A gun "in proof" only means it has the stamps. A gun in proof could have been restruck (sanded or filed on the outside) or bored out on the inside since the stamps were struck. The only way you can determine in your own mind whether the gun is still in proof, no, don't send it back to England, is to measure the wall thickness. This is the way we in this country choose to determine the safety of old guns. Proof does not impress us too much because lately we have heard from people who know, that guns have passed modern proof with barrels in the .020 bracket. Supposedly there is a low limit on the thickness of barrels that will be accepted for proving, but that limit is lower than is comfortable for American collectors.
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