Todd1700

I understand the benefits of a stainless steel rifle but at the risk of sounding stupid here' s my question. Aren' t sharp eyed game animals like Whitetail deer or Antelope more likely to spot a stainless steel barrel than a traditional blued one? What about sunlight glinting off the finish?

recoiljunky

I' m sure many people will argue with me, but I don' t believe that a blued finish has an reflective advantage over a matte stainless finish. My Remington' s stainless barrel doesn' t catch the eye in sunlight. My S&W 629 has a much more shiny stainless finish. I tape it with camo tape before hunting with it. Some blued finishes are very reflective.

down wind

I have hunted with a SS rifle for many years with no problems. I think deer pick up on things moving more than anything. While sitting behind a round bail one year I did have a young doe walk right up to my (SS) barrel at daybreak. I am talking less than 1ft. She just looked at it unable to figure out what it was. When I moved my arm she made tracks.

skeeter 7MM

I think the SS and traditional blued are pretty equal in shine. I would say the only ones that reduce the glare a lot are matte blued. I have all three and honestly can' t say it has amounted to any lost opportunities. Buy what you like and if really concerned on a clear day you can camo rap it, we do this for clear days and field hunting geese (glare has accounted for a lot of missed opportunities while goose hunting!!!!)

trailer

I would have to agree with Recoiljunky. The s/s matte finish would have probaly very little glare compared to the polished blued finish.

stubblejumper

All of my hunting rifles are bead blasted stainless and I hunt sheep and antelope regularly.(much better eyes than any deer)I have never had an animal spooked by my rifles.I would agree that some blued rifles actually produce more glare.

Ruger-Redhawk

I use Polished blued, Matte blued and S/S rifles and never had a problem with any of them shinning.The sunshine hits leaves which will glare.The animals get use to seeing this.Unless you' re moving around causing the barrel to flash around chances the deer will never pick it up.On another thought if you' re up there sitting in your stand paying attention looking for movement ,you should see the deer long before it see' s you.Scent is more of a concern to me then my gun barrels .Sit still and keep your eyes moving.It pays off.
Ruger Redhawk

Ruben

I have a stainless Remington 700 and was afraid that if I put a stainless scope on it that the scope would reflect sunlight! The scope makers tend to make the scopes different, more reflective, than the gun finishes. What does everyone else think?

recoiljunky

Ruben,
Yeah, I went with a matte black finished scope on my stainless deer rifle. Some of the silver scopes do appear very reflective. Of course you could tape them.

roman

I have always been concerned about the perceived glare from the weapon. What Ruger -Redhawk said opens my eyes . Maybe it isn' t really such a big deal.