Well I have examined a few model 30's that were worn out and rendered unsafe. Though it was designed by John Browning it wasn't his strongest. They have a definite weakness and yours should be checked regularly. The square hole in the top of reciever are known to fatigue and crack. The square recoil lug on the bolt itself will develop a crack and at this point is unsafe to shoot. Interesting design and one Browning never felt got enough press. I have owned a half dozen or so including a WW 2 trench gun in its Stevens name. It was mentioned that they were stronger than a model 12, which it isn't. When the model 12 was designed it was pressure tested at over 300% overload and still passed inspection. An absolute tank of a gun. And I was standing 3 stations away on a trap field when an "expert" reloaded did just that. His handload mild trap load detinated that tank of a design. Blew the barrel completely off, blew the trigger mechanism out the bottom and flared out the reciever to resemble a gull wing fighter of WW2. The forend wood evaporated and the butt stock shattered. Any trap field has stories of blown up shotguns.
