as a general rule of thumb, it has been stated herein that any shotgun that is xxx number of years old...and shows some evidence (honest wear - consistent with it's age) of having been used....and has sparkling clean and bright bores - should be assumed to have been honed at some point in it's life.

i have adopted this concept into my thinking about the fine old guns we enjoy - i think of it somewhat like "guilty, until proven innocent". i assume that a 90 - 100 - 110 - 120 - 130 year old gun that has clean and clear bores, has been honed to achieve that state....and, i will continue to assume that until a bore gauge tells me that it ain't so.

when i see something that appeals to me, at a price that is also attractive, i will always ask the seller if they can supply dimensions of the chambers/bores/chokes - you might as well be asking for their bank routing and account numbers. i estimate that perhaps 1 gun nut in 100 has the slightest interest in these old guns that consume so much of our time/interest/money...and if you had 100 of those people, maybe 1 of them would have basic knowledge about these dimensions - and why they are important....and, if you had 100 of them, there might be 1 who actually has the most basic tools to accurately measure such things. hell, i doubt there's 1 american "gunsmith" in 100 who knows what we're discussing...and not 1 in 1000 who can measure a barrel.

so, we continue to work in the dark; i have just taken delivery of a 1929 jan visser ble (started a thread re: last week)...it's a very handsome gun, bought from a fairly knowledgeable guy who owes a brick-and-mortar gunshop in south louisiana. i made the usual request of him, and he replied that the bores showed no sign of having been altered. my bore gauge tells me the chambers were lengthened to 2.75", and the bores proofed at 18.3mm, have been honed to .730". the gun had a 3 day inspection, but i will keep it - it's too nice a gun, bought at a favorable price....and i have no doubt that it will handle the usual 1oz, 1150fps, handloads that i shoot.

life is a crap shoot, and we all have to calculate the odds for ourselves.

again best wishes for christmas & new years,
tom