That's always a tough call LetFly. Unless you are doing a complete restoration, i.e., using original methods and finishing materials to make the gun look like the day it left the factory, then I agree with you about not attempting to remove every mark and scratch on a gun this old. But it usually doesn't look very good to have a shiny built up surface finish with scratches and dents remaining underneath either. I personally think a finish more in the wood would look better and more appropriate on an old Lefever anyway, versus some glossy Weatherby type finish where every pore is filled.

I don't know of any scratch filler that wouldn't stand out like a sore thumb. And nothing I see there looks very deep either. You might want to consider making a few more runs at them with your dent removing iron. I know the conventional wisdom says that you can't raise scratches and sharp dents that have broken the wood fibers. However, I have found that often they can be partially raised. They would still be there, but maybe not quite as deep. Instead of just placing a moist pad on top of the damaged area, and applying the hot iron, I discovered that I get better results if I moisten the dent or gouge with common 70% rubbing alcohol first, and let it soak into the wood for a little while. This way, the hot dent iron is generating steam from within the wood instead of trying to force it down in from the surface.

I'm glad to see that you know what you are doing, and are being conservative. So many people get carried away with sanding, and they ruin the detail and lines of the stock. I've got a 16 ga. Lefever, a 16 ga. Baker, and a 16 ga. L.C. Smith that I picked up very cheap as project guns. All of them are shooters, but they are going to need restocked due to someone going nuts with sandpaper.

A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.