. I just got lucky when I mentioned the three I have that blew up and became parts guns. As I said, all were pretty darn thin without any honing or boring being done. I'd guess that they all had some minor obstruction like a wad left in the bore or a plug of snow. I think some minor obstructions near the muzzle will often get blown out as the charge rapidly compresses the air in the barrel. But at some point when the obstruction is too deep or too heavy, and the barrel walls are too thin, the pressure takes the path of least resistance and ends up bulging or splitting a tube. It looks as if two of these three blown Flues guns I have would have injured the shooters left hand, while the burst in the 16 ga. was a bit further forward.
I know what you mean about the number of heavy charges that likely got fired in many of these old vintage doubles. I've told the story here several times about one hunting buddy's younger brother who used to routinely fire 3" Magnum shells out of his Dad's light 20 ga. Ithaca Flues. I think he was lucky to not do any damage to himself or the gun. And even today, there are a lot of very intelligent people who think that low brass shells will always be low pressure.
Speaking of the Deliverance types, you'd have loved the goober who came to my house last November to pump my septic tank. It hadn't been pumped since I built the house about 9 years ago, and the township had passed an ordinance requiring that septic tanks be pumped every 3 years. We had a fairly wet fall and it had rained for several days prior to the Honey Dipper truck arriving, so I suggested to the driver that he back in to the tank so that he would be facing slightly downhill when he pulled out with the loaded truck. Einstein felt better about doing exactly the opposite. While he was pumping the tank, he kept commenting about how great it looked and he couldn't believe that the amount of solids was so low considering how long it had gone without pumping. He kept asking me what I was doing to keep the system working so well and he kept telling me "Whatever yer doin'... keep raht on doin it!" He talked like Ed Good writes. He had rubber gloves on, but he kept touching his face with the same gloved hands that touched the suction hose and nozzle. He could have flossed with clothesline rope because about every other tooth was missing and the ones he still had were rotten. As I remained upwind and thought about how much better my job is on my absolute worst days, I noticed the tires on the truck were pretty bald. No way they could have ever passed State Inspection. Well guess what? Between the bald tires and the loaded truck facing slightly uphill and the wet lawn, he got stuck when he tried to leave. I had to get out some chains and fire up the tractor and pull him out. He kept spinning the tires as I was pulling him which made matters worse, and he left some nice ruts in my lawn. He was so thankful when I got him pulled out that he jumped out of the truck and grabbed my hand to shake it as he thanked me. He was sure his boss would fire him if he got stuck again, so obviously this wasn't the first time. Getting fired from that job would be a blessing. I didn't touch anything with my right hand until he got half-way down the driveway, and I rushed into the garage where I had a jug of Clorox, and then ran to a spigot to disinfect my hand. I just hope his other part-time job isn't in the food service industry.
