.... As such, we are probably getting way out in left field when it comes to what caused the burst in Rob't. Harris' friend's Beretta since such defects are typically longitudinal, and therefore will not develop ring bulges before they finally rupture. The questions here are... what was the obstruction, and was the bulge from that enough to cause a second obstruction in the top barrel, and why did the top barrel unintentionally fire?
But I always get a kick whenever we have a discussion on the safety of shooting Damascus barrels. Inevitably, one or two guys always chime in about the extreme danger of shooting those old tangled masses of welded strips of iron and steel. They seriously think their modern fluid steel is some perfect homogeneous structure. Overall, it is pretty good stuff. But they really ought to take a minute to Google "internal rolling defects in steel" and look at some of the images they will find. Or maybe ignorance is bliss, and we're all very lucky.
True, we're getting out in left field, but the metallurgy education I'm getting is very interesting and informative. I had no idea the kinds of inclusions and defects being talked about - which are on a macro scale, not micro - could even exist in fluid steel. When I worked the line in an iron foundry back in '79 - we made pipe fittings - my first job was with a hand grinder cleaning up sprue and such. We'd get the occasional piece with voids or which hadn't filled the mould entirely, but I don't recall anything like what we're talking about. Thanks to all for the education.
