Hi Bill,

If the stock is not dark to your liking after you get rid of the shiny stuff, I would recommend Fiebings dark brown Leather dye. (can be sourced at Tandy Leather craft) Get the alcohol based dye, not the water base.  This dye goes on and wipes off easily and I think provides excellent results. It is virtually a dead ringer for the color of old Springfield stocks that were dyed with logwood stain and has the reddish tint that all old riles made by Springfield exhibit.  I just stained a 1889 Danish Krag stock (made in 1910) with this dye that had been stripped, sanded and refinished with probably tru oil by a prior owner.  Now it looks like a 104 year old rifle stock should look, not like a leg on a coffee table. Before and after pics. I have not put any BLO on the stock yet.

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