Originally Posted By: Small Bore
Actually, the gunsmith was submitting a rim that fitted precisely, the CIP dimensions are sloppy, not best practice yet imposed.


And there is the issue in a nutshell:

Who sets the manufacturing standards? C.I.P.? Or every gunsmith from a town large enough to have a crossroads?

Clearly, the answer was “the gunsmith.” But that looks to have changed, and the answer is now “C.I.P.”

Small wonder the gunsmith(s) feel put upon. They are unaccustomed to the rule of law, as the English proof houses have let them have their way for many, many years and the change is a shock.

Small Bore, I spent many years in the firearm business here in the States and had friends in the business in England. I understand your predicament and truly sympathize. But the simple truth is the gun making and gun servicing legal environment in England appears to have undergone a sea change to something that at least resembles what the rest of C.I.P. signatory Europe has been coping with for decades. Some makers/gunsmiths will adapt and survive, and some will not.

I wish you well.