As for the pad, the collector who told me to "fix the one I have on the 20", I respect his sense of originality. I don't care much for what kind. The 20 is such a mild little thing. And I'm shooting RSTs with low recoil. And I wear padding. So any period piece will work for me. I'm disappointed that someone cut off the butt, but I can't change that. I'm a sucker for making sure my boats and guns and guitars are as original as they can be. As for beads or not, I don't even see them when shooting. It's just a nice ornamentation and if Parker put it them there, they belong there!
I remember seeing a nice little ivory bead on my wife's grandfather's Ithaca 20 some years back and thought it was the sweetest touch. I just don't know how to size them and/or how they are mounted. I looked at the hole(s) the other day and the front one appears to have been broken off. But for all of the great tools I own, I don't know what to use to extract the base. Is it threaded? And what are the thread sizes? The other one has been filled in, I believe. Sorry for the questions. Just want to get it right. Thanks, gents.