Did the horse roll over on them Alpine? What do you think caused the damage? I've always taken a rifle out of the scabbard any time I was away from the horse awhile. Those crazy things always seem to find a way to rub or roll over, even when tied! ha Many times, I just rode with the rifle slung or across the pommel ala John Wayne ( the Searchers) style, lol. "That cuts it Preacher!"
The other bent barrel was my father's M721. And no, nothing special happened in either case that any of us could remember--no rodeos. In both cases I think the horse rubbed against a tree, either when being rode through thickish timber or when tied up. One would think in order to bend the barrel it would practically tear the scabbard loose from the saddle, but there was no sign of damage to the scabbard. In fact, we still have that same scabbard today.
I have also heard a couple other stories of bent barrels in scabbards. The common theme was 24" or longer bbls on all of them. As John mentioned big scopes take a beating too, horses, ATV's, etc........
