Anyone else find the look of Stainless and Synthetic more appealing than Blued Steel and Wood?

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Waveski

It's a Beretta Model 70S .22LR. They had to add the adjustable rear sight so it would have enough points to be imported into the U.S. after the GCA68 was passed. Mine was an early import and had some problems with the bluing. Beretta admitted as much and reblued it under warranty. But within a few years the problem reappeared and I found it was cheaper (and much more beneficial), to have it hard chrome plated by Ron Mahovsky at Metalife. They did a phenomenal job on the gun! Still looks as nice as the day I got it back from them, many years ago!

Saw an ad in a magazine where some importer was offering original flat sided Beretta grips for the Model 70 (I hated the thumbrest version that came with the gun as once again they needed those "target" grips to get points for importation). Took a little filing and sanding but I got them to fit perfectly! Love the way they look and feel too!
 
No. Not at all.
I do have a couple for utilitarian reasons.

Same with revolvers. I hate the look of stainless but can tolerate it on a working gun.

On most semi autos I prefer stainless simply because the other choice is some ugly grey or parkerized or cerakote rather than real bluing. Same with many newer revolvers or rifles though.
 
I have been looking for an all stainless steel pistol for a while now. I have a pair of 3 gen smiths. But want something i can order parts on. The P226 is gone now. leave the CZ75.

note, not wanting a KAHR or 1911.
 
When I was a young man the emergence of stainless barreled guns with stainless stocks was just starting to happen. If I recall about 1998 or 1999 or so I believe it was Layne Simpson who wrote an article in the Shooting Times magazine called "The Stampede to Stainless" which was about the emergence of this new trend.

That year my father bought my brother and I each a Winchester Model 70 stainless with synthetic stock in .338 Win Mag for a senior year elk hunting trip. Ever since then I've always loved the look of stainless steel and black synthetic stocks over blued and wood stocked guns. Not only are they more appealing to the eye my opinion they are less prone to rust or damage.

Dont get me wrong, I appreciate a beautiful wood stock, I just think stainless and black synthetic look better. I use almost all of my guns for hunting so the better they are at avoiding damage and rust the better off for me. So, form follows function which may be a part of their appeal.

I know it's probably rare but does anyone else find the look of Stainless and Synthetic more appealing than Blued Steel and Wood?
In my best waterboy voice... My momma said synthetic stocks and stainless are the devil.
I'm your Huckleberry........
I do love the look of nicely blued steel and highly polished wood

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But my hypocrisy only goes so far...... Stainless and certain unique synthetics I do find slightly more appealing....

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Well, it appears my hypocrisy knows no bounds as I do also find my stainless 686 with simple rubber synthetic very appealing.... ;)

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That's called not discriminating.
 
I have been looking for an all stainless steel pistol for a while now. I have a pair of 3 gen smiths. But want something i can order parts on. The P226 is gone now. leave the CZ75.

note, not wanting a KAHR or 1911.
Is the EAA witness steel by Tanfoglio out of production?
 
I have them all and love them all....EXCEPT.....black synthetic rifle or shotgun stocks. There are so many finishes that look so much better than ugly flat black and have the same durable quality. I have a Remington 700 varmint rifle that has been everywhere with me and absorbed lots of bumps and dings. The composite stock is gray with black webbing and looks as good as the day I bought it...has some wear, but it looks like it belongs. Also had a Ruger #1 .204 with gorgeous wood that suffered similar abuse. Cost me $150 to refinish it. It was too pretty to take back to the field so I sold it. Love my many guns with every iteration, but cannot abide a flat black plastic (shudder) stock.
 
On a long gun I find blued steel and wood the most visually appealing in most cases, except with a modern sporting rifle. However, stainless and synthetics seems more utilitarian to me. I'm just not going to care as much if I beat them up a bit.

On hand guns, my mood shifts by the day. Sometimes I want a blued steel with wood, and sometimes I want stainless and wood. I hate all rubber grips on handguns, but acknowledge their utility. On semiauto pistols I can go either way, and polymer framed guns are part of my tool box.
 
