Happened to me, too
I had the same thing happen with a cannon carving bar. The link count they put on their (cannons) website was short by 1 link. I couldn't get the bar short enough to mount the chain. Here is the easy fix, since 1/4 pitch is a little rare in a local shop. Grab a grinder (bench, angle, doesn't matter). Grind down the back of the bar (sprocket end) until it clears. I had to take off about 1/4 inch for mine to fit. It looks like a Stihl bar now, with the bar bolt channel open on one end, but it fits, and I didn't have to send out for a single link and some presets.