I recently purchased a used M700 mountain rifle equiped with a B&C stock. Almost as an after thought, the seller gave me the original wood stock. This wood stock has obviously never been used. and it has beautiful figure Not a mark on it and the checkering is pristine. From a distance, the finish looks very good, but close examination reveals many fine small cracks in the gloss finish running across the grain. What to do? I have no experience with these hard gloss finishes.

Sand it off and apply new finish.

DON'T SAND IT OFF. By doing so you will likely sand too deep into the wood and expose open pores which in American Walnut may be a bitch to fill. Rather use a furniture stripper such as Homer Formbys. Apply liberally and let it work. The finish will soon bubble up, when it does use a plastic or wooden scrapper to gently scrape the finish off. Any areas of finish that remain can then be spot coated with striper untill they are soft enough to remove. Next remove any residual stripper with a paper towel and denatured alchohol or mineral spirits and let dry. Now, using 400 grit wet or dry paper, lightly sand the stock to a uniform color and apply your finish. I use a poly-urethane named ARM-R-SEAL available from Woodcraft Supply for this. Wipe it on, let it soak in for a couple of minutes, and then wipe any that remains on the surface off. Let dry over-nght and repeat.

Stripper sounds like the solution, but how do I protect that black plastic tip? I am still wondering what caused the original finish to "craze", as the stock is otherwise immaculate?

Good luck; Remington finish is a bitch to remove; I have not had good luck but I might have used the wrong brand of remover. Brownings too.

That Remington finish is similar to a bowling pin finish. Very tough. This has worked for me on a Browning finish:
Certistrip
Better tape off the sexy plastic tip and cap first!

If one stripper doesn't work try another. The secret is to apply it heavy and then give it time to work. You can also try warming the stock slightly with a heat gun prior to applyihg the stripper as this will increase it's power.

I gave up after spending $25 on paint removers that just sat there and did nothing. Ended up scraping the old finish off with a knife and re-cutting the reverse checkering. I want instant results.

I scuff the original finish with 120 grit before applying the first coat of stripper. It breaks the surface tension, so to speak, and allows the stripper to get into the finish. Wrapping the stock in aluminum foil while the stripper works also helps. 3 coats usually does it on Remington stocks.

Thanks for the help. I will order the stripper from Brownell's. Should be a nice winter project. In the meantime, a coat of Johnson's paste should keep out the moisture.