I am sure that the issue your friend was making reference to is the fact that Wind River, Beartooth, CVA, Traditions, and a number of other companies get their barrels made in Spain by a company called BPI. There have been cases where BPI barrels have blown up. The cause of that happening I do not know. Just as there is cases of almost every other manufacturer barrel blowing up. I think in many of the cases it is caused by operator error.

Granted BPI does not do the most extensive barrel pressure testing in the industry. That might be because there are no set standards in the black powder industry for barrel testing as I was made to understand. BPI has to have barrels able to withstand a certain pressure rating in order to ship them, the way it was explained to me. I could be wrong. Would not be the first time.

So In my opinion, and this is only my opinion.. Load your rifle according to the recommendations of the manufacturer. Keep track of the loads you use and do not exceed the max amounts. Clean and maintain the rifle well. Keep an eye on breech plugs and anything else that might fail in the rifle, checking for cracks, bulges, or worn threads. But above all have fun and enjoy the rifle.

If your friend does not want to shoot it, that's their choice. Honor that choice and you get to shoot more that way. From what a lot of people say the rifles are real accurate. Glad you're having fun and getting a good load worked up.