Mckinnie
It's two different things. When measuring, there is always the skill of the Craftsmen to be considered.
When indicating, you are dependent upon the mechanicle integrity of the tools, ie, the indicator, and the lathes spindle bearing capabilities. On some cheaper lathes, (or high end machines that have seen better days), the bearings will not run much better than .0003 to .0005, sort of difficult to dial in something within .0001 under those circumstances.
I indictate barrels in to within .0001 on a regular basis. But even that can be a compromise. For instance, if one land habitually reads a couple of tenths higher, you can split the difference between it and one opposite. When dealing with items that are not perfectly straight, or even round for that matter, you have to decide where the compromise will be.
Even all of this becomes a moot point when dealing with some of the anomalies that you encounter in the ID of a barrel. For instance, you can indicate a specific spot as close as your capabilities allow, and move the indiactor stylus 1/4 inch, forward or back. and you suddenly get .0003 difference.
That is why it irks me to have a barrel that has one of those "spots" right up there where the throat is going to be. Every barrel has them, it is the nature of the beast, but I always prefer them to be somewhere else.......jackie