Were Ithaca gun guaranteed for life in those days? Sold 11 years earlier. I know that it most likely not heavily used so must be near new in condition. People tend to take good care of grade 4 guns. And ten bores are somewhat limited in use. Not much Dove and Quail hunting done with a ten. Western MD might have a few ducks but most likely this gun only got used when visiting down by the Cheseapke Bay or down on the Outter Banks.
When did the higher pressure factory loads come out? This might just be a case of a gun designed for 8k loads getting a steady diet of 10-12k loads. Super X, progressive powder loads could be the real culprit not weak design or defect in materials. I think this type of failure reflects why Ithaca brought out the NID to handle heavier factory loads with much higher chamber pressures. Their barrels were always up to the task it was the frames they were beefing up.
