First test fire questions

[Pukka Bundook]

For trying out rusty old relic fowling pieces, I'd tie them to a padded saw horse and use a decent charge.
Saw horse can move so no damage to stock.

For modern and newly made barrels, just shoot them!

[jerrywh]

 I just proof the barrel. The rest of the gun will never explode. HE HE HE,  I use a double powder charge and two patched round balls. Two or three times.  If the barrel was made by a known maker the chances of it failing are extremely small.
  The only barrels I ever heard of that failed were loaded with modern powder or one had a full charge on top of another full charge.  An old friend of mine made a blunderbuss out of some steel tubing. That barrel exploded with a normal charge the first time.  He is long gone now.  I once tested a barrel with 6 times the normal load three times. no problems. I still have that gun. That was 1975

[Daryl]

When Taylor is finished a rifle or smoothbore, he calls and we meet at the club and just shoot it.  Never thought of 'proofing' the gun.

When you send close to or over $1,000.00 on parts and put them together correctly, the thought of a failure never occurs to us.

[shortbarrel]

God blessed every gun builder that has't proofed his build. He still has all his fingers and no scar between his eyes.

[Daryl]

Oh we proof them all right - by shooting them.

[JCKelly]

PROOF TESTING NEW BARRELS, by the late Roy Keeler, page 9, December, 1972 Muzzle Blasts

Interesting article. I can't post it here because of copyright matters.     

However I'd be glad to send a pdf to anyone who sends his email, off-line. I still have some windmill concerns. Contact jkellymetal@gmail.com 

[jerrywh]

 If you got that barrel from Jim Chambers it isn't going to be unsafe to shoot.  Jim would never sell anything bad or dangerous.

[Frank]

I only use Rice and Colerain barrels and see no reason to proof them. I used Getz barrels exclusively back in the 70s and 80s when they were easy to get and did not proof them either.

[Justin]

If you got that barrel from Jim Chambers it isn't going to be unsafe to shoot.  Jim would never sell anything bad or dangerous.

Yep, I did. It's actually a Rice Barrel. I'm sure it's fine. Just wondering what others do.