One of the most beautiful stocks I ever saw was on a Pennsylvania long rifle stock a buddy scratch built, maple with the tightest "curl" from stem to stern you ever saw. He used no abrasives- he scraped it smooth with shards of glass. (He said he smashed around a dozen 8x10 pieces of glass in the process of obtaining the correctly shaped shards that he needed for the various cambers on the stock.) The finish: none. He applied untold numbers of coats of paste wax, and rubbed, and rubbed. Now, 25 years later, after follow up waxing and, you guessed it, more rubbing, that stock has taken on a sheen/patina that is so deep you think you can reach in and scoop it out. The wood has turned a pretty shade of honey in the process.
The thing has accounted for dozens of deer- it gets used. He left the barrel and lock bright- no browning/bluing. Those parts have patinized to a dull brown luster from natural rusting... and rubbing. (Remember, a helluva lot of back country-built ML'ers in the 17th/18th/early19th century were left bright when made. We see them as brown today and assume that's how they left the shop.)
Would I advocate such a wood finish for a hunting rifle that will probably see weather? Nope. Not unless I knew the owner and knew he had total devotion to maintaining it properly. Not one in a thousand has that kind of dedication. For them I recommend a barrier finish of some sort, or a plastic stock. My personal stocks are all varnished, rubbed out, and waxed to a dull luster.
