What could have happened

.... so the breech bolt failed and ended up blowing back through the rear of the action, breaking the stock...

There could be a few different reasons, none of which can be determined without a though inspection.

One possibility is metal fatigue and wear could have caused the locking lug to fail.

Personally I would not go looking for ancient shotguns like this to use as shooters... there are far better guns available and quite cheaply too.
 
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Yeah, that's about what I figured from the op's description. Yikes.

This is what happens when pump gun suddenly decides it wants to be a blow back operated semi.


As for cause? Who knows, but probably a combination of worn and failing parts, mixed with the op not ensuring the bolt was fully forward and locked (something any of us could miss).

He could have a gunsmith investigate further, but those would only be dollars spent on peace of mind. I'd just cut my losses and find a newer gun with less wear and tear, then start the 6 month rehabilitation of removing my new MASSIVE flinch every time I pull the trigger on a shotgun lol.
 
Old junk, why does anyone chance these things, and that's why you can buy the old stuff cheap because things like this happen
 
Thanks for the feedback guys never going to be buying something like this again thankfully just got a little scratched up

You may never find out what happened to cause the failure.
I would say that if you only got a few scratches then you got away lucky.
If and when you buy a replacement gun then it would be a very good idea to
have it inspected by a gunsmith or another shooter that is experienced.
 
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