I have not owned one, MD, but I have seen many and fired some. I don't necessarily condemn the use of aluminum for this or any other purpose, but in this particular instance, it is the aluminum frame which failed. Perhaps it failed due to an overload; perhaps it failed due to a flaw in that particular frame. I don't honestly know. On the gun, the bearing points are steel but the hinge pin is supported by the frame which was the point of failure. It's just an observation.
This is not quite the same as a bolt gun using an aluminum receiver because in that situation there is no stress on the receiver. In a tip up action, stress is transferred directly to the hinge pin, and thence, to the frame. There are numerous designs which do have additional contact surfaces in addition to the hinge pin, but I can't see that this one does. I would like to know what load or pressure was involved. I didn't intend to be a pot stirrer! GD
