If you have honed out a few hundred barrels you can almost looks at a set of barrels and tell within one or two thousandths how deep the pits are as a rule. Mike O has been able to judge several barrels for people who post here and correctly tell them that they will clean up and still be safe to use after honing. In my line of work I can tell you which of two items is .05-.025mm wider than another one at about 20" distance. Took years to gain this precision visual judgment but I can easily see how another can do the same.
If the above named smith or one just a respected looked at the bores and deemed them to be a mess or deemed them to be very salvageable I would listen to his expert opinion. Otherwise you just end up owning too many money pits to ever get to shoot and enjoy them.
