Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Any reason to go with "stainless"...other than looks?

Let's say I can get the same rifle (in my case, the Howa Varminter Supreme) in either blued or stainless, but the stainless costs approx. $100 more.
Are there any advantages to going with the stainless barrel and action other than looks? I would suspect there's not a BIG difference with rust issues in a rifle that's well taken care of.

Never lived in a saltwater locale that gets 180+ inches of rain a year have ya...........

I prefer stainless because I can ignore serious oiling/cleaning during hunting season... little wipe down here or there and it stays rust-free. Also, every decade or so I can have a stainless rifle re-beadblasted to look new.

I actually prefer the look of a matte/blued rifle better than stainless. Any rifle that's taken care of properly won't rust, even on area's void of bluing. I coat the stock-hidden portions of my rifles with floor wax before the season and have never had a rust problem below stock level despite all manner of snow, ice and rain.

Stainless, for me, is just a bit easier.

I like the the black look much better also. I love what CAS did to the Bumblebee...

I'm trying Olive on my current project. Stainless and all.

MC

Lake Erie is saltwater????????????????

Stainless (or perhaps more accurately stain-resistant) is a must in wet areas or near the coats unless you are fanatical. If you pull your rifle out of the stock to clean it, you are probably GTG for carbon.

When I lived in Western Oregon, my gun of choice was stainless/synthetic because tyou were going to get rained on/wet during hunting season.

Now I live in a nice dry area. And I do love polished blue and wood.

Is it dry there today?

Check out a stainless Chief's Special that sees regular carry use as compared to a blued version of the same. Which one looks like hell? Stainless is less prone to wear, pit, and corrode. It just makes things easier. I don't have to have all stainless construction but I am coverting all my rifles over to SS barrels.

I've had a stainless 700, 338 win mag, for about 15 years. I may have cleaned it once, not sure I've ever oiled it. I hunt in the wet NW and pay more attention to keeping my scope fog free than my rifle rust free.

I'm not saying this is the best way to care for a rifle, but it's nice to know that if you get busy and forget to wipe it down immediately after coming back from a hunt that you're not going to end up with a spotted receiver and barrel.

J

Definitely not !

Unless you're living in water world, I'd personally say that there is no need unless you just like the color of silver.

Mark D

I agree with Jason.

A morning hunt in the Rain is great if you can then leave the rifle muzzle down on a cloth.

I clean after serious falls in the mud, or after accuracy pukes. Otherwise, maintenance is an offseason chore with stainless.

BMT

Snow this morning, but it's all gone. I see you got dumped on. Happy spring.

"Any reason to go with "stainless"...other than looks?"


If you spend enough days hunting in wet conditions without a dry truck or cabin to dry your gear out, you will answer that question for yourself. Stainless is not a must but it sure makes it easier in the firearm maintenance department. I have had blued guns that rusted in 48 hours on wet hunts even though I was trying to wipe them down and keep them dry, it's just a lot more work protecting blued guns. I, like some of the other guys like the black look better than stainless and believe that for ultimate rust protection one of the bake on Teflon Kotes is the best of both worlds.

Never knew DEEEtroit was in the ocean...

Ok, seriously now, there are some advantages to SS. If you're hunting in a very wet environment or conditions that are rainy but you can't get at your cleaning supplies for a while, it makes a difference. SS also can take a few more rounds down the pipe before a rebarrel is necessary.

Personally, I don't mind blued actions/barrels, but then I'm kinda anal about cleaning and oiling things down immediately after a day's hunt. My only real beef with SS is that it's like holding a lit flashlight in your hands if you're hauling it around during a moonlit night before sunup.. Then, it's 'Duracoat' time..

I have read that SS is softer than CS(less carbon), thus wears quicker (barrels get shot out sooner). My gunsmith also told me this was true. Comments?

Down South here (I'm in GA), the humidity can get pretty fierce. For that, I prefer stainless, although taking care of a blued gun will keep it in good condition also.

Stainless is king for a hunting rifle in my opinion. Just bringing a cold gun inside a warm car or house causes it to get wet, and that means pitting in the bore unless you are oiling it down every night.

I have had a few friends hunt AK, and they said it was impossible to keep up with the rain etc, everything was wet. One friend had to have his gun reblued when he got back because it got so rusty. Needless to say, he went and bought a stainless for this year. After a day of hunting, I want to eat and go to sleep, not clean rifles.