Google "rolling block failures" and you'll find a cross section of failures, but most that make headlines are of the catastrophic nature that really isn't typical and most often are shooter error. Most failures are cracks noted by owners during cleaning or by their gunsmiths during work, which quietly leads to the rifle (or just failed parts) being retired. No headlines, no stories, no injuries....just alertness and common sense. Keep in mind that while there are numerous technical descriptions for beginning failures at the molecular and grain structure level, by the time they are visible it boils down to either a crack or a distortion, either of which means immediate retirement.

Decades ago when Navy Arms (and others) was doing a land office business in selling 45-70 kits being used primarily for rebuilding the dirt cheap Egyptian rolling blocks available at the time, a lot of very tired worn-out actions got rebarreled by amateurs that didn't note problems with the actions and failures took a real spike. My gunsmith did more than a few at that time and rejected as many rifles as he actually converted based on excessive wear and cracks. Considering he was doing that with the tools of the day (mainly a high power magnifying glass), I suspect if he had access to modern tools he would have rejected a lot more of them. I think it safe to say that most antique rifles are not critically examined prior to use and that flaws can go undetected for a long time until………………

It is the above observation that takes me back to the subject failure at hand. The barrel shattered without appreciable distortion of its pieces, unlike the receiver that shows significant distortion. If anything the receiver appears to be significantly softer than the barrel, when it should be the other way around. Regardless, without a detailed examination of the receiver and barrel immediately preceding the event, it is difficult to access blame, only speculate based on other failures. Without noticeable barrel distortion or cracks further down the barrel I think an obstruction unlikely. I've seen more than a few bulged steel rifle barrels, a few bulged and cracked ones, but never a shattered one. An excessive overload translates to excessive breach face pressure, normally showing signs of such on the block and at the pivot pin hole, neither of which appears evident. To me if it was an overload, it wasn't a gross one and the barrel appears to have been way too brittle. Personally I think the rifle is the victim of progressive metal fatigue, perhaps aggravated by excessive pressure (overcharge, oversized bullet, etc), but not a gross one. No matter how nice a rifle looks, 130 years of history means taking a lot for granted in applying "if it looks good it is good" adage for shooting an antique.