what stain for an m44?

[Snark]

I am currently in the middle of refurbishing the stock of the Mosin Nagant m44 that i bought. I just finished sanding (not too much) and am trying to deciede on a stain to use. Am i correct in thinking they were normally dark, and reddish? Any help or suggestions would be most appriciated.

 

[Bainx]

Welcome aboard Snark!
I don't know if I would use a stain or not. On most of my milsurps, I have used tung oil. The other correct finish is BLO. That is boiled lindseed oil.
However, there was one Mosin 91/30 that I sanded and used a Walnut stain on and it turned out really good!

Sit tight and see what other THR folks have to say.

 

[5ptdeerhunter]

I think that a majority of the Mosin Nagants were dark but I think that the polish types are lighter in color. At least I think that is what I heard. On my Mosin I used some Red Mahogany Minwax wood stain. I really liked the dark color but I deluted some of it and made it lighter. I wish I had left it darker but oh well. Now I know for the next one. Either way you go (light/dark) I think you will like the results.

 

[Zeke Menuar]

I used a spit coat/tung oil finish on my M44 as described at Parallax Bill's site. Not quite original but looks goods and really tough.

http://www.milsurpshooter.net/

Go to C&R stock cleaning section


ZM

 

[SteelyDan]

I'm no expert, but I've read that the BLO offers about the least water protection of any of the most common finishes. Someone can correct me on this, but I've been thinking about refinishing a couple rifles and doing some research, and I've read that comment a few times.

 

[GD]

I'll second the red mahogany. Followup with BLO.