George,
Sherman Bell wrote a series of articles for Double Gun Journal titled "Finding Out For Myself." The short and long of it is he debunked the dangers of Damascus. Standard 12 gauge loads are limited in pressure to about 12,000 psi. He took two Parkers both made in 1900. One was Damascus the other Vulcan Steel and both were on #2 frames. Each failed at the same spot at about 31,500 psi.
Some gunsmiths would hide repair to stocks with checkering. I have several with repairs in that area sans checkering.
Harry
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