Thomas Hunter's testimony was in 1912
Here's was happened
after WWI
Tariff Information Survey, 1921
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=...amp;pg=GBS.PP15“Practically all the raw materials are obtained from domestic sources, with the exception of a portion of the barrels for shotguns, which are imported by the smaller makers, as a rough bored forging. The production of this component of the gun requires an investment in equipment too large to allow of profitable manufacture on a small scale. All but one of the firms which imported barrels before the war reported (1920) that they intended to again import as soon as possible, although one of them took up their manufacture during the war, and statistics of importations in 1920 indicate that this practice has been largely resumed. The most of the larger companies make their own barrels. These rough forgings have been obtained chiefly from Belgium, a few of the highest grade coming from England.”
More here about 1/2 way down
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=17ixogftgITEblNUWtmFBv96ZvgjK6eFell8GsAWd-KI
