What Bell wrote about Burrard and Thomas was indeed out of context--and incorrect. He has Thomas disagreeing with Burrard and offering proof that long shells don't cause a problem in short chambers. Last part, of course, is correct--and Thomas did offer the proof.
And while you're not ignorant, Miller--even though a self-described "Redneck Hillbilly" :)--your "distinct recollection" is wrong. That's why I said you ought to reread Thomas. Sometimes our "recollecting" goes astray. Nowhere does he write "Burrard should have said". And in fact, Burrard does say that case length is one of the issues with increased pressure:
"When a true 2 3/4" cartridge is fired in a 2 1/2" chamber the pressure is increased for two separate and distinct reasons: (1) the length of the loaded cartridge is exactly the same as that of the actual chamber and so, when the turnover is opened on firing the mouth of the case is prevented from opening completely by the chamber cone; . . . " Thomas is correct in straightening out that issue: " . . . the main danger arises, not from the constriction when the cartridge is fired, but from the fact that the longer-cased cartridges he had in mind invariably carried heavier loads; . . . "
Burrard eventually gets around to straightening out what he wrote earlier, but he could have used a better copy editor.
