Bolt gun - Wood/Blued steel vs. Synthetic/stainless
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jim in Anchorage
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My moose/bear hunting is fly in/out on the side of a river, 10 days duration, 30 miles from the nearest road. No where to go but the tent, and I have never used any thing but wood/blued steel. Never a problem with point of impact changes.
It is a 1936 Win 70 30-06 that I restocked 30 years ago in a hard dense piece of Circassian Walnut that is incredibly stable. I know it is because I fitted the edges of the steel buttplate perfectly with the wood, and no matter how humid or dry the air is the wood still fits perfectly. I cannot say that about the black walnut stocks I own.
Glass bedded, of course, with a full floating barrel. No space age finish, just linseed oil. The oil looks a little mangy after some time in the rain, but the fix when I get home is easy-wipe on some oil, give it a few minutes to soak in, wipe off with a paper towel. repeat every 4-5 days till it looks good.
The metal parts get a quick wipe with a oily patch at the end of the day back at the tent. Hardly a chore, I enjoy it, but maybe I am a glutton for punishment, as all my knives are carbon steel also.
My loaner gun for when I get visitors from the lower 48 is a entirely different matter. Some of them are incredibly hard on guns and get a synthetic stocked 700 Rem .300 Wby mag with some sort of ghastly metal finish