I think Blue Grouse has hit the problem in the nose. They started out so thin when made they are in effect half worn out before their first shot. Had their barrels been .035 to start far fewer would need sleeving but they would not be such a wonderful gun to shoot with thicker barrels.
To sleeve or to re-barrel comes down to simple money decisions. What does a sleeve job cost a small fraction of a sleeve job? As a Dealer I am sure it is easier to sell a sleeved gun over a re-barreled gun with the difference being thousands of pounds. I have a sleeved gun which if not marked would be impossible to know it was sleeved. Even the blackening is a perfect match, which all too often is not the case.
