Norm, the short answer is yes... but it all depends on the technique used to restore the "looks".
If the exterior were to be restored by the welding of an appropriate Navy barrel stub, and appropriate surface grinding were applied to recreate the exterior contours, then the bore could be relined to make it shootable.
Not the method I would use... It will never be original again. I would just obtain or make a proper contour and front sight base 6 inch barrel and have it installed, chambered and headspaced... that would be the least expensive route. and it would make a DANDY shooter. Wish it were mine!... but then I am not a collector of collectibles, I only collect the facts about them so I can share them... and of course, photographs of them.
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regards, -John S
"...We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created EQUAL and are endowed by their Creator with certain UNALIENABLE rights, and among these are life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness..."
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