"Striking" is a metal removal process (filing and polishing). The amount of metal removed and location from which it is removed determines peak barrel stress, as well as the barrel's contribution to gun weight, balance, and swing efforts. The barrel maker had major input into the gun's characteristics.
That is some dream foistered upon the public along with the rest of the "magic" required to create a 'best" gun.
Actually, I was thinking more along ther lines of sleeved guns. Stick on a set of 0.035" wall tubes unstruck and compare them to tubes struck to more along the lines of 0.025" walls. Chuck is right in that today most of the metal would more likely come off in a machining operation rather than filing. Didn't you ever read Vic Venters on "Concentricity"?
Yes.Way more important and working towards quality than the hackneyed notion of striking for balance. If you had any clue how little change the balance can actually effected by "striking" you stop repeating this absurdity.
Actually, I can tell you exactly how much effect on weight, balance, and swing efforts any measurable removal of weight will have, given the location of removal. I'm quite sure you Never put any file to any barrel.
And you are wrong on that count. I'm hardly in your league of craft, but I certainly have passable skills. Some of my skills include developing theory of handling, development of tools to measure it, and follow-up to see what is important and what not. Striking is simply about removing the flaws from the barrel finish to achieve a quality bluing or browning and final appearance. There is not enough metal removed to effectively change handling qualities without drastic thinning of the barrel walls.
OK, what do you call the process of profiling the barrels? I say "profiling" as I consider that the correct modern term, but believe most would refer to it as striking.If this was ever done, it certain is out of the scope of today's gunmaking.
I've seen some pretty fair amounts of metal coming off the outside of barrels in some European shops. 
