I wouldn't worry about the barrel, but I would be concerned about the forend stud, it's just spot welded to the barrel, NFG pulled one off a .45-70 barrel by adding weight to a custom forend to help abate recoil, there's a warning about it in the FAQs.
I'd just sand the forend out to clear the barrel, that's the easiest way to float it along with a spacer/O-ring.
Tim