Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Classy guns - do aesthetics matter to you?

Maybe, but aesthetics are a matter of opinion

And American pumps and Italian O&U's can be just as nice a English SxS's

I prefer wood/blue. Any synthetic stocked firearms I bought,got a wood stock replaced on them.
On the other hand,I buy all my guns to use. Most rifles get carried in a scabbard and many show it..

I have an adequate number of both synthetic and wood stocked rifles. I do tend to hunt more with the synthetics, especially if it involves horses or 4 wheelers.

Tree stands bring out the wood some days.

donsm70

Nice wood is the number one priority for me when I purchase a firearm, unless an older classic like my 64' Sako Mannlicher in .308 or my Browning Safari in a super rare .257 Roberts caliber. Might add that I been using that Sako .308 for years and it still looks exactly like the day I bought it off a collector. No reason to put handling marks in nice wood if one is careful. JMO.

Guess I'm too old school but plastic/tupperware rifles or shotguns do not even register with me.

I am not at all convinced that modern materials and classy aesthetic are mutually exclusive.

It matters to me; a "gun" should look like a "gun". Even when I was a kid, I did not care for toy firearms that did not look enough like the real thing.

All my guns have wood stocks...none of em are collectors items but a couple do have pretty nice wood...I hunt em anyway....

This CZ from back in the day when CZ's came with nice wood is probably the nicest but I use it more than all the rest combined...



My little Merkel 20ga is pretty nice too....I have no other choice than to use it since I got rid of all my other scatterguns a couple years ago.

In this case it's savage 'andshoots'

Jerry

When I'm hunting, regardless of which/what rifle I'm carrying, I'm not looking AT my rifle.

AFAIC - both kinds have their place.

Guys, y'all have posted some pics of fantastic rifles. Thnx

Jerry

I like nice wood and a bit of engraving. My A-5 that I bought new in 1963 has speculated wood. The same year Pigeon Grade Superposed 20 that I bought used some thirty years ago is striking. My SP IV o/u Beretta 12 wears an appropriate grade set of stocks.

My rifles are nice as well. A matched pair of Browning Small ring Safaris have decent wood. A custom stocked FN is nice because of the craftsmanship. BAR Grade III wears even nicer wood. The custom 1903 is beautifully stocked (although a little too Weatherby looking) and engraved.

My run of the mill long guns were mostly selected for the wood. I own one stainless Tupperware, a later issue Mini-14. It sees use on the Mule. Otherwise guns on the ATV stay cased until I get to the hunting area.

I do appreciate my pre war M70. It is classy, even with plain wood.

Best wishes,

Jack

I prefer wood and blue rifles. It depends, have both but more of the walnut & blue.
Thinking about using this one in 6mm Rem this year. Not much of a pic and it has a 6x36 scope on it now.

There's a place for both kinds. I'm reasonably careful with my stuff and don't hunt in places like AK that are really hard on stuff, so have never messed anything up too much. I do like to have SS rifles on hand for hunting in rainy weather.

Proper care can assure that even fancy wood and blued steel guns stay nice. Lots of classic guns have been through relative Hell and still look great because their owners (or the owners' servants) took the time to care for them at the end of the day. Lazy folks (or those without "staff") are better off with stainless.

NICE!

IMO, that's too pretty to take in the woods...

DF

Thanks DF!

I won't be taking it out to push pucker brush in the river bottom. The rifle is not in perfect condition as it looks to have been hunted with a little. No gouges, dings etc. but a few marks here & there.

Besides, I don't really believe in safe queens..

I guess I would hunt it carefully, would probably take it to and from a box stand in a case, etc...

DF

I use the shotgun more than the rifle, but I use them both:

Mostly I appreciate inexpensive guns that WORK. Yeah, I like to look at beautiful materials expertly crafted by a master, but what really turns me on is a gun that performs excellently, is available/affordable to the average hunter, and good enough to last a hunting lifetime.

So I guess my favorites are guns like the Remington 722, and the early Savage 110/111s, early Rem 760s. Verdict is out on the RAR--hasn't been out there long enough to prove itself, but Ruger usually comes through in the long run.

That said, I don't doubt that some of our posters have "higher stakes" in their hunting (hunting things that bite and cost a lot to even get near enough to them to get bit, for example). In that case, I'd spend what it took to get the best. But for weekend pig/deer/varmint hunting, ordinary solid guns do it fine for me.

I greatly prefer aesthetically pleasing rifles and shotguns. I have only one rifle for extreme rough duty, a Ruger canoe paddle stainless M77. I regularly use several fine old rifles like my Brno 22F full stock carbine in 7x57, even the cartridge it is chambered for was chosen for satisfaction not necessarily maximum performance. I like fine wood and engraving, and pleasing lines. I do hunt with them.
These pictures are all from this fall.

Pretty simple:

I prefer ergonomics over aesthetics for a hunting rifle. Aesthetics are good for wall hangers and safe queens....

I like classy shotguns, side by sides specifically.But I will not baby them. Guys that do generally drive me nuts.

I'm totally utilitarian on rifles. Give me a beautiful 25K rifle, and i'll use it just like a stainless/synthetic, to the chagrin of some of my friends.. I just dont care, its just a gun. So i decided those are for other folks.