Hi,
I am going to offer a contrary point of view. Cherry is a fine wood and will make a good stock. I use it when the historical context of the gun I am making demands it. For example, I usually will make a New England fowler from cherry because many were originally stocked with it. However, given a choice, I would choose figured maple or figured walnut over cherry every time. Generally, cherry has fine grain but it is very uninteresting to me and monochromatic, meaning even if it has some figure or flame, the colors are just different shades of the same reddish-brown. Chatoyance, the deep 3D glow of wood like curly maple, is minimal in cherry, although you can simulate it with some creative staining. In sunlight, curly maple lights up like fire, cherry not so much. A plain gun made from cherry is exceedingly plain. You can carve it to add interest but it won't hold details as well as hard maple so you need to design your carving accordingly. However, if you go with cherry, your stock will be enhanced greatly if you at least cut in some border lines and lock panel moldings. You can create the illusion of chatoyance by first coloring the stock with a dilute stain of black aniline dye. Sand or scrape off the black and then stain with whatever you choose. The black will remain embedded in the fine grain of the wood and act like a drop shadow color you might use to create a 3D looking graphic or lettering. It will add a mellow glow. See below.
dave
