Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game SS barrels spook game?

Not that I am aware of.

One day I did have one friend tell me he easily saw me a few times on the other side of a canyon by the light shining off my stainless barrel, so I guess it could happen.

Nope, the blacktails I've hunted were about the dumbest animals on the planet. Damn near hit a few with boats landing them on the beach. Wasn't even during the rut either.

No. I have tried to get other hunter's attention that came in right in line with a group of pronghorn I was watching by flashing the mirror like surface of a cola can held out in the sun in their direction. Neither the hunters or the pronghorn reacted. Actually in that country there are constant reflections produced by shiny chunks of obsidian scattered about. If the animals there responded to every shiny object, they would run themselves to exhaustion.

I don't know about spooking game but I have watched my pard coming through the timber for a long long way. that barrel almost threw off sparks it was so bright.

Not that I’m aware of...........

I probably blundered around more, or didn't pay attention enough to the wind - more than the SS barrel had to do with spooking game.

That said, an old school high gloss Weatherby or Browning stock, or the original Ruger Zytel stainless rifle, yes - have spotted those those many yards away on other hunters from the flash.

The Weatherby was the worst, saw the flash as it came off of the hunter's shoulder and up to his eye to scope me upslope about 300 yards away in the brush...

Go with a matt finish, you'll take away 99% of the concern.

Well, whether they do or don't I don't know. Even the satin ones do reflect some light but as Tim said shiny blue certainly does. Recalling watching the glint off distant shotgun barrels from duck boats in the bay one opener...

Wind, unseen critter interaction, and a host of other possible contributing factors induced by your average hunter would certainly make any observations less than dependable....:)

Matte SS seems to be no problem. Hasbeen

I hunted the mountains of Namibia last year with a fine old original FN Mauser with its perfectly executed gloss blue. On day two of the hunt my PH wrapped my barrel in camo tape...

Well, let's see........








The rifle is not pictured but it was the T 3 SS 270, in 2012




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ummm, I'd say not too often - IF AT ALL !
These are the only ones I have pix of and I killed deer with SS rifles since 2003 but didn't have pix of deer or rifle.


Jerry

I would worry more about the flash from scope glass. That I have seen and it will spook game.

Lets see, RE OT, at one point the saying would be, OMG.

Matte or a spray can of flat black paint is your friend, but no. I don't use shiny barrels, either blued or SS.

A nice glass beaded parkerized job is about as good as it gets, IMO.

IT&D, when Dave was still doing work, would do a sandblast finish on SS. It was dark and very matte. Heck of a hunting finish for SS.

I've always liked seeing that gun in photos. Mine almost identical has never spooked game either. of course like anything else out there, folks should use common sense to prevent issues with all kinds of things while hunting.

I'd venture to guess that scent has spooked more game by far than any gun has.

I saw the picture of the camo tape on the African gun on a later post here... I"m going to say it didn't hurt anything, but flash from glasses, optics, white legs, movement, scent, etc are just as bad if not worse. And some management of all the above goes a long ways, even without taping....Wonder what the guide would have said if there was blue tape on the muzzle. LMAO

I’d worry more about movement than colors.

Exactly. But if you're worried about it go to wally world and get a roll of camo flat finished(Not Glossy) Tape and tape up all the stainless before hunting season. I wouldn't leave it on after that. I'd untape it after season and clean any tape glue off with some brake cleaner on a rag. I've done this and never had a problem. In fact, I've taped up blued guns. Just be sure you take the tape off after season.

nope not true S.S. barrels do not scare deer ,last year 2018 deer season i shot my biggest whitetail buck i have ever shot, and with a Ruger #1 with a 27 inch S.S. kinda shiny barrel at 30 feet and at first this buck was directly 10 feet under me . so i say again No >S.S. barrels do not scare deer.

Follow Up

I don’t have any pix showing my Knight SS 54 cal Mzld

I have killed quite a few WT including bucks with S S muzzleloader.

That says something per this subject.


Jerry

Nope