The answer may never be told, but the speculation is fun. There are many possibilities. I have seen cut barrels still touching with 4" removed.(1) A lot has to do with the gauge vs frame size, but generally, they are quite likely to be touching each other 2" back from the muzzle.
(2) Skilled people have faked the "blank" at the end of the rib.
(3)The rib 'could' be shortened on the dolls head end, moved back, then re-soldered.
(4)The "book" could be wrong, and they were always 28", and honed by someone in the past.
(5) The book was right, but a different set of barrels could have been fitted and renumbered.
It isn't universally true that longer barrels are more tightly choked, but that's a reasonable assumption.
Original Parker reamers have shown the taper was straight, at least at certain periods. In this case, it holds true that the tighter the choke, the longer it is. An IC choke will almost certainly become cyl when cut back two inches. Likewise, a Full choke will be more like Mod when cut back 2". whatever the answer, in the end it's just speculation.
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