Hey Hank,

Just an observation here.
With proper care and maintenance, even the bottom of the line ML should last many years, to decades, to generations+ depending on how much you shoot and how well you care for the weapon.

I've never thrown an ML away in 35+ years. My oldest (a T/C Hawken 50cal kit) is worn but the bore is excellent and it still shoots fantastic.

While I do agree completely that the Optima is no Encore or Omega, I fail to see why one would need to be discarded unless it was not properly taken care of?

With proper care, an ML barrel should be good for tens of thousands of shots.