Did this gun ever get fired before by Steve? He does not say.

How do we know it wasn't a ticking time bomb honed to within a whisker of blowing up the first time it was shot?

What proof does he have that the bulges weren't from RST's?

How would he feel if the shooter came back with a bloody stump for a hand with a ruptured barrel from a legit low pressure shell?

We could be reading a story from the shooter instead about how a dealer gave him a gun that was honed to death to shoot at a show that blew up and ruined his hand forever and his lawyer is suing his butt off.

Two sides to every story, but it was not right for the shooter to not own up to it.

It would be interesting to know the wall thickness. It might help to put the pieces together.