As promised , I have the response from George Cypress Sam
Roger,
That happened 5 or 6 years ago over at the Ruskin match. The gun is my '73 that
I use for my main match gun, caliber .357 but shooting .38 specials. The gun
had and still has, the lever safety in working order.
The hammer did not fall to fire the round. The round was fired by the inertia
of the firing pin extension slamming against the primer when I tried to force
the round into the chamber.
The culprit was a bulge in the case about 1/4" from the base that prevented the
round from cambering properly. When I slammed the lever in an attempt to force
the round to chamber, the inertia of the firing pin and firing pin extension was
heavy enough to fire the primer. Since the round was so far from being fully in
the chamber, the explosion just blew out the top of the cartridge case and
didn't over stress the action.
I was able to duplicate the slam fire by making a primed case with an
obstruction to prevent the last quarter inch from chambering. I could then slam
the lever forward and cause a primer detonation every time. I later put a
titanium (much lighter) firing pin extension in the gun and wasn't able to
duplicate the slam fire with the lighter extension.
Somewhere on U-tube there's a video of the test, duplicating the accidental
discharge. I think it's on Wyatt's U tube account. If I can find it I'll send
you a link.
I think what caused the bulge in the case was that I was using "junk" brass,
probably that someone had fired with hot loads. When the case went into the
re-sizer, it sized down to about a quarter inch from the base and then wouldn't
go into the sizing die any further. When I tried to chamber that round, it just
stopped at the bulge.
I hope this helps.
George