Note that the barrel, trigger bar, spring, and ejector have now been removed, but of course the gun was complete when the breakup happened. The barrel itself appears ok, as well as the frame, toggle train, trigger bar, sideplate, springs and ejector, all,
This gun had been refinished when I bought it 4 years ago, and had been somewhat buffed, but numbers still all intact. 984 suffix L . The original barrel was completely shot out, and pitted. The frame and sideplate and trigger somewhat pitted. I had this 4" shooter re-barreled by a gunsmith with a Bohler Stahl 6-inch barrel, and had found a tall sight to make it shoot poi=poa. Later I chemically stripped all of the re-finish off, and kept it in the white until two years ago, I applied cold blue to make it look more normal. Several hundred rounds of white box Winchester jacketed ball 115gr.ammo since then, and altogether for the last 2 years no problems.
Second magazine of the Chinese 9mm Norinco 115gr. stuff, and this happened. I was puzzled when the trigger would not return normally, but the gun looked approximately ok. I noticed that the trigger bar was moving out further than it should, and with no resistance to the trigger, because the trigger bar back end was outside of its spring. When I began to take the upper off the frame to check on and re-set the trigger bar and spring, as soon as the parts cleared the rails, it all fell apart. Remember the toggle train was all in there, holding the extension rails against the frame rails, as well as the axle pin and S lever keeping them from backing out of the frame, and the barrel-chamber part was retained by the take down lever. The breaks were unnoticed, until free to fall apart.
Some thoughts. Notice the breaks are where the fork might be weakest, but also where the blue takes a different color. The rails are harder, I believe. Maybe normal, or maybe due to heating of the chamber area by the gunsmith when he changed out the barrel, and lost its temper at the chamber area. Maybe the chemical stripping, and cold blue penetrated / permeated the metal and made it brittle ?
Maaybe it was that the ammo was loaded too hot. or maybe the gun was at the point of failure due to age and thousands of rounds.
Notice the chrystalline texture of the steel where it is broken.
The gun before cold-blue treatment. 'Was a very accurate and reliable shooter.
