quote:

Originally posted by skb:
Not likely I would buy a Stainless barrel unless someone comes up with a rust blue process for them

I've had several barrels melonited. A nice polished SS barrel looks like a nice rust blue.

quote:

Originally posted by butchlambert:

quote:

Originally posted by skb:
Not likely I would buy a Stainless barrel unless someone comes up with a rust blue process for them

I've had several barrels melonited. A nice polished SS barrel looks like a nice rust blue.

One of the shops that does nitride, used to have a tutorial on prior polishing...haven't seen it in years but the gist was that you can predict the post nitride finish by how well you prep and polish the surface. They were able to create a finish that looked almost exactly like traditional rust blue using their nitride method.

It was an interesting idea. I like the concept of nitride...but I'm not so sure on the use of it with certain types of barrels and parts. I wonder if it could affect heat treat, act as additional stress relief, and so on.

Some barrel makers discussed it on snipershide years back and the view was generally that it could work well on a cut rifled, fully stress relieved barrel but that it would lock in any imperfections in chambering or similar, so you have to do a bit of polish work on the throat prior to having it nitrided.

YMMV

I break in the throat on all barrels that I chamber. I don't wear them out shooting and cleaning either. I've had cutrifle and button barrels melonited. Could be some butchers out there that shouldn't be treating barrels, don't you think?

CCR Gun Refinishing in Greeneville, TN does a house Black Cerahide that is so close to rust blue that you can’t tell the difference on adjacent finishes.

Remington rust blued stainless barrels 50 years ago. They iron plated them and then blued them.

Remington first blued the 721 in 1961 in the 264 Win. Mag.
Remington first copper plated the barrels, then iron, and lastly rust blue.

And Winchester was doing the same thing with their Pre-64 Model 70, before that.

quote:

Originally posted by Gundog 64:
Just got the photos of the stock for my 318, wood is from Roger Vardy.

Gundog

What an absolutely stunning piece of gunstock wood!

One of the nicest that I have ever seen.