Stainless vs Blue

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Stainless vs Blue

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25 August 2009, 22:53

postoak

Stainless vs Blue

I can actually buy a (same make/model) stainless/synthetic rifle in the caliber I'm interested in for less than the blue/wood.

Do any of you think that the synthetic barrel is a disadvantage in spot and stalk hunting? I mean, is there much danger of the game spotting the shine of the rifle?

25 August 2009, 23:09

LJS

If I am hunting in exposed bright sunlight, I wrap my stainless barrel with bow tape.

25 August 2009, 23:54

postoak

That would be sort of an inconvenience!

26 August 2009, 00:18

kayaker

I think highly polished buled steel would shine more than matte finished stainless.

I personally just dont like the look of stainless, but thats of course my opinion.

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26 August 2009, 02:24

Mike Smith

Tape would work fine but looks are another thing. I love the ease of carre of synthetic and stainless particularly in a marine environmment. That said I I love the look of classic blue and a good piece of wood.

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26 August 2009, 02:36

impala#03

ON MY RUGER #1 375 H&H STAINLESS I RUBBED DOWN THE BARREL AND ACTION WITH A GREEN SCOTCH BRITE PAD. IT GIVES THE METAL A NICE MATT FINISH. A LOT LESS BRIGHT THAN THE SHINY FINISH.

26 August 2009, 02:53

Leopardtrack

My M70 was rebarelled srainless and I had it parkerized

26 August 2009, 03:03

aliveincc

It really depends on what you want and how you are going to treat your rifle. If you want all go and no show, get the plastic and stainless.It will function fine and be like any other tool.
If you want something special like my Lab---all go w/ plenty of show, get a gorgeous piece of walnut w/ cold blue steel and treat it like I treat my Lab! Use it and give it TLC. It will make you glow!

26 August 2009, 09:39

L. David Keith

I've never had any problems with stainless/syn stock (black) but I had a Vaal Rhebok spot the shine of by blue/wood stock at 500 yards. I was in full leafy camo hidden within some rocks above him, watching the herd with bino's. I've since bought a black syn stock for my 700 VS and will tape the scope and barrel. I have an M-77 with full camo tape. Had Whitetails within feet of my position many times. They never saw anything and never knew what hit 'em.
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26 August 2009, 16:28

Saeed

I will pick a stainless synthetic for hunting any day over blue and wood.

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26 August 2009, 16:39

postoak

Do you find a need to wrap the barrel?

26 August 2009, 16:42

Cumbrian

Unless the synthetic stock has an adjuatble cheek piece to acheive a good fit might be difficult. A gunsmith can alter a wood stock for length, cast, comb height etc much as they would for a shotgun.

26 August 2009, 16:53

dirklawyer

If it's not a matte stainless and you think it's too shinny take some cheap spray paint and spray it down and remove it when you get home with some paint thinner. That said, I have stainless/synthetic rifles and blue/wood rifles I like the looks of the blue/wood rifles but they don't kill any better than my stainless/synthetic rifles. The one thing that wood has over the synthetic is that it's more quiet when brush hits it.

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26 August 2009, 19:05

drwes

To me the choice of whether I buy wood/blue steel vs. Synthetic/stainless is basically what I want to use it for. I have a Sako 7 ultra mag that drives tacks that is stainless/synthetic combination that is my go to rifle here in Texas.... It tolerates the heat -cold changes well, sometimes it is a wet environement,[our floods are ended by droughts and our droughts are ended by floods!]the gun racks of jeeps and 4-wheelers,crawling through the rocks and brush,, not worried about the bumps and bruises so to speak and it gets rough treatment..... My 416 Rigby has beautiful wood stock and I hunt with it,,, but it doesn't ride carelessly in a gun rack,,,,, Buy what best suits how you are going to use it and for what you need it for!

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26 August 2009, 19:09

Mikelravy

I've spray painted stainless rifes in the past with satisfactory results. Now I prefer a baked on matt teflon finish like Nylite. Costs around $200 and looks great to me. Can't say for swure that the fglare from stainless ever spooked any game but the finish on a Ruger all weather is too bright for my taste.

27 August 2009, 02:05

Bwana Moja

I don't think stainless or blued barrels matter. It's a misnomer out there that animals respond to glare and shiny objects. I've hunted with mirrored sunglasses, and a shiny watch walking into the sun, with a stainless barrel...plopped my gun into the fork of the shooting sticks, looked at the herd for several seconds, picked one out and fired the rifle.

If the stainless barrels were so counter productive to hunting, why would Remington and Sako make such rifles?

A successful stalk has far more to do with the movement of limbs/arms, torso, body and one's head, than glare or color.

Now of course there are certain properties of wood versus synthetic stocks in relation to bullet accuracy, but that's a whole different topic.

27 August 2009, 02:14

Woodmnctry

quote:
Originally posted by Saeed:
I will pick a stainless synthetic for hunting any day over blue and wood.

Ditto!-------like wood --- like the shine of a nice firearm --- but for getting r' done give me a synthetic and SS every time --
G

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27 August 2009, 05:27

Spring

Have a black teflon finish put on that stainless barrel and you'll have the best of both.

27 August 2009, 07:11

postoak

Okay, thanks. I just ordered a stainless.

27 August 2009, 10:29

L. David Keith

I've also had several blue steel Parkerized.

27 August 2009, 10:51

yes

Hi
i like stainless steel blued

.
yes indeed even stainless can be bleued. there are some gunsmiths which can do that and then you have the best of both worlds.
regards
yes

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27 August 2009, 15:54

postoak

I just bought a stainless model. Thanks for the input.

27 August 2009, 17:19

KevinNY

You can get either one coated to a nice non reflective matte black, I used Spradlins in CO for one rifle with a polished blue and love how it came out with black Tef Coat. They also do scopes and are recommended by Leupold and do not void the warranty.The scope was originally glossy.

27 August 2009, 17:40

500nitro

i have 3 stainless barreled rifles. I made a sock out of a piece of camo cloth which I slide over the barrel up to the action which works great and it is useable on all 3 of the rifles.
I hold it in place with elastic. I did this after seeing the sun glint off the matt finish on my 30-06 while PWN375 from this forum was trying to sneak up on a Vaal Rhebuck a few years ago. He was 600 to 700m away at the time!
In another instance we were hunting springbuck last year, and I could see where some of the guns were sitting over 2 kms away from the sun glinting off their blued barrels.

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27 August 2009, 18:49

Bahati

quote:
Originally posted by postoak:
Do any of you think that the synthetic barrel is a disadvantage in spot and stalk hunting? I mean, is there much danger of the game spotting the shine of the rifle?

Zero. These rifles work great but do not rate highly as status symbols!

Johan

27 August 2009, 20:22

MacD37

I have both, and the only thing I see as a game spooker with the stainless, is not as much the shine, as it is the fact that it is WHITE. White is almost never seen in the field except in winter snow, and movement is what animals notice more then anything but white is doubley noticable when moveing. I feel the same way about stainless or nicol plated defense handguns, I don't want them seen till it's too late! Personally I like synthetic & blued or parkerized stainless, in a bolt rifle! With doubles it is wood and rust blued.

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