Russ, some barrels are exactly the length that the records show while others are only close. I've had three Damascus Parkers where the barrels were shorter than what they lettered at by 1/8" or a whisker more while one set was longer by about 1/16". Barrels may have been trimmed or squared because of minor damage to the muzzles or some other acceptable explanation but personally I wouldn't worry about a 1/4" difference.
When you say "no matting" do you mean there is no matting whatsoever on the top rib? Is it a hammer gun from the early period in which ribs were not matted? An 1870's gun perhaps?
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