Tim,
I've been doing some reading and talked to a smith at Gander Mountain. I'm going to jump in and try and chemically strip the stock. I'll go very slow and hopefully it will work out. I'll use the toothbrush on the checkering and hopefully very little sandpaper at all. I really have no dents in the wood, but where the varnish is scuffed up it's almowt a white color and really stands out. That's the reason I want to go with a Tung Oil or similiar finish on this stock.
I'll post my progress, altho it will be slow.

Thanks for responding.

Robb