I really prefer the look and feel of an oil finished walnut stock. No glossy finish, with the pores and grain of the wood visible. But to make the rifle more durable in the weather, are there any finishes with the look of a military oil finish that seal the stock more?

I was considering something like one or two coats of Permalyn Sealer, then a coat or two of linseed oil as needed. With the permalyn, after the first coat or two is absorbed, the wood will still seems very dry and the finish is hardly apparent, so if I put oil on top of that, would I get a more natural oil finish with a sealed base? Or would the oil finish have some adverse reaction with the sealer? I have no idea, so I'm just asking for input. I'm also trying to get a scrap of walnut or a broken stock at a gunshow that I can sand down and try a sample on.

Any ideas appreciated.

I like Formby's tung oil low gloss finish. Put however many coats on to suit your tastes!

You are on the right track with the permalyn sealer. I have done exactly that. Brush on heavy wet  coats and let it soak in deep, wipe off excess, repeat until it won’t take anymore or you get the look you want after the wipe down. It’s especially good for laminated stocks. That wood really soaks it in and it doesent affect the glue binding the layers. Get it how you want it and then a great top coat is beeswax, turpentine and raw linseed oil as a paste wax. Heat the oil and turpentine in in a small bowl floating in a pot of water that’s not quite boiling and melt the wax in it stirring as it melts, when it’s all melted pour it in a small tin with a screw on lid. I get 2 once tins and I use .5 oz turpentine, .5 oz raw linseed oil, and 1 oz of beeswax. Rub it on the stock with #0000 steel wool to get it nice and thin, let it sit 20 minutes or so for the turpentine to evaporate and then buff it off with a towel. That paste wax is also excellent to clean and freshen up true linseed oil finishes on old stocks as well, even some of the glossier ones. Especially if they get some scuffs on them or the finish dulls from exposure to a solvent spill etc while cleaning or whatever. Easy to make, and smells awesome too. Of you can’t find raw linseed, the get some flaxseed oil. Same stuff just food grade. You don’t want the commercial boiled linseed oil. The chemical dryers are harsh and it will gum up in the paste as it dries. The raw takes months to dry and if it gets in the wood on a scuff etc it soaks in and slowly cures under the wax anyway. If it’s got nothing to soak into it just buffs off with the hardened wax. It also makes the paste wax much softer and easier to spread than the turpentine beeswax only wax. I made both and the raw linseed one works on anything and it’s easier to apply thinly and evenly and that means it buffs off easier as well with a nice finish. You can also use it as a wood finish on its own, just have to maintain it every 6-8 months as there is no underlying hard cured finish.

Also you can make a whole bunch of different paste waxes with all sorts of different ingredients for different purposes as well. Beeswax and mineral oil is great for cutting boards, beeswax and turpentine makes a great furniture polish for older furniture, and lasts for months. You can add in 1/8-1/4 of the beeswax weight of carnuba flakes for a harder finish that’s got a little more gloss. I haven’t made a pure carnuba only version of anything yet so I can’t speak to that, but I have read of a mix that’s carnuba only to make your own car wax.

I haven’t tried it on a stock yet, but I recently did an oak staircase (after staining) with low gloss “ Danish oil” then put on a coat of wipe on polyurethane just to be sure.  The danish oil takes about 3 days to dry, the poly only takes a couple of hours.  I have a couple of rifles I need to refinish, probably going to try this method on them, the staircase looks fantastic.

I would not recommend polyurethane on gun stocks. Main reason is poly is very difficult to repair. I use Waterlox original formula. It is great for wooden stocks, furniture and even wood floors. Best of all, it is super easy to repair or refinish. No need to strip or remove anything. Just scuff sand and wipe on a new coat or touch up the area of concern.

Recently finished a Garand stock with it and it came out awesome. Wiped on four coats scuff sanding between coats.