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Sporting Life March 30, 1895
http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1895/VOL_25_NO_01/SL2501014.pdf
Speaking of these unaccountable discharges of guns, we are reminded of a case which happened but a few days ago at Willard Park, Paterson, N. J., where the Great American Handicap will be held in April. It was in a match between Captain "Jack" Brewer and Chris. Reinhardt. When the match was about two-thirds finished Brewer killed a bird with the first barrel and without removing the shell from the other barrel he walked from the score, and just as he was about to set down the gun it was discharged, putting the load of shot into the board at his feet. It made slivers fly, as Jack usually shoots a smart load. What the result might have been had the gun been pointed in some other direction we do not care to think about.
In the first place Brewer had no business, as a pigeon shooter of years' experience, to have turned from the score with a shell in his gun. In the second place, the referee should have been more watchful and not allowed anyone to turn or leave the score until both barrels were empty, not even an empty shell should remain.

More on Brewer, who IMHO was a bit of a sociopath
http://www.trapshooters.com/threads/the-best-shot-on-live-birds-the-world-has-ever-known.230843/

I don't know why it's called "an unaccountable discharge ". In all my experiences of unintended gun shots the trigger was pulled. Perfectly understandable. A trigger finger temporary disconnected from a brain.

While not a double barrel, my late friend Cooper had an "unaccountable discharge" on a dove field, years ago. Maybe someone here can explain it, neither he ,or his friends could give a likely explanation. He was sitting on a dove stool with his mod 37 laying on his lap, when a shell in the magazine spontaneously discharged. Thankfully, he was not injured, although very "shaken up". There were about 10 of us on the field, and none of us could explain the discharge in a manned that fit what we were looking at. It could have happened with a double, but if it had, we would concluded, like nialmac, that a finger was involved, when it wasn't. Does anyone have an answer?
Mike

Every unintended discharge I've ever had has involved a finger on the trigger when it shouldn't have been. Of course, a stick or vine can pull a trigger as well, but I've never seen a safety failure.

Upon reflection, I did used to have an old model 37 that sometimes fired the 3rd shell unexpectedly when a bunch of ducks stormed my decoys. I still don't know whether those were 'slam-fires' or unintended trigger pulls...Geo

George,
The shell that fired was in the magazine tube. The case, wads, shot, and all stayed in the tube; we watched him take the end cap off and pour it all out. Anything pulling the trigger would have fired the one in the chamber, not in the magazine. If a chambered shell had fired, it would have been understandable, this was not.
Mike

A shell going bang in the magazine is a new one on me. What on Earth could have caused that?...Geo

I'm gonna go with it was something unaccountable.

Drop a cigarette butt in the ejection port?

The forensic evidence would have been interesting to look at.

Like what did the primer look like, the carrier and action functioning properly, etc.

Maybe the guy loaded a Paradox style slug with the pointy tip into the magazine behind the round that went off?...Geo

The incident was on a dove field, so no paradox ammo, he didn't smoke, so no cigarettes in the tube. He was sitting in the sun but it couldn't have gotten hot enough to "cook off" a normal primer. I can't say for sure it was a normal primer, because something happened that we couldn't explain. While it had happened many years before, he was still trying to figure it out on his hospice bed.
Mike