doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Reproofing guns

Has anyone had a gun reproofed in London or Birmingham and if so what is cost and process?

Thanks,
John

The London email address is
clerk at gunmakers.org.uk.
Phone +44 (0) 2074812695

Picked that from the net. I've got the phone number for Birmingham as
01216433860. (UK dialing code)
I'm not sure how to dial from abroad sorry.

The Proof House fee is not much, probably around $100 these days. What is expensive is the "Carriage", the fees to get it there and back from the USA. I would say that, if everything goes well, it will end up costing you over $1000.

Diggory Hadoke can help with this process:
Vintage Guns

You might also want to check with Toby Barclay
Heritage Guns

Both Dig and Toby post here and may respond in any event.

The cost is a combination of:

Proof House charge for proof test. (about �45 from memory)
Carriage from USA to Registered firearms dealer in UK.
Preparation for proof (jointing must be VERY tight - it is freed off afterwards - and all woodwork removed.
Carriage to proof house and back after proofing.
Freeing off, post proof, and re-assembly.
Carriage back to USA from UK.

It is quite an involved and costly process.

It is also tough on the gun. Unless your gun is out of proof, don't do it. They fire two proof charges (125% of maximum CIP service pressure for the type of ammo intended).

Now the CIP chamber dimensions are being rigorously enforced, you will probably need the chambers re-cut to conform. Many guns are failing re-proof due to this recent imposition.

Further to Dig's comments: partly due to the new stringent application of the CIP rules, a much larger proportion of guns are failing proof, including new guns by some of the best names.
The particular problem is bulging at the choke's forcing cone and different choke profiles have been adapted by several Makers.
In the past, a gun failing reproof was a rare and noteworthy occurrence, nowadays I expect it to happen to about one in three.
They have all gone through eventually but various remedial measures have to be taken to get them through the 2nd (or 3rd) time!
And I am not talking about guns with super thin barrels; some have been sleeved guns with generous wall thicknesses.
Also there is no prevalence of damascus nor steel: they suffer equally from the rigorously applied CIP rules.

Do I correctly understand this - any vintage gun bearing an English proof whose chambers do not conform to these new CIP dimensions is per se out of proof? And must have its chambers re-cut and then be re-proofed?

Or is that only guns being proofed or re-proofed must demonstrate compliance with the CIP chamber dimension requirements?

Failure rate of one in three must be a nightmare for dealers. You are forced by law to reproof guns knowing that one in three might fail. Talk about driving up the cost of business. Has this resulted in a premium being placed on used guns that are well within proof and decrease in prices of guns near or out of proof?

KYJ

A gun which is out of proof is illegal to sell and is therefore worthless until re-proof is passed.

Any old gun is in proof according to the Rules of Proof under which it was made and tested until it is altered or worn beyond the limits of proof.

For sleeved guns or new barrels, the Rules of Proof applied will be the 1989 Rules, with CIP dimensions applied to chamber measurements.

They have told be they will NOT apply the 1989 rules retrospectively. I am currently investigating the details of this policy and how it works. I have a meeting with the Proof Master in Birmingham due next week to discuss it.

SInce it is England, it makes me wonder if that is by design. Can't have these old guns about, you know.


Best,
Ted