Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Anyone Use Blued Steel in Bad Weather/Long Hunts?

I’ve been hunting western Washington gin October and November for deep and elk for the last 20 years. Half of that with a blued M70 Classic. The polished blued finish actually stayed in great shape. I kept the metal waxed, the muzzle taped, and made sure the stock was properly sealed.

I know Paul quite well. Glad you had a great hunt. He’s a great fishing guide too!

I'd hunt with him again in a heartbeat. Great crew he's got out there.


Okie John

Left a blued 77 overnight in a trailer in Alabama one deer hunt. Bore was orange in the AM, far as I could see. Cleaned up fine, but that's on me not the blued steel.

R28: Obviously you have never been in the Navy. Free paint and virtually free unlimited labor force.

Dyna bore coat and Dyna gun coat work very well for the inside and outside. Midway carries it.

This and then wax over it and the other precautions and no problems even in driving rains.

I wish I could get some type of clear lenses with diamond coat or some other water repellent finish for my rainy day scopes.

I have no issue with blue steel. Stainless is easier to keep clean and blue will develop surface rust and show character marks more easily. But if it rusts enough to cause a problem it is due to neglect.

Wood stocks on the other hand I don't trust for hard hunts. I've seen wood go from perfect to useless in moments with nothing that could be done to prevent it. Good quality synthetics are simply stronger and more stable. They can be lighter, but not necessarily.

My son was shooting a M70 matt finish and I had a blued one. After 7 days of AK bush and 2 days in a gun case at home, his looked like a rusty pipe and mine had a little around a couple of screws. NOW all mine are stainless and blued or with ceracoat. No more problems.

BC Blizzard caps with RainX applied should work great for that purpose.

PS. Don't appy RainX to your scope lenses.

Have used a Remington 700 Classic in snowstorms, all day rain and everything in between when chasing Whitetail bucks in PA and NY for the last 40 years. Bluing looks as good as it did when new thanks to Breakfree CLP.

Tejano, Going in a different direction, but give these a look. I've been using them for a few years now. They're waterproof, come off the lenses really slick and quiet and each end has a micro cloth built in. They have elastic keeper loops to hold them on but a wrap a 1/4" wide piece of velcro around the tube fore and aft of the turrets.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078G7WW76/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wax them up with Renaissance wax pre season and go

I use blued steel on all my hunts, SS is for cooking dishes not guns. Its called maintenance and it is what you do to your rifle at the end of the day before you go to bed. Slackers!

This. Metal is easy to protect because you can see most of it, and getting water on the part you can't see won't affect immediate performance. But a stock can swell and shift your POI several inches at 100 yards.

You won't know until you shoot and miss.


Okie John

Seems a fellow named Heimo Korth has used a blue/wood rifle in the ANWR for something like 40 years. And he gets a few caribou and moose every year. And it’s chambered in .22-250. The horror.

Actually most of the ANWR qualifies as desert, less than 10" a year. Not that I disagree with you in any way. Now if you use somebody that lives in Southeastern, that's a different kettle of fish.

There is that. Plus, his rifle looks like it’s been through the ringer.

I have used a lot of blued rifles on week long trips in the boonies. I always brought a long a small bottle of Remoil and cleaning patches. The rifles got wiped down every night. I did get rid of all wood stocks.

Yes.
I don't own a single stainless long gun. ALL my long arms are of carbon steel. Not really a problem.

In Idaho, when I used to guide and hunt there, it was common for me to be out 2-3 weeks at a time. I had to wipe and oil my rifle every days and sometimes 2-3 times a day, but my rifles all did fine.

When I was a Marine and later when I worked for DOD I would go to the field for weeks and months and we didn't have stainless -----anything. All my arms did ok, even in wet and hot places. Sure, you should take care of them, but it's not all that big a deal. ALL the "bad guys" has weapons of carbon steel too. I regret to say, their guns didn't rust into a state uselessness either.