I think one point you have missed is that the Proof House here in Britain is nothing to do with the Government; they didn't set it up, it was the Gunmakers themselves in order to protect their products and the public from poorly made guns being sold
Jeez Lagopus - we had a good anti-government rant going here and you go and start injecting facts into the discussion . . .
Here are a couple practical points to add to this discussion:
1. With the exception of CSMC (who I believe has their own proof system), no shotguns are made in the US, so all(?) new shotguns sold in the US have been proofed abroad.
2. If that is the case, what we would really be talking about is proofing used guns that that have been modified in the US and not re-proofed by the original proof house or that were never initially proofed.
3. jOe's point about the effects of proofing, particularly on older guns, needs to be addressed. Is there another way to prove guns safe without attemtpting to blow them up?
4. Conceptually, accepting more responsibility for safe use of your gun is a very legitimate point. As a practical matter, however, many of these questions do not have clear answers, often because the industry won't provide useful information. For instance, look how often the question comes about whether it is safe to shoot 2/34" shells in 21/2" chambers. The consensus seems to be that it is safe as long as it is a "light" load. But there are people whose opinions I respect who don't agree with that conclusion.
How about the question shooting steel shot in older guns? The makers will not provide a definitive answer to this question, particularly on the question of potential barrel damage. For isntance, Perazzi offers nothing official on the subject but buried deep in Karl Lippard's book is a passing reference pointing out that chokes with a certain threading are steel-proofed while chokes with a slightly different threading are not. I have the supposedly steel-proof chokes but there are not markings on them and nothing in the owner's manual. And this for a gun that was made only 10 years ago. Is it reasonable for me to rely on what Lippard says?
I totally agree that we do not need any more government regulation of guns (saying that as MA resident who had to get a license to own a long gun). But to circle back to Lagopus' point, the gun industry could do a whole lot better job helping gun owners understand what is and is not safe.
