Under the British Rules of Proof are there specific MWT per gauge or is it only a range of bore sizes per gauge that are deemed proof appropriate? When the gun is furnished in the white for testing, and chamber size and bore size are determined and it passes the proof shot, is there anything else to be done? Was there a requirement that finished guns(barrels blued or blackened) required further proof testing? There was talk at one time that on the 2" 12 barrels that occasionally the barrels after passing proof were further struck by the gunmaker to save weight, if that was the case, then the barrel had been altered which escaped further testing despite an illegal end around the law. However if the barrel hadn't been altered after proof load fired and say the MWT was below what we now feel is safe, but the gun survived proof load, the Brits would deem since it survived proof it was safe to shoot service loads. British guns would still be considered in proof if the bore size remained within a certain range, was free of pits, and chambers hadn't been altered. This is the alleged reason that some barrel makers made barrels on the tighter range of gauge so that honing could be done as long as removed metal didn't exceed the largest diameter of the gauge. Correct me if I am in error. Gil
