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Proof testing........A Question

Horse Plains Drifter
Bert responded to another post where a fella said he had a rifle that was unfired by stating that the rifle had indeed been fired at the factory. That leads me to a couple of questions:

1-Are all firearms test fired before they leave their factory?
And
2-Are they just test fired or are they proof loaded?

I am under the impression that a proof load, whether it's a firearm or a piece of crane cable is a load that is in excess of it's maximum safe working load. If that is the case what about all of these AR kits and other piece together stuff you see on the market? Has this stuff been proofed?

Seven or eight years ago I had an Enrerprise Arms L1A1 that I had got from a guy that assembled it from a kit. I was talking to a local gun dealer to trade it in on another firearm and when he found out what it was he said he didn't want it because it hadn't been proofed.

About three or four years ago I was telling this story over on GD and one of the.....ahem...."members" said "You're gun guy's an idiot"

Thanks in advance for any info.
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  • burpfire
    hello. yes, ALL guns that leave a factory are test fired. no, they dont " proof test " every single gun. they do take a few rifles from each run, and " proof " them, and put them through many thousands of rds to make sure everything is okay.

    as far as your l1a1, if i knew it was assembled from a kit by someone i never knew, i wouldnt take it without it being fired several mags to make sure the head-spacing was correct, and the gun functioned. in no way does it have to be proofed fired. not to mention, getting factory proof loads is next to impossable.
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  • perry shooter
    Hello This is just my opinion and I have no PROOF "pun intended" but in buying a firearm the only way one can know for sure is if said firearm is from a direct chain from the manufacture to you without someone changing parts.and that said manufacture is know to put proof marks on said firearm. "like the VP proof " on a 1911 type pistol. " how ever in this case say you buy a gun from someone other then a dealer he states it is new unfired except at factory . Maybe this is true but just maybe he has swapped the barrel or even used a dremel tool on the feed ramp of this original or replacement barrel." IS THE GUN STILL PROOFED" [?][?] . I purchased 10 pistol kits GUN IN A BAG one year at Camp Perry 1911A1 Mil Spec for $175.00 to build match pistols . were these proofed after I put them together [?] NO . ARE they safe to shoot[?] I think so BUT IMHO any used gun or gun built from parts May or May not be safe to shoot. It comes down to how knowable is the builder and how good are the parts. Just like every time you FLY drive a Car or even use an Elevator it is a matter of trust that both the person that built it and the person that maintained it knows how to do their job. I know some people that put together kits that I would never knowingly shoot and others that are MASTER gunsmiths . There are less then 1/2 dozen reloaders that I know that I would shoot their reloads in my guns. Scary Yes "Your Mileage May Vary"
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