If our young gent is fool enough to slam the gun shut enough to bend the lever maybe he has mishandled the gun enough to knock the rib loose. Sounds like the boy is a bit of a hack.
I agree on the ringing issue. That will give you a general feel of the barrels but does not give 100% results. I bought a very nice London made gun a long time ago and when I went to ring the barrels, it sounded awful. I was so convinced that they were loose that I called the dealer up and told him that I would have to send them to my smith. He said he would set $500 aside for the project. My smith called me (after my gun got lost in shipping) and told me that the barrels were FINE. I could not take the $500 because I'm a man of my word. But from that point on the barrel ringing is an indicator not the absolute answer.
Tim
