Fred,
Some factory barrels have a bunch of tool marks and shoot surprisingly good. My Krieger, Broughton, Hart, HS Precision, PacNor and such have beautiful machine work with no visible tool marks. And for what they cost, that's about right. And, of course they shoot.
But, you're right. You can't always judge how a barrel shoots by how it look. I've seen some pretty rough looking old Springfield barrels shoot great. Quoting Forest Gump, "Pretty is a pretty does."
DF
