Thanks for explaning about proofing, Ted. I guess a each gunsmith would have his proceedure for checking out a repaired gun safely. I did take this gun to a smith to be checked for safety when I got it. I guess I can't hold him responsible for not seeing some fine cracks, but I don't know. If he looked at the chambers under magnification, he would have seen what I saw, unless the cracks got more noticable after a few shells. Dan