Tung Oil is slightly more water resistant than Linseed Oil. This is why the US Army chose it for the Springfield rifle.
Not so. I got it from the horse's mouth a long time ago, from a guy who was there. My long gone friend was an Artificer in Army Ordnance during WWII (actually a little before, and through, the war). Artificers were guys who were attached to combat units as "gun fixers"- with trucks fitted out as mobile workshops with all the stuff for repairing small arms in the field. He described his job as mainly fixing/replacing broken stocks, rebarreling shot-out and rusted out rifles, and all the various and sundry ills that befell weapons being used in harsh conditions. The man amazed me with speed he could work at. He re-barreled my first '03 in his basement shop back in the 70's while I watched, and I doubt it took him much over half an hour.
Part of his early training was a rotation through the Springfield Armory. While there he witnessed stocks being "finished", by dunking in big vats of hot oil. He said that he was told they used whatever oil the procurement officer happened to get a good deal on- linseed or tung- and used it interchangeably.
