As to where the Colts were made, I'm not surprised that the barrels were Belgian. I believe even the Brits imported some of their damascus barrels, and all the Americans did, didn't they? Has it ever been established that damascus barrels were ever produced in quantity in the U.S.?
When I asked the question in the first place, I was thinking more about the actions, and could swear I've read speculation that Colt imported actions begun in Birmingham and then engraved, fitted barrels and stocked them stateside ... more of a Chas. Daly approach, except that, worried about their reputation, Colt tried hard to create the impression they built them from scratch, just like their handguns ... hugely successful worldwide and undeniably American-built. Then again, maybe I'm thinking of the 1878s or something. Any other thoughts on this? TT
TT,
You are correct to include the key word "quantity". Forge welded damascus has been produced in the US for a long time. But never in any verifiable quantity. I know Semmer claims that Remington was doing it, but that is speculation.
There are still a very few custom muzzle loader makers who can produce damascus, but none use the methods that the best English, Belgian, Italian, French and German makers were using 80+ years ago.
Yes, some English makers used Belgian barrels. Mostly toward the end of the damascus era. While we can trace many barrels on American guns to Belgium, others show up as well, especially English.
Unfortunately, the family antedote that Drew quoted is as close as we have come to actual data, except for makers marks on barrels. The customs house in Belgium once contained all this information, but the records were destroyed by war and flood over the years. There are only a few journals held by museums in Belgium that quote some of those records. Perhaps some day a researcher will take up the challenge.
Pete
