This is part 1 of, I think, 5 of Brownell's stock finishing articles. Take some time to read them, and you may find some good suggestions. they also have a large selection of finishing products.
Stock refinishing can either be a fairly long, difficult process for the amature, or it can be fairly quick. It all depends on the quality of your wood and what you want the finished product to look like.
I've finished several stocks with oil, but BLO is not the form used. Artist's pure linseed is and it goes on in small drops and over days, In fact, the first few coats are thinned. The original filler used by stock makers years ago was egg whites. Varnish or shellac works fine too. Apply finish and sand down with fine sandpaper until the wood pores are flush. Allow plenty of time for the finish to dry between coats. No steel wool. Just take your time.
Tru Oil and the like contain driers to speed the process and they give a good result in much less time. I've used Gun Sav'r in various forms (oil and spray) for several stocks and love the results, but it is a process! Really sheds water.
If you choose to go the long way, one suggestion to keep dust off the finish is to make a drying booth out of a PVC sewer line 10" or larger. Put a cap on it and a hanger in the center of the cap. Cap the bottom. Have it maybe twice as long as a stock. Cut a slot 4" down from the top wide enough and long enough to get stock through easily and cover that strips of overlapping heavy plastic. Place a light bulb at the bottom. A piece of plywood with lots of 1/2" holes drilled in it goes between the stock and the light bulb. We want the heat from the bulb to come through. Mist and wipe down the upper chamber inside before hanging a drying stock. This is especially helpful after coats 8 thru 10. Car finish glaze is the final step.
If you checkered your stock, be sure to tape off the checkering or it will fill up. Press the tape down into the borderlines and cut the tape with an X-Acto knife. When the rest of the stock is completed, break the finish along the border with the knife, carefully pull the tape, and go over the checking with checkering oil. if you've got lots coats, you may have to use very fine sandpaper to feather out this edge.
I finished a couple of cheaper shotgun stocks with BLO. Warming the oil (double warmer - small can inside a big can filled with water) helps get good penetration and gives better water protection. Be sure and treat the butt like the rest of the stock.
Good luck.
