Ryan,
I appreciate you point. However, as we all know, everything from the seat brackets in your car to the barrels on a Remington 700 are cold formed. I have a friend making a huge living cold forming parts for automotive.

I just don't want to leave the readers here with the notion that a dent raised will result in a weaker condition and less safe or capable. There's just no evidence nor practical data to suggest that. An arguement could be made for an increased strength.