I have had several of these, and still have one left.
The thing I would caution is that they probably came in many variations, but I don't believe any I have had actually have walnut stocks like the brownings they copy.
If you strip it you will likely have to re-stain it to keep the same general appearance if that's what your after.
Back when I was buying these you could actually get them with a blonde stock, so I assume the wood is probably something like birch.?.?

 

I actually like the look of the blond wood - a Marlin Model 60 I refinished had a light colored wood stock - maybe birch or something similar - it came out looking really good, IMHO. I've never liked the high gloss finishes - they seem prone to dings and scratches.

 

I would agree.
I have done MANY mossbergs, h&rs, a ton of milsurps with tung oil as I just like the way it looks.
If you have future damage it's also easy to fix.

 

Before you strip it try knocking the gloss down to a satin/flat finish. You might like it and save a ton of time. I used to use 4/0 steel wool but most is brittle crap these days. Someone told me about these and they work great with no metal splinters.. Good luck.
3M Final Finishing Extra Fine Grit Refinishing Pad 3.75-in x 6-in (4-Pack) 10199NA4PK at Lowes.com

 

Go with the grain when rubbing.

 

Words for life in general 😅!!

 

Forgot to mention be careful around checkering. You don't want to knock finish down to bare wood on the high spots.

 

I've never refinished any of mine, but I am sure the Chinese used a regular gloss varnish on them. I suspect Citristrip will remove the finish and, as others said, not being walnut it may not be very attractive underneath. Mystery Chinese wood for sure. If it is a softer wood, it won't matter what finish you put on it, it will dent easily.

 

I definitely agree with all that and likely other than maybe knocking down the gloss might be best left alone.
The having been said, if you go ahead and it's abnormally soft wood, I believe you can get a product that is stainable and also works as a grain filler that is supposed to harden the surface somewhat.

 

As a side note I have done a few Asian milsurps and a lot of those are Chu wood (some kind of Asian catalpa) I'm pretty sure these AREN'T THAT, but if it is that's actually fairly tight grained and relatively hard.
When I have done those I have always oiled them.
Sometimes tung oil, sometimes boiled linseed.
By the way, not all oils are created equally.
Some "cook off" and cross link like a natural urithain, and others simply air dry, tend to be softer and if put on to heavy can be gummy, One of the reasons you don't leave boiled linseed (and several others) oil soaked rags or steel wool laying around as it can burn your house down when it spontaneously ignites!!!!!!!

 

I got one of these way back when I was into wood refinishing for oily rags.

 

Have the same!!
Cheep insurance!!!!

 

I was very happy with how my Marlin Model 60 stock turned out after I stripped it with Citristrip and used BLO. I had to use the steam iron and some wet towels to pop a few wood dings, but the wood turned out really nice. I'm not so concerned about the treated stock handling moisture or how hard (or soft) it is since these are only carefully handled range guns, transported in padded cases, on nice days (no rain), used under a shaded cover at the range.

I'm very careful with the used rags, regardless of whether I use Tung oil or BLO - I leave the rags outside for at least several days until they are completely dry and the volatile components have evaporated - and then they don't go into the trash bin until the morning that they're scheduled to be picked up.

 

Mine is waiting for a refinish 2 more guns ahead of it.

 

The more I compare, I think it likely might be chu wood.?.?
If it is it should approximate this color change if you use tung oil.

 

I believe these grips to also be chu wood, and they are done with tung oil.
All the blanks I started with said, is Asian hard wood.

 

If done corretly, Chu wood will give a very nice finish. My rifle, someone else did the finish.

 

For the sake of context (and referring to a prior post in this thread) I'm going to try and narrow to a specific genre, though admittedly only the rifle on the bottom is definitely chu wood, all are of the same general milsurp refinishing process and treated much the same before I refinished them.
ALL WERE done with tung oil, and most were tinted to get the specific results I wanted (yes regardless of others opinions they are all pretty much exactly what I had intended when I started!!).
You can pretty much make many woods look HOWEVER you would like with not much more effort than just slapping a coat of stuff on them😉.

 

I forgot to throw in a couple synthetics just for fun!!!

 

Pressman. Looks great however I am a fan of dark finishes.
I recently finished a birch drum set for a friend and used epoxy finishing resin, it hardened the wood and had a mirror finish. Might be a good finish for the soft wood on our rifles.

 

Pressman. Looks great, however I am a fan of dark finishes.
I recently finished a birch drum set for a friend and used epoxy finishing resin, it hardened the wood and had a mirror finish. Might be a good finish for the soft wood on our rifles.

Mostly I would agree with you. But, I have a collection of older Stevens rifles with their light finish and black forend. I have learned to really like them. Also, the quality of the Norinco finish is right near perfect and that adds to its appeal.
The last rifle I added is a CZ/Brno Model 5 and it too has a light finish.

 

The finishing epoxy is water clear, the birch on the drums was beautiful.

 

NICE Mosins! I have a "few" myself. Never saw a laminant stock 91/30. I do have a M38 and M44 laminant from the $49.00 dollar days.

 

I unfortunately don't have a laminate 44 though I would like to.
I have several more Mosins in very good condition that I didn't alter but didn't want to confuse the issue and only showed some that I had refinished.
When you could get totally re-arsenaled rifles for 40-60 bucks I bought a bunch for project guns.