Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Old guys - Rifles, Stainless or Blue and why

What's your pref's and why...

Simple question, complicated answer given Stainless has gotten better over time.

I just hunted with a stainless rifle, synthetic stock for the first time ( besides varmints) last year..
I REALLY liked it...didn't have to worry about scuffing it etc.Killed a deer over a mile from the road, put him in a roll-up sled, along with the rifle...virtually hosed it off when I got home...

Wouldnt have done that with blue/walnut...

Ingwe

Being somewhat "Old school", I just can't warm up to the look of a stainless rifle unless it's coated.

I'd like to answer, but I'm not old like Ingwe.

My heart goes to the blue and walnut guns. They have true beauty to me.

When I started out there was no stainless and only some cheap top break gun with a plastic stock. Now we have choices.

When the Kimber 84M came out I wanted and perhaps needed it for its light weight. The stainless version (Montana) followed and I grew to appreciate them.

Its hard for me to believe that my old 99F has no rust on it. I carried it every season in all weather and it got wet for sure. Last season in VT it rained all day. I carried the ss 84M and all was fine. Nor did my Conquest scope fog up. I had a Lyman 4X fog from rain in 1968 on that 99.

For some reason I got a ss S&W Kit Gun when they came out. It just does not look right.

Ouch!

Ingwe

I'm solidly in the stainless/synthetic camp. Blue steel and wood look nice, but I don't like having to worry over the aesthetics of my tools.

And this may make a heartless philistine, but to me a firearm is first and foremost a tool.

Same here, blued steel on Black Walnut is beautiful and second to all other Walnut.

About 5-7 years ago I added one stainless synthetic as my go to rifle when I knew or expected to be hunting in foul weather or the possiblility of falling or hunting in rough conditions was probable. I don't regret the decision.

Fast foward to 2006 when I was given an Elk hunt by a family member and was trying to decide between my Cooper Classic in 308 or my Marlin in 45-70. I opted for a new Savage (ugly rifle) stainless synthetic topped with Zeiss (ugly scope) and it was a great decision. I fell no less than twenty times over the course of a week going down the mountain with my horse behind me. I cringe at the thought of what my Cooper would look like after that trip.

I will eventually add a Cooper 21 Varmint to compliment my 22 and 57 and decided that the Phoenix would be more appropriate for that type of rifle and the conditions I may hunt with it. Although I would prefer Cooper's beautiful Black Walnut stock over the B&C.

Stainless synthetics definitely have a place and in my opinion only are better rifles, just not better looking!

I'm blue and walnut.Most of my rifle are P/64 Winchesters,Mannlichers and Mausers.Been good to me so far,40+ years of hunting.
I like the character they project,every scuff and scar reminds me of a hunt...

my varmint rifle is coated in camo dip and i like the fact that i can grab it anywhere on it and not worry about a fingerprint and i can hunt and not worry about dirt or rain.

but i do have a pretty walnut and steel rifle in the safe for nice days, and to satisfy that part of me that loves the warmth and style.

I'm not "old" like Ingwe either, but I'll answer anyway, & echo his sentiment.

I like wood & blue & will still use it under some conditions but for the last 25 years, it's been almost 100% synthetic stocks, sometimes blue, sometimes stainless.

Stainless is the way to go for everyday use, IMO.

MM

Theres no doubt that after owning several pre World war 1 mauser 30-06 rifles, that blued and wood can stand the test of time. They still shoot accurate, hell, the best rifle I've ever had was a remington 750 semi auto 30-06 in blue and wood, most accurate smooth shooting rifle i've ever shot, and thats in semi auto as well....... Taken countless deer in rainy montana days, all this being said stainless and synthetic are great, and I own a few rifles in the such, one being a .338 win mag in weatherby vangaurd stainless sub moa custom, I do prefer blue over wood and think much of rainy day horror stories is from poorly kept rifles that really didn't necessarily have to bind and rust that much as the owner of them wasn't that capable of making a good shot..... How honestly does a warped stock effect accuracy? Your still looking through the same scope zeroed (hopefully) with the same barrel, and by god the barrel and scope haven't twisted at all.......

warped wood puts uneven pressure on the barreled action. so even though it doesn't actually twist the barrel, it causes weird dead spots and vibration that can cause the barrel to throw the shots places you didn't aim.

think of a tuning fork, hit it and then someone places their finger on the side. didnt bend it but definitely caused a problem.

I own about (12) rifles. One of them is stainless, one is chrome plated, both with Tupperware stocks. The rest of my rifles are blue with wood stocks, except for one model 70 that has a plastic stock. I ave no strict policy regarding Stainless.

If it's just a tool, yeah, go with plastic and SS. When you're done killin' something, just throw it in the truck box and wait 'til next time you need it. Like a 7/16" wrench.
But if the aestetics of the rifle appeals to you, and the memories that are envoked whilst you clean it, you'll buy a blue/wood rifle.

I like colorful plastic stocks and silver colored tools

Not sure I qualify as OLD, but I am older than I used to be and starting to get older than I'd like. :p

It depends on the hunt tbh. I have an absolutely gorgeous blue/walnut 30-06 that I use in good weather in mature timber. Classic looks, classic cartridge, the quintessential American deer rifle. It is about the most forgiving rifle to shoot that I have seen and fits me like a glove.

I have a 7-08 in Montana garb that I bought for everything but those mature timber in decent weather hunts and especially for some of those brutal backpack hunts. This season it got exposed to greenbriar and brush that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, freezing rain, and a couple of very cold, very wet, and very heavy snowstorms.... and a few spills.

Each has its place and I love them both. Some people buy a rifle in this cartridge for this animal and another in that cartridge for another animal and so on. I went the other route and bought two rifles in all around cartridges that can cover a very wide array of animals. One was in the classic old school tradition and one is ultra modern and lightweight.

Will

I think that a lot depends on where you hunt and what kinds of conditions you face. Here on the rainy west coast the ss is fantastic. I love wood-blued guns but they simply cannot take the punishment that an ss gun can.

I remember one particular hunt in the northeast slope of the Rockies, near the Yukon border. My sons and I got stuck out in the middle of nowhere in the rain all night. We'd taken an elk at sunset and were far away from camp, so we just made a fire and hunkered down. The next day the two wood-blued guns were starting to rust and had to be taken apart, cleaned, and oiled. The ss gun was fine as is.

Except for a commitment to go retro with a lever gun next season, I generally run stainless/synthetic hunting rifles. I prefer utility over appearance in my hunting rifles. CP.

I'll take a nicely blued rifle with a walnut stock any day. The only thing I own that's stainless is my S&W revolvers. It doesn't take me that long to clean a rifle after each hunt.