Surely this topic has been covered before, but with all the highly technical discussions about wall thickness I couldn't resist.
My doubles of European manufacture apparently have chambers tapered roughly 1/2 of the length narrowing toward the cone. What is the purpose, is this a design feature of the paper hull era?
Reloading for these guns requires perfect crimping. No mushroom tops.
I once sent off the barrels of an older AYA with tapered chambers for a forcing cone job. Apparently the tool used cut the taper out. After, I noticed that shooting reloads of slightly worn hulls (AAs esp.) powder burns on the outside of the hull were common. I've wondered if the poorer seal was due to the removal of the taper.
