[Hugh]

I have read numerous books and articles on gunstock making and finishing, and have even made a few gunstocks and grips. Everything that I have read recommends boiled, not raw, linseed oil. As Viggo stated, it is not actually "boiled" but treated with a drying agent to make it dry.

Once years ago I used raw linseed oil on a gunstock that I refinished, a month later it was still "tacky". I finally flushed it with solvent and a heat lamp to remove as much of the oil as I could, then treated it with the boiled variety. A few days later it was ready to hunt with.