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.

Amen to that, Brother!

I did quite a bit of research before my last rebarreling job from the barrel makers themselves and the final word seem to be that there is no difference in accracy or barrel life. Many of the competitive shooters like stainless because them change barrels often and there's no hassel with rebluing. Like it was already stated, if your going to hunt in the rain or live in a humid area, you may consider it. I have one rifle in a 338-06 that is just for those rainy, wet hunts and is SS and tupperware. All my other rifles are blue and wood.

I hunt in a rain forest on the coast and dont clean my rifle Sept. through Nov.

Jamie

I hunt in the swamps, and frequently scuba dive with my guns and havent cleaned them since 1987...

Every firearm I currently own is either SS or tenifer finished (Glocks), less my AR's (which when rebarreled will have SS) and a few scatterguns.

I don't like the looks any better than blued or CM'd, but SS is less apt to show dings and exhibit rust. True...they are only stain resistant and still able to rust, but not as easily as the above options.

A bit more costly, but well worth the few extra bucks. My time is better spent doing other things and not worrying so much about SS firearms is a relief in itself. That's not to say that anything made of SS doesn't need proper care as well....it surely does....just less often and to a lesser degree.

Wow! I did not know that! Send some down here for our peanuts, cotton, and soybeans.

We get 50 plus inches a year in rain. I have seen a number of stainless rifles with more rust on them than any blued rifle I've ever owned.. I'm assuming that most of those weren't cared for properly.

But this year a hunting pard of mine bought a ss Howa in 7mm. He really tried to take good care off this gun. He cleaned and stored the same exact way I do my blued rifles and couldn't keep the rust off.

FYI, every year I take care of my guns in the same manner and I've never had a rust issue. At the end of every hunting day I have a cloth or sock that I've sprayed firearm lubricant on and wipe down the parts. Takes less than a couple minutes.

My blued versions look flawless!! On extended hunt's with severe weather I take a sock or rag that I've sprayed with firearm lubricant or even WD40 keep it in a ziplock baggy and wipe it down.

Never had a problem. Bottom line even stainless rusts if you don't treat it.

I could put my blued featherweight away without wipeing it down for a couple days right next to my pards SS/Howa and his would have more surface rust.

I 've seen and heard of other SS rifles with the same type issues.

I finanly now have a new SS -06 and a SS .260 that I'll treat just like my blued version and I'll bet my SS rifle will still look better than most.

You gotta take care of your weapons stainless or not!

Back to thread topic. For me a ss/walnut rifle is orgazmic!!

Heck, I say get stainless and then put one of the good coatings on it! That should give some added insurance.....I think. I've seen rust thrive under paint, but can't say with any confidence that the coatings don't share those same characteristics as paint.

Black ice over stainless works for me.

Yeah, cd, "you gotta take care of your weapons stainless or not." I've learned the hard way that some people have either very salty perspiration, or acid perspiration on their hands, and if they handle a SS rifle, rust is the inevitable result, if it hasn't been wiped down with an oily rag after one of those individuals handles the rifle. It is easy for me to forget this fact, since I can handle my guns without any problem at all, and never give it a second thought, but if others do, rust can result.

I concur with what you said about SS/walnut. Said rifles make my putter flutter!

Not all "stainless" is equal....

Some of it is even magnetic. And some is not.

Depends on the alloy contents.

And I drive slowly in the left lane and have had my right blinker on since 1987.

I find it comical that the title of this thread included the words, "other than looks." Stainless steel is for rust resistance. "Looks" comes in blued steel and walnut, IMO.
_

The only thing that I've ever heard of that is garenteed to rust within 30 seconds on being within 2 miles of any water is the trigger assembly on a Browning A-Bolt!!!!!!!!!!!

Didn't bring up A-bolt because I thought the discussion was about rifles........

Yep, 303 is non-magnetic, but 304 is magnetic as is all of the 400 series.

I guess the decision to go stainless vs CM is just a personal choice. I do know that all CF benchrest shooters use SS barrels, as it can be machined to tighter tolerances. But, for me and a hunting/sporting rifle, NOTHING looks better than a rust blued, Walnut stocked rifle, so it's CM all the way. The kind of rifles that Forrest B showed us about a year ago. They were my kind of music. Or, the ones Bob Owen made.
YMMV

Don

I've spent my in entire working career in the machining trade and never did encounter any stainless steel that was easier to machine than carbon steel or that would hold closer tolerances.
Carbon steels are much easier to machine than SS. Hence the higher prices for stainless barrels. The cost isn't all in the material.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.