A while back somebody started a thread on the old board in reference to someones M1-A grenading with surplus ammo. I fowarded the thread to a friend who`s very deep into high power and got this back. I consider it very reliable as this guy has the conections and does`nt shit around.Letter from a very reliable source:

Hi Ed

This was caused by someone using a stolen defective MTU barrel on a

customers rifle.  The barrels were made of tool stainless (contains
lead)

not barrel stainless.  We blew up about 5 of them in ~1980-81 before we

found out the cause and recalled the whole lot.  Xxx had one blow up at

the Interservice matches and another USAR shooter had one go at the

Nationals the same year.  Army blew up 3.  Sounded like a hand grenade
when
it went

up.  I was within 3-4 points each time.  I had to turn in 2 guns to be

rebuilt including my 10 man team gun.  All barrels were serial numbered
and

were listed destroyed.  Obviously some escaped.  I have pictures of 2
of the

rifles.  Xxx had just been convinced to wear shooting glasses about 6

months earlier.  Eyes were fine but the rest of his face looked like
he'd

been skinned.  The important point is it wasn't the ammo.

How do you know it had one of those barrels ?

I love this.  This guy knows exactly what happened without examining the remanants of the gun or anything.

So we are to accept that a defective barrel was stolen from the Army MTU at Ft. Benning, and made its way to this rifle, I belive in CA, worked fine for XX years, then blew apart like a grenade.

I think this guys theory would have signficantly more credibility if he had said: "This barrel may have been one of a defective batch delivered to the MTU several years ago.  We had several that did this due to yadda, yadda, and this type of failure is so rare that it seems it could be from the same cause.  If it is one from the batch we encountered, the barrel would be marked with yadda, yadda.  The MTU had planned to destroy them but this one must have made it out of the armory some how."

As it is, I can't give this much credabililty.  The MTU probably does have more potential for rifle parts to go missing than any other Army organization, so I think it is possible.  I just have problems with some one being so certain about something with no first hand knowledge of the incident.

I think the pictures are phoney.