Posted by Norm on September 20, 2007, 7:49 pm, in reply to "L.C. Smith heirloom"
I went through a similar thing with a model 12 that was passed on to me. I went the refurbish route, and regret it.
I humbly suggest that you get it cleaned up and safe to shoot, but retain some of the "character" that your dad and grandad imparted (inflicted) to the gun.
In my opinion, you can buy a nice Smith, but it will never be the one used by your forebears.