Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska who uses wood/blued in AK

Just curious if every body in alaska is using stainless/synthetic in coastal areas. I am moving up to Wasilla in the summer and all of my guns are wood/blued. I just like the feel of wood stocks compared to syn. Anybody else?

Most every gun I use up here is S/S but there were generations before me that proved wood and blued will kill any critter in the state.

I lived there from 1989 - 1997 and hunted with a guy using a pre-64 Model 70 in 270.

Killed everything. He was anal about cleaning it every night. Marine, and all that....

I tend to use the stainless stuff quite often in summer. I am not as hard-core as I once was, however, and tend to use what I like including, sometimes, blued walnut, single shots - which seem to make less sense from a purely killing standpoint.

Polished blued steel seems to have less "traction" for rust to start. I will admit, though, that some of my blued steel rifles bear some nasty evidence of what saltwater exposure can do in a few hours. That doesn't remove them from their favored positions in my fold nor has it, probably, decreased their already quite-used monetary value.

Hhhmmm thats what I read.

Have both, use both. Running blue/walnut isn't a huge problem, but, I've got to ask...do you really NEED an excuse to buy a new rifle or two?

All of mine are wood/blued. I am having a custom made now that will be plastic/blued.

Nothing wrong with S/S if that your thing. they both work.

Both my guiding rifle have composite stocks (mpi & hp) but my hunting rifle all carry their original pre-64 timbers.

I use more blue than SS and have no synthetic stocked rifles in use. Have only a few SS rifles actually...

everything works, just depends what features are important to you,

I got turned off of stainless early in life cause I had an early Ruger Redhawk and I never could stone the trigger as smooth as I wanted. I blamed it on the stainless, though it was most likely the dumbazz with the stone.

I use to feel a guy that wouldn't take proper care of his firearms shouldn't have them and blue was the way to go. but I was younger then and oddly enough less lazy, I liked cleaning guns, almost as much as shooting them.

lets just say my philosophy has changed over the years.

the way I take care of my firearms borders upon abuse these days.

Blue will work fine if you use a good metal protectant. I've used RIG the most over the years, but I'm hearing good news about Corrosion-X. Plan to try it on the spring bear hunt.

Have used blued/walnut almost exclusive for years. I have 3 S/S rifles 2 with plastic and one with walnut, have only hunted with one on one hunt. Can't say I've ever had much problem with blued ones and most likely won't get another S/S. Although anything is possible. That said I carry a 629 S&W most everywhere I go and like S/S in handguns a lot. --- Mel

All of my rifles are wood/blue and they look great, it may be because I am anal about taking care of them. Have a blued Dan Wesson .44 and a SS S&W 460. Carry them about the same amount of time and both look like new. Just an ole fashioned guy that likes the blue/wood. My son on the other hand prefers SS and synthetic.

Or it be the fact that you live in a desert and I on the other hand live in a rain forest.

So the conditions of use might matter?

I'd not run across the GOA in an 18' Hewescraft, so yes they might....

I knew one of you guys from down "south" would pick up on that. Admittedly so, as does quality care.

There are times when NOTHING I own is dry........

I have been here two years and don't think we have had 4 inches of rain. Don't envy you for that. You have the best of hunting though. Stay dry, Dave