Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

I was wondering whats the better way to go, blued or stainless, I was told that stainless steal rifles will in fact rust, and that stainless steal is softer, leading to a shorter barrel life, is this true??? wanted to know what you guys thought. I'm hopeing to get a T3 varmint, not sure if I should get stainless or blued though, any thoughts would be great...thanks in advance:)

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

well i cant help you on which one is better, but what i can tell you is that i like the look of the blued one better than the stainless, to me the stainless looks cheaper, now this is just my opinion. i like wood stocks better than the syn. ones.

sorry to be of no help to you

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

Stainless barrels can rust but they are much more resistant to rust than blued steel.As for barrel life,barrels do not wear out but rather they erode in the throat area due to a combination of heat and pressure.Stainless barrels are actually slightly more resistant to throat erosion so they do last slightly longer.As for synthetic stocks,they do not swell or warp when exposed to moisture so they do maintain point of impact better than wood stocked rifles when the humidity changes.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

I myself prefer blued, but that could just be me. I like the looks of a blued barrel more than a stainless.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

Blued is more traditional and looks better but can't stand up to stainless in the durablility department. After a few seasons up here in alaska a blued gun will show signifigant blueing wear and rust scarring. Stainless will last a lot better. Synthetic stocks are also more durable but wood can be made as durable with some spray on bed liner.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

I prefer stainless. It is much more corrosion resistant, but as stated, NOT corrosion PROOF because the really "stainless" steels like that in surgical instruments and tableware are not strong enough for gun barrel use. Gunbarrel quality stainless steel (410 of 416 stainless) is actually tougher than chrome-moly steel (the kind that's commonly blued) and resists throat erosion and barrel wear much better. I also believe (and I could be wrong, so if someone has knowledge to the contrary, I'd really like to know) that stainless steel is easier to drill and rifle precisely and yields a better finished surface than CrMo steel, making it a much better material for "match grade" custom barrels. This is why custom barrel makers like Lilja, Hart and Shilen use stainless almost exclusively.

Mike

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

GorV,

Stainless Steel comes in different grades.Top the line is Surgical Stainless,but not good for gun barrels. Gun barrels are made from alloyed stainless steel that keeps rust to
a minimum,but will get specks if you don't clean them.
Heat will not change the molecule structure of stainless as it will chrome moly steel barrels.
IMHO,also I don't see the fact of Fluting a barrel to make it lighter and weakening it.
To each his own!

As for syn to wood stocks? There are good ones and there cheaper ones.
They are less scuff resistant when you carry them on a 4 wheeler and
I would rather have one than a wood stock when they get splashed in front of a 4 wheel.
All of mine have wood, but that's me! I'm not talking for other people.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

I like the stainless look better.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

What they said. The worst blueing Ive ever seen is on the browning A-Bolt rifles. I was hunting in the rain one day (I mean a downpour of rain) and it rusted pretty bad by the time I got back to the hotel. Easily fixed it with a little rem oil.

Ive never owned a stainless rifle, I'd like to have one but I dont really have a need for one.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

GORV
REGARDING SYNTHETIC STOCKS VS WOOD... I UNDERSTAND THE UTILITARIAN USE OF SYNTHETIC STOCKS. HOWEVER , I WILL NOT PURCHASE ONE FOR TWO REASONS.
1. I DO A LOT OF STALK HUNTING. IF I ACCIDENTLY BRUSH A TWIG OR BRANCH WITH A SYNTHETIC STOCK, THE NOISE SOUNDS LIKE PLASTIC. IF I CAN HEAR THE DIFFERENCE, CAN THE DEER TELL THE DIFFERENCE?
2. I LOVE THE LOOK AND FEEL OF A FINE WOOD STOCK.
REGARDING STAINLESS, FOR THE TYPE OF HUNTING I DO, IF I HAD A STAINLESS RIFLE I'D WRAP IT WITH CAMO TAPE. TOO SHINY FOR ME. AGAIN, I UNDERSTAND THAT SYNTHETIC AND STAINLESS HAVE MANY PLUSES BUT I LIKE MY GOOD, OLD FASHIONED BLUED AND WOOD.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

The advantages of stainless are well overstated.....there's nothing wrong with them but they're not much better.....I like the traditional blued steel and walnut stocks.....You should get whatever turns your crank!!!

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

I love blue and good wood nothing looks quite as good as it does but it really is not practical in most climates. SS does cut the maintenance down quite a bit and when its coated with teflon,nickel,np3,gun kote,cerracote it becomes even more maintenance free. You should have a little less throat erosion with SS as well. You can machine SS smoother which probably explains some accuracy advantages.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

Actually bead blasted stainless shines much less than many blued barrels.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

Stubblejumpers 1st post says it all, and the last one puts an exclamation point on it! From a functional standpoint, no doubt a SS and synthetic combo cannot be beat...period. That is if you "use" your rifle and expose it to the elements. The beaded SS looks like a bleached, dead branch when you see it. No shine whatsoever.

If you want a rifle that "looks" nice, get a nicely wood grained, high gloss blued barrel. If you want a great "hunting" weapon, get the above. Both of my rifles and muzzle loader are ss/synthetic combos and have seen some prety ugly weather over the years and still look and work great.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

This is true. In the desert where I go, lots of gray / green sage and my rifle blends right in. Not a lot of jet black stuff out there.

BTW. DO NOT set your gun up against a shrub and run back to the ATV for refreshments. ask me how I know.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

I'll bite...how?:D

Mike

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

Oh that was one of those rhetorical questions. I leaned my gun up against a sage brush thinking " it's only 80 yards back to the truck, I can find this bush"...which was in the middle of 14 acres of sage bush.

There was about 30 sec. of "sonafabitchin camo, I'm gonna paint this thing hunter orange"

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

For those worried about guns rusting or throat erosion...first most people will never fire their hunting rifle enough to worry about throat erosion, second if you clean you rifle appropriately and regularly you won't have to worry about rust.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

What do you consider appropriately and regularly?I have been on ten day hunts where it rained every day.With my stainless rifles I gave them a quick wipe down at the end of every day whereas the hunters using blued rifles either spent a great deal of time cleaning and oiling ,or their rifles developed rust very quickly.The last thing that a person needs to do at the end of a long day of hunting is to have to spend a lot of time trying to rid his rifle rifle of all traces of moisture when his only shelter is a tent.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

Most people don't go on ten day hunts in the rain....

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

I'm no gun expert by any measure but I've seen many fingerprints "burned" into blueing whereas I've never seen that on stainless. I am not the type of person who handles my guns with gloves and tissue therefore I get a lot of fingerprints on them. And I've been known to forget to wipe it down after hunting, especially if I'm going back out later.
No matter how good I clean it, I always end up with a fingerprint on it and I'm always wishing for a stainless, powder coat, or teflon finish. As a matter of fact, I've just talked myself into never buying another blued gun :eek:

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

If you hunt mountain game such as sheep, goats or elk rain is always a good possibility.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

I guess for those of use where 10 day hunts in the rain, and hard weather conditions, especially in primative camp settings, stainless is almost a must. For those of use who's rifle only sees the feild on the short walk to or from the deer stand, then anything will do. You take two rifles, one blue, one stainless and let them do some hunting for 5 years here in alaska, you'll definately be able to see what we are talking about.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

I bought stainless on the rifles that I know will get hard use because I love wood...too much. It bothers me every time I get a bit of a nick on a rifle with a fine chunk of walnut and a beautiful finish.

Bought a T/C Encore the year they hit the market in stainless/composite and it still looks like new.

RE: Stainless or blued...need some opinions...
 

i prefer stainless barrels and quality wood stocks