True, the barrels are not proofed, neither (gasp!) are American barrels. You could make the argument that American metalurgy is better, but with all the Chinese Steel floating around in this country I'm not sure that is true anymore.I have read some where on this board that there are 20,000+ Indian muskets in this country (that sounds pretty high...),but even figuring 1/2 of that, there are a lot of Indian guns being used. That I know of, there has been one Indian barrel burst, and nobody has yet produced a definative answer as to why (bad metal, blockage, over load???).
European guns barrels are proof tested. Assuming you don't do something stupid, they are safe.
As a general rule fit & finish on European guns is better than Indian (although its nowhere near an origional).
Indian stocks are made of teak. They tend to be heavy, and a little thick. The color seems to be applied to the surface, making them fairly easy to strip.
There are some Indian guns out there that are junk. There are others that are pretty sound. I wouldn't buy an Indian Musket from some guy out of the back of his pickup, or from some operator at a gun show. But, I have seen, handled, & fired guns from Loyalist Arms & MVTC. These guns were pretty decent, & allowed guys to get into the hobby who otherwise would be on the sidelines or, worse, shooting 'inlines".
One of the things you have to consider is price. A Pedersoli Bess is $1200.00 or more. A MVTC Bess is less than 1/2 of that. A Pedersoli is a better gun. However, IMHO, I don't know that its twice as good. That's a judgement call that every shooter makes for himself (or herself). I hope this helps.
