Don't understand what all the hoop-la was about back then...
You will find a LOT of folks in North America do not understand what "proofing" means, especially for black powder barrels. Hence the hoop-la from time to time.
Folks assume modern barrels in America are proofed as they are legally required to be in Europe, and some places in South America. (Full disclosure I thought the same until after several years in black powder I found out different.) They also assume there is a standardized criteria for black powder barrel proofing as there is for modern cartridge firearms in Europe, when in fact each proofing house may set its own standard(s) for black powder proofing. There are folks that think they can perform a proofing test, and some companies will sell you a black powder arm with instructions on how you can "proof" the item at home.
"Proofing" is a legal term, and a person writes that a barrel has been
proofed they sometimes don't understand that such a term means the barrel has been through and approved and stamped by a certified proof-house. Anybody who writes "I proofed this at my range and it was fine" doesn't understand what they are writing. You or I can
TEST a barrel in many ways, and in fact we might even exceed the testing done by one or more actual proofing-houses, but we cannot legally
proof a barrel, nor should we call it such.
Lastly there is a small group of people who so misunderstand proofing that they assume that once proofed, the barrel will always adhere to that standard, and fail to understand due to profound ignorance, that such a test is only good on the day the barrel leaves the proofing house. Years of improper care can turn a proofed barrel into one that is
unsafe to fire, even if the exterior looks fairly good.
LD