On the stocks, I suggest stripping and maybe sanding to get them desirable. For a coating I highly suggest a pine tar treatment. Go to YouTube for the how to's.
I thinned down some pine tar and used a torch to apply it to my new Ruger Hawkeye. It's a great treatment because it impregnates the wood pores when heat is applied. It locks in the pores and makes the wood much more impervious to water and weather. The old timers used it extensively on tool handles to get them to last and last.
I'm a pine tar convert.
