Sounds like you got the idea, sorry I left out lightly running a tak rag after the steel wool and before the oil. From my experience if the gun has a high gloss, it's probably a varnish finish from the factory. You may not get as high a gloss but your also not working in the factory. If you want to stain it get the gouges filled in and the rest of the stock prepared and then stain it, I myself like the look of the wood's natural color, after that you want to seal it. You can use 2 parts of mineral spirits to 1 part tung oil, this will look pretty thin, you want it that way to readily absorb into the wood. Two coats of that and give it a day or two to dry before applying the finish. A word to the wise, if it's very damp or humid wait until it dries up some. You want as little moisture in the wood as possible when you seal it. Here is a url that might help. http://riflestocks.tripod.com/seal.html