I suspect you and I could shoot together AFTER we do the necessary dance to check the other out. When it comes to guns I trust no one until I have verified them myself.
I have a similar, if not so lethal, situation right now. My neighbor bought a HD and would like to ride with me. He obviously knows how to ride because he hasn't fallen down in the month he's had the bike. I need a trust level akin to shooting with riding partners. I don't think he'll make that level, but I do need to find out. I've got the problem on hold right now because of the heat, but it will return and I need to deal with it.
I'll take him on a 25 mile loop that I know implicitly. It'll show me his technical skills as well as his temperament as a rider pretty plainly.
The problem I'm wrestling with right now is how to tell him he doesn't make the grade while avoiding my normal 'Fuck Off' method. I'll still have to live next to him...
So. I'll give him the test and a fair look. I suspect you'll do the same. Sometimes it's the shits that we have to live in the world, isn't it?
It makes sense to do the check, and I think most shooters are responsible enough to accept that it happens, that it should happen.
Riding in a group, even a pair, isn't as straightforward as it seems right? I used to ride a lot with a mate and we could ride close if required, I knew what he would do and he me in return. But I've ridden with others who were erratic and unpredictable which is disconcerting.
Like with the firearms, a test ride will sort it out and determine what he's like. From there you evaluate and decide if a longer ride is acceptable. Telling him no, in the advent he's a shite rider, is the problem though, figuring out how to do so and retain a neighbourly relationship.