Correct Period Varnish

[AD-4NA]

Could anyone here help me with some information or expertise on the correct varnish for 1910's-1940's shotguns?

It does not seem to get covered in the shotgun forums much even though shotguns are about the only US military weapons that should occasionally actually have a varnished stock.

All I can seem to find locally are modern polyurethane based finishes and I haven't had much luck searching the vintage furniture sphere for information either.
Should it just be an oil based varnish?

Information

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[usabaker]

on the correct varnish for 1910's-1940's shotguns?

You may mean Lacquer rather than varnish. Who is the manufacture of the shotgun?

[WarPig1976]

Lacquer is the finish you seek. For a more refined custom look BLO is hard to beat on the old guns made with the quality lumber IMHO.

[AD-4NA]

In this case we're talking about Remington. WWII Model 11's and Model 31's among others

Maybe I thought they used some kind of varnish because I was wrongfully misremembering lacquer as a not very durable finish until you gents got the old brain cells going.

Not to get too testy, but RLO/BLO is just not the correct finish on a few of these military shotguns.