Bigcountry, your Browning never had finish other then maby stain on the checkering. That is one of my pet pieves with Browning and also why their checkering always lookg fuzzy! Good checkering will never hide the grain of the wood, tone it down a bit yes but not hide it. Browning checkering is cut with something resembling a chain saw from what I can see and if you want it to look right you should re cut it to get rid of the fuzz.
When done right checkering is done prior to the last two coats of finish and then only a thinned finished is aplied to the checkering or if not thinned the checkering is blotted with a lint free cloth.
Your best bet would(With out seeing it) be to brush in a coat or two of finish and blot up the excess, unless you recut it the stain will stay and the checkering will be darker then the rest of the wood.