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Hatcher said that one known actor in the demolition of "low number" Springfields was the Guard Cartridge, loaded with 9 grains of Bullseye and the 150 grain service bullet. He thought it was the rapid pressure rise of the pistol powder that blew the case head and broke up the overhardened steel.
Of course a .30-06 would hold 18, 27, or maybe even 36 grains of Bullseye if the arsenal crew wasn't careful. The only gun I know to have been demolished on our range was almost certainly a double charge of Bullseye in a .357 magnum. Not a wadcutter, but a misplaced notion of a top Bullseye load for magnum power.
I recall reading that Cordite was used for demolition charges. Of course Cordite contains a lot of nitroglycerine - over half in the original, nearly half in Cordite MD (MoDified.) There is a rural legend hereabouts that some of the good old boys put a blasting cap in a can of Bullseye (30% NG) and got it to go high order, pulverizing the tree stump the can was on.
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