ORIGINAL: 338-06imp.
IF it were me I would use a good paint remover and then sand it smooth with a fine sand paper 180 to start moving to 220 and so on I use wet or dry sand paper . I would use tru oil for the finish I put it on by hand and just rub it in and lightly sand between coats. To get my final finish I use 0000 stell wool. good luck
Agree with this on the stock finish. Then use some fine emery cloth to take all the finish off the steel parts, and polish them to a high shine. Then get some Laurel Mountain Forge Browning solution from Dixie Gun Works, follow the directions that come with it, and put an old timey brown finish on the steel parts (including the barrel!!) KEEP THE STUFF OUT OF THE BORE!! USE A WOODEN PEG FOR A BORE PLUG!!