Sand the blank and see what kind of figure it has. Do all 4 sides to see what would look best for the stock sides. If really plain well you can use it or not, I think the cool factor of saying this wood came from my farm is priceless if the rifle gets handed down!
I had a walnut end table made form a tree off my grandparents farm. Grandpa gave me ownership of the 12 walnut trees in the grove and when they matured the money went to my college fund and I got to keep some of the lumber. One of my nieces who was old enough to remember Grandpa Alby now has it and she has plans to pass it on to her kids and tell the story of how it came to be. Grandpa helped me build it, taught me how to use the lathe for the legs, and my niece was 4 or 5 so she helped with handing us stuff, adding glue etc. The table isn't fancy, I got some of the second grade lumber(top grade was way to pricey to keep) so the figure is so-so, the cool factor is the story behind it!