Obviously the "Springing Back" of the standing breech upon firing does not exceed the elastic limit of the steel, or it would remain gaped. W W Greener did tell about fitting one of his guns up so that instead of the cross bolt being moved by the lever he simply fitted it with a knob so it could be inserted or removed by hand at will. He fitted a strip of brittle mat'l between the bbl rib & breech. Firing several ordinary service loads up to the max with the cross bolt removed did not break the strip. He continued with heavier loads un til he did begin to break the strip. He then began inserting the cross bolt & continued on with still heavier loads with no further breaking of the strips as long as the cross bolt was in place.
