[Vaquero]

How WORN was the barrel.

I have a 116 year old Krag that has an almost pristine barrel (shoots real good) I have a 136 year old 1873 winchester with a horrible barrel from black powder/mercuric primers and missed cleanings. It shoots ‘ok’.

40 years is in and of itself meaningless.

A Ma Deuce barrel that is not abused will last a long time.

[Rashputin]

How many rounds had been through it and how much it had been used on auto, especially with tracer in the belts, is actually what I was wondering about. I should have been more precise.

In VN, Hathcock used a new barrel with a scope mount on the weapon and zeroed like you would any other sniper rifle. I gather that he got hits at out to a mile pretty regularly so I'm told. He had the record for a long shot until sometime around 2007, maybe 2006.