I started chasing 28 gauge NID’s in the early-mid 70’s. I’ve owned over 25 and seen/examined numerous others. I’ve never seen or heard of barrels longer than 28 inches long! Every field grade, but one, had 26 inch barrels. I had a number of grade 2’s and all but one had 28 inch barrels. I had 4 of the 10 grade 4’s and 2 had 26 inch barrels and 2 had 28 inch barrels. One of the grade 4’s was a 2 barrel set and both sets were 28 inches. A grade 5 I had was a 28 incher as was another 5 that I examined in the 90’s. I’ve always felt that higher grades were more often ordered with 28 inch barrels and vent ribs were prevalent! These are simply assumptions on my part based on decades of looking and observing.
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