The barrels can touch at the ends for up to several inches, it all depends on how they were constructed.
The rib matting will also tell you more. It will usually terminate before the end of the rib. Though the matting going all the way to the end is not always a sure sign of cut barrels, it is at least an indication of it.
If your matting does terminate before the end of the rib, I would say the length is original.
__________________
B. Dudley
|