Whereas ferric nitrate crystals are used as you describe, and no doubt you will have plenty of experience, it is simply not the case in my 40 years of staining boxwood, as I have written, that the wood continues to darken if you use a solution, or even straight nitric acid. Certainly you will get speckling if iron is not in the solution, and that does not look good. If you leave residual acidity in the wood, say in a flute, fingers will eventually discolor the flute. However a simple soak in raw warm linseed oil will absorb any residual acidity and the finished look remains good over many decades of use. The process is very straightforward to use.
I have seen some very handsome muzzle loaders probably stained as you describe, it does produce good results too, so perhaps Evgeni will choose to go that route.
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