I would also say not cut. I've seen a couple of 30" 12 gauge barrels that were original and measured small fractions short of exactly 30". I haven't owned that many 16's but there's no reason to believe you wouldn't see one once in a while with a slightly short barrel. Especially in the days of pre-CNC machine shop practices. Silvers

I AM SILVERS, NOT SLIVER = two different members. I'm in the northeast, the other member is in MT.