"To shoot, or not to shoot, that is the question"

[Rick the Librarian]

I'll start out with those light loads I mentioned earlier and go from there.

[gnoahhh]

This question comes up in the British Militaria Forum a lot with old Martinis and Sniders. Are the pits deeper than a sight dovetail? Would you shoot a barrel with a dovetail cut in it?

Not to mention a barrel with drilled and tapped sight holes.

[BradW]

As mentioned, I've seen more than a few sporter krags with dovetail cuts for sporting sights deeper than pitting, I wouldn't give it a thought.

[Rick the Librarian]

I wondered, if perhaps the corrosion and pitting might have weakened the barrel. Always best to be careful in situations like these.

[Johnny P]

If you have Hatcher's Notebook, he tells of turning a 1903 Springfield barrel down to 1/8" wall thickness and firing it with both regular and high pressure cartridges with no ill effects. He turned the barrel down to 1/16"over the chamber and fired it with regular service loads with no ill effects. He then fired a 75,000 pound proof load in it, and it blew a chunk out of the chamber area. A pretty good indication of the strength of military barrels.