Interesting that you went all the way up to 5000 grit in the final applications of the compound you used. People who wet sand autos and boats to restore the gloss use up to 5000/6000, but I've never heard of it being used on gunstock wood. Perhaps I have been too "sheltered".
I employ a sanded in finish as well, per Phil Pilkington's old method, but I use a 50/50 mixture I make myself of pure tung oil and marine spar varnish. 600 grit is as "high" as Pilkington proposed and used with the finish he sold, which was the same as I make up myself, now. Plenty gloss can be achieved with nothing finer than 600 grit, IMO.
Here's a couple pics of the buttstock of my Parker DHE that was refinished with the Pilkington method, ending in 600 grit. It was done by the former owner and true gentleman, Robert Harris of MT. It's as glossy as I care for, and then only on graded guns that have nice enough wood to "showcase" it. I usually refinish lesser grades of guns, or guns with plainer figure, to a more satin finish. The sanded in type finishes are very controllable as to amount of gloss desired.
![[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]](https://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/75466_600x400.jpg)
