Yes. Always have been. Wasn't walnut chosen because maple had gotten too expensive back in the late 1800's? And maple because the Civil War had used up so much of the Cherry supply? Heck, the only reason at all that we had full-length stocks way back when, was because it was expensive to make a long, light barrel of a high grade of steel that would not bend like a noodle, and the stock acted to stiffen it. Wood is more expensive than synthetic materials because it is not consistent. Lack of consistency in an industrial production setting equals scrapped parts and waste.
To be fair, a gloss "anything" on a hunting rifle is somewhat counterproductive, though it does look nice to see a candy-coated Blaser/etc.
But 'tactical' is not the reason they went matte. Bead blasting or tumbling allows them to achieve a uniform (-ly poor) surface finish that obscures all tool marks from fabrication, and allows them to go straight to finish coatings without tedious polishing. Remington in particular is notorious for their extremely coarse blasted "express" finish that looks nearly like 60 grit sandpaper, which gets black-parked to form an ugly matte exterior with sponge like character (read: corrosion tendencies).
When not taken to Remington extremes, it does successfully provide a pleasing satin surface finish at a significant cost savings, which I would argue is a net positive.
