Krag sporter

[butlersrangers]

IMHO - Your stock looks kind of neat and has been wearing its finish for a long time. In the photos, your Krag has a pleasant veteran look to it. There are worse outcomes than 'just letting it be'.
(Note - Some U.S. stocks are of Italian walnut and have a different color than the usual American black walnut stocks).

You might just start by wiping down your wood with mineral spirits or a 50/50 mix of turpentine & linseed oil. This will clean the wood surface and may soften old oil and wax that may have dried and glazed.
If you like how the wood reacts to this procedure, finish by 'hand buffing' with Howard's Feed & Wax or Pledge furniture polish.

If a more permanent finish was put on the wood, as others have stated, denatured alcohol dissolves shellac.

Varnish, urethane, and Lin-Speed types of finishes require 'finish stripper' and scraping to remove.

It helps to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. Making the wood look 'new', would be a big mistake.

Your metal has a nice patina. The wood appearance should be in 'agreement' with the metal.