That happened to me once as a kid hunting geese..crawled through the marsh..sneeking up on a flock..got within shooting range--stood up --geese got up..fired my trusty 12 gauge single shot..boom..barrel split back about 3 inches from the end of the barrel...took it home..sawed it off and used it for a snowmobile shotgun for coyotes after that--served me well for many years...

Ripp