I like a classic looking deep mirrored blue and figured stock on my long guns the best. Now I have some in all the configurations mentioned and all are OK. BUT a highly polished SS revolver with black or ivory grips will come home with me every time. Guess I am part crow as high polish SS or brass are at the top of my list.
 
Yes, in a few cases. I really dig the stainless all weather M77's with synthetic stock. Not so much the new ruger matte SS and their ho hum syn stock but.....

I like the look of wood and blued but anything $600 and less, for practicality and aesthetics, I prefer Ss/Syn
 
I prefer the look of a stainless firearm, especially a revolver. I have a few blued guns, but the majority are stainless.
 
I’ve written before about the 1962 Winchester-Western catalog I have on my computer desk. It’s one of the gun catalogs that my folks had on the counter in their country store/gas station when I was growing up. As a rifle and hunting crazy kid of 14 years old, I spent many hours with my nose in those catalogs. Admittedly, I probably should have spent more time with my nose in my biology, history and algebra books.:oops:

At any rate, of all the rifles pictured in those gun catalogs, my favorite was (and still is) the Winchester Model 70 “African” - chambered for the mighty 458 Winchester Magnum of course. To me, that rifle looked like it was “all business” – it had a huge barrel, two great big bolts through the stock at the receiver, an “express” style rear sight, a hooded front sight, a rubber recoil pad, and it even came with a sling.

The “all business” look of that 1962 Model 70 “African” is still, to this day, what I find attractive in a rifle. That’s why I specified bead-blasted stainless with a granite-grey synthetic stock when I ordered my 308 Norma Magnum (a “Summit” Model from Montana Rifle Company) as my retirement gift to myself.

I’m the same way about handguns – mostly. I like stainless (if it’s not too flashy) and black, rubber stocks. But I’d kinda like to have a fancy, nickel-plated and engraved 1911 someday – just for the fun of it. On the other hand, I bought myself a Ruger SR22 just before Christmas, and I had to order it because the store didn’t have one like I wanted in stock – OD green and brown. It looks more "all business" to me than the flashy black SR22s the store did have in stock.;)

BTW, my wife has a gorgeous, semi-custom Model 70, 7mm Rem Mag. It's blued, and has a beautifully grained, rich walnut stock. But my wife (of 49 years) is prettier, and a lot more practical to boot.:D
 
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Aluminum is for airplanes and beer cans. Stainless is for surgical instruments and knives that don't hold an edge. Plastic is for toys.

Proper firearms are made from carbon steel and wood, and blued after final polishing....... ( but I own three Glocks. Don't tell anybody, ok? )
 
I love the look of a deep rich blueing job encased by a nicely figured wooden stock. Think Sako and Browning. Or custom. But i appreciate the utility of stainless and synthetic. It bothers me when I'm sitting in a blind getting rained on and I'm thinking about my nice custom rifle rusting away. Don't get me wrong, I clean my stainless/synthetic rifles just as diligently as I do my blued rifles. But I'm not worried about them as much.

If you get a ding in a nice wooden stock it bothers you. You can call it "character" but it bothers you. And its always there. If you get a ding in a synthetic stock you can dob a bit of putty on it and paint it again. No harm no foul.
 
But i appreciate the utility of stainless and synthetic.

It should go without saying that we all appreciate some of the advantages synthetic stocks and s/s metal have over traditional wood and blued steel firearms-but that wasn't the op's question. Again, the sole criteria he specified was "...does anyone else find the look of Stainless and Synthetic more appealing than Blued Steel and Wood?" (emphasis mine).
 
Nope. Be it a pump, lever, falling block or bolt... nothing appeals to my eye more than blued steel and walnut.

Some stainless and walnut guns look nearly as good to me (A Ruger M77 RSI in stainless/wood is amazing!), but a black synthetic stock? As useful as they are on a hunting gun, and I do have a couple in the safe, plain synthetic stocks just scream “utility” to me.

Stay safe.
 
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