Gerber Shorty questions

I’m starting to get ready for helping friends break down big game this season. Elk, Mulies and whitetail will be on the menu.

I use my old Gerber Shorty as one of several knives for breaking down carcasses into cuts. They will be dressed and aged already, and hopefully about half-frozen (the fall ones, anyway).

So, getting ready to sharpen up this old boy:

First question: I’m thinking of adding a choil just below the finger guard, as the angle of the guard prevents me from sharpening that portion of the blade. Any downside to this?

What angles would best suit the hard, thin steel of the Gerber? I’m kinda using 20 dps as a default for most of my knives, but this one seems different. When hand sharpening, it takes forever, for one thing. It does hold an edge well, but I feel like I’m not getting the optimal angle on it (whatever that angle may be from many years of hand sharpening–and it was hard-used when I got it).

TIA–Timm