Te beauty of the proof system was historically that it enabled British guns to be made light and balanced and sufficiently strong - just right for their intended purpose.

Countries without proof houses made their guns heavy and cumbersome to build in a strength factor to cope with any kind of ammunition, as there were no standards.

It seems we may be heading for a future in whiche every gun made will be required to accept 3" steel shot loads, regardless of the purpose it is purchased for. We already see this in much of the Italian output.

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