I have been reading an old thread, The Proper Use Of Fillers, and regarding possibility of ringing chambers saw a reference to "The Modern Schuetzen Rifle" by Charlie Dell and Wayne Schwartz (sp?). In said book Mr. Dell wrote of extensive testing re: chamber ringing and how he was able in testing he was able to ring chambers at will.
I do not wish to imply that I have superior intellect to Charlie Dell nor do I wish to denigrate his work. There is however an aspect of this I wish to point out. Some years back on ASSRA Forum (the schuetzen crowd) there was much debate on the subject of ringing, case fillers, etc. Al.
Some members who knew Charlie Dell personally said that his testing in which he was able to produce chamber rings at will was done with BRASS barrel stubs. I understand his use of brass as it allowed him to easily demonstrate forces at work in various loading scenarios.
I post this to point out the difference between strengths especially yield strengths. Between high strength steel ( particularly chrome moly steel). Yield strength represents the point beyond which a stressed material will not return to it's original shape when stress is removed. Yield strength for 4130 steel is ~ 63000psi while that of brass is 20 000 - 30000psi.
I can see Mr Dell's work bearing directly on old rifles with soft steel barrels.