doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The Southern Chamber Burst Gun

Drew, thanks once again for your time and effort on accidents like these. It's something all of us who shoot old shotguns need to think about.

I have a number of once fired Herter's 16ga hulls on hand. Like virtually all 2 3/4" shells, they're a little short of that mark--but not much. I get them at about 1/32" short of 2 3/4". So definitely longer than what was probably an original 2 9/16" chamber (possibly lengthened).

I'm with you. I instantly focused in on the back of the chamber by the rib. Very thin and part of that fracture looks old and well fouled, as if it had been broken for a while before the coup de gr�ce.

I don't think a 28 gauge skell will lodge in a 16 gauge gun. As far as I know, that will only occur with a 12/20 combination

Scary how thin the chamber has been filed on the inside near the rib! Gives me chills just to see it! And yet, I have a number of guns joined the same way. Makes one appreciate one piece monoblocked barrels or The Sauer shoe lumps.

It is not as well known as it is a less common occurrence since the 16ga is not normally shot in any of the regular Clays games, but Yes a 28 ga shell will lodge in the forcing cone of a 16 gauge gun, same as will a 20 in a 12.

From the appearance of the chamber, I would guess it has been lengthened & not an expert job by any means. I seriously doubt though that was the cause of the burst. Wile the 2 9/16" was standard for the 16 in that era American Guns were not universally marked for chamber length & were available "On Order" in several different lengths. As I recall in 16 they could be ordered in 2 9/16",
2 3/4", 2 7/8", 3" as well as 3�". In many cases, A "Long cone" generally means at least the cone has been lengthened & often the chamber as well. it truly is anyone's guess as to what the original chamber length was. Many chambers, however, were lengthened with reamers having standard cones prior to the long cone becoming popular.

Very lucky no one was hurt. Gives me even more reason to never alter a forcing cone or chamber. Wish I had wised up years ago. That chamber does look thin and the black area worries me a bit. A split with let go?

I imagine billions of shots have been fired in guns joined similar to this one with no ill effects and we can only guess the pressures many have digested without even a burp. Millions of guns were made this way. So, I�m going to say time has proven it to be safe. I keep looking at that dark area in the break up about 1 1/4� forward of the breech. I agree with others, it is dark and not consistent with the rest of the fracture. Could have been a crack that went unnoticed until it let loose with an exclamation point!

I'd also say it looks scary how thinned the barrel looks around the rib. There may be some ring bulge present, but it has the look like the chamber hinged outward with the pivot point around the right side of the extractor notch. Note to myself, take a look in the chamber towards the midline, my feeling is that dark spot would have looked suspicious without much effort. Thanks Doc Drew for presenting the incident, doing the digging, and explaining the possible rib extension construction that's hidden from view. Will be watching for updates.

I'd edit to add, that even though it may have been a common construction technique, it certainly has the look like it breaks the classic rules of barrel thickness for the location. It could have been exaggerated by chamber work, but it still leaves the possibility of relative thinness combined with potentially higher corrosion risk in the same general area. Only thoughts.

I agree about the dark area. It may have been compromised for some time.

The chamber doesn't surprise me at all. I've seen many original chambers with tool marks. One Sterlingworth had identical grooves in both chambers from a burr on the chambering reamer and those chambers were original 2 5/8ths. The low angle at which we view the chambers when looking in the barrel makes them look smooth. Even when they are not.

There may be very little to no displacement of the rib, and it does not appear to have burst 6 to 12 inches down the barrel as Doc Drew had mentioned in the "How much barrel obstruction" thread.