I think the better guns would definately have been shot and regulated and still are as Vic stated 'Cranny' is one of the few and probably the best, and as he modestly always says 'it aint rocket science, it's common sense' H&H have a design department where the draughtsmen calculate the convergence angle of the barrels and then Steve checks and adjusts at the Ground. I would have thought that commercial makers such as WC Scott who produced vast numbers of guns in their heyday would have regulated the prototypes and then set down procedures to copy the results, and of course in those days each and every craftsman was a proud artisan and prided themselves in being the best.Certainly Ted Churchill built a business on shot regulating for his business E J Churchill, and I know for certain that modern masters in Brum such as Robin Brown, David Dreyhurst, John Wiseman et.al. hand regulate guns that they are building.
Indeed Nigel Teague founded his business on barrel regulating before he ever made a screw in choke.
But remember cartridges whether traditional or modern have a vast influence on the pattern thrown, so just because a gun doesn't throw the designated pattern with such and such a cartridge does not mean it was regulated poorly.
