Stock refinishing - how to match vintage Remington Model 11 original finish and color tone?

[Ontario Hunter]

With that super long barrel I presume this was a full choke Model 12 for waterfowl. Tell your friend to be careful. Remington did not use very good steel for them. Definitely DO NOT shoot steel through it. Even shooting lead many barrels ballooned with modern magnum loads. My dad's had a Polychoke and after he died I was looking for another fixed choke barrel to make it "original." I contacted Remington's staff historian (back in the days when they had one) and he said stick with Polychoke because 1) it was originally installed at Remington and 2) they were tougher than fixed chokes in those barrels.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I would not stain that stock. My dad had a Model 11 that's now my brother's. The finish on your stock was not original. I'm fairly certain someone slobbered varnish over the original oil finish which would have been very flat, not glossy. If you use Linspeed oil finish, it will darken quite a bit. Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil will not darken. If you decide to go with Linspeed, let me know. I can give you some tips that will greatly speed up the process.

Here's my 404 on Czech 98 Mauser I built spring of 2023. This is the first stock with Linspeed.
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Then I restocked it when a great deal came up for used one. That one required stripping and refinish similar to your project.
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And this is my 03A3. First restocked in 1981 and refinished at least three times (I hunt hard!).
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Here's my Citori I refinished with Linspeed a couple years ago.
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@Ontario Hunter
I do love LINSPEED. No need for a filler and give a great finish depending on the number of coats. My lowall has around 15-20 I lost count but it looks beautiful ( to me anyway).
The more work you put in in preparation the better the finish.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Thank you! I actually have some Linspeed oil that I bought for a different project, and have never used. My original thought was to use the Linspeed straight out of the bottle on this project, because I think it will make that wood grain really pop. However, friend thought it might be too light, so I looked for other options and wound up buying the Watco Danish Oil in Black Walnut. I will revisit the idea of using the Linspeed Oil.

@cash_tx
Use LINSPEED straight from the bottle but DON NOT USE A FILLER, this will stop absorption into the grain. The LINSPEED website give a good tutorial on how to use it.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Thank you! I actually have some Linspeed oil that I bought for a different project, and have never used. My original thought was to use the Linspeed straight out of the bottle on this project, because I think it will make that wood grain really pop. However, friend thought it might be too light, so I looked for other options and wound up buying the Watco Danish Oil in Black Walnut. I will revisit the idea of using the Linspeed Oil.

@cash_tx

Done with LINSPEED
Bob