I dont want to get embroiled in what finish is best for this and that because it has been a thing of mine to collect gun stock and barrel finishes over more years than I want to count. But the one thing I would like to add is that if you asked a thousand stockers or stock finishers you would get a thousand different takes on what finish make up they use.
There seems to be a number of camps like I only use the traditional oil finish or I spray bar top finish on and every stop in between those statements. As long as the wood is protected from the elements every finish used is just fine to me, I do feel now that it has reached the stage we must search out what the masters used which is rather like chasing what finish the great Antonio Stradivari used.
My self I tend to like the traditional finish of red oil followed by Garnet Shellac as a sealer then followed by a traditional refined linseed/Tung oil finish with the lustre supplied to the whole thing by wax polish. The wax provided by bees with just a little Carnauba wax to add toughness all surrounded by that wonderful smell of real turpentine.
