Greg didn't say anything about Parkers, Hollands & Hollands, Boatwrights, Mossburgs, or any other make of gun - the question was what alterations are acceptable to the "advanced" collector.
When a Parker or any other gun is properly redone, a complete refinishing should include both barrel and metalwork; e.g., recut the checkering, repoint the engraving, etc.
The British gun trade hones shotgun bores for a variety of reasons; mostly to repolish after removing pits, minor corrosion, or to restore concentricity. It has nothing to do with being a form of "recreation" - it is a make or break process that largely determines if the gun can be safely put back into service.
Whatever Dickson you were looking at has thin barrel walls as originally built for a very good reason: the gun, like most better English guns, was purpose-built for a customer as to barrel length, weight, stock length. When it left the maker it fit his needs exactly.
You can't visually evalate what a barrel wall's thickness is by looking at it; precise measurement is the key. If it needs .005 (?) taken out of it, it can be safely done if the resulting thickness meets the proofing requirements of the original gun.
Compared to the total volume of British guns on the market today, the incidence of sleeving is a decided minority. Out-of-proof, destroyed barrels, or barrels unsafe to take out that last few thousandths of an inch to put the gun back in proof are major reasons.
By the way, where the hell is Flatwater?
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