Restoration Help Please

[Paul Mazan]

I recently rescued a Parker tat most of you would probably be ashamed to own. It is #129274 and appears to be a VH. 12 ga on a #2 frame. Anyway, the stock is oil soaked and cracked with a down rod put throught it to stop the cracking. It has been reblued and I cannot remove the barrels from the receiver unless I remove the bottom plare and use a thin screwdriver tro unlock the barrels. I know this will never be a collector grade gun and that is why I'm asking about what would be proper to restore it. I can degrease the stock but then I will have to refinish. I can stripp the bluing but I will have to do something about refinishing. From your points of view what is the best way to procede to make the gun into something that looks it's age. I also understand that there may be a book available that would shoe what barrel length the gun had when new. At the moment the barrels are 24" and choked IC and Imprved Modified. They don't look to have been cut but with the refinish polishing and the engraving barly there anything is possible. Thank you for your opinions.