Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith Perry
RPKEsq. has brought up that Europeans shoot old shotguns regularly. They have them 'proofed' first. Which I think is measuring wall thicknesss minutely as well as closely inspecting for any signs of pitting or weakness. He also pointed out that Americans don't proof, they just construct thicker, heavier, originally. Tabs or one of you other guys should add 'proofing' of American guns to European standards to your skill set, along with matching powders and loads to guns. You would get to look over quite a few guns I'll bet, and get paid something every time. BATF isn't interested in these old things, at the moment. Europeans aren't very interested in our old shotguns, either. At the moment.
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Proofing isn't so simple as you think.
To proof a gun means essentially three separate operations.
1) measure all bores, chambers and barrel thicknesss to industry standards, record them exactly. If they do not meet the standards they fail right there.
2) make up a "blue pill", a load that is 1.5 to 2.0 times over the requested or stated load for the gun. It is not just more powder, it is also more projectile. Fire it. If there is any deformity visible to the eye or hand it fails.
3) measure all bores, chambers, and barrel thickness again, if there has been any increase in the pre proof measurement, the gun fails.
After passing all that it just a simple thing to stamp it to indicate the proof level and load, and that the testing organization accepts all liability for the soundness of the weapon. That is what Government Proof Houses do.