Per Griffin and Howe:
16. Barrel Wall Thickness - The thickness of the walls of a shotgun barrel. It is reasonable to assume that guns built by responsible manufacturers are safe to shoot, when new, with the loads for which they were intended. As the decades go by, however, as barrels are or buffed for rebluing and as occasional pits are honed out of the bores, steel is gradually removed from the barrels. The barrel walls, already built thin for lightness, become thinner still. At some point they become too thin for safety. It is important to know the barrel wall thickness of an old, well-used shotgun before shooting it. A rule of thumb states that the minimum barrel wall thickness should be .020" in a 12 gauge gun.
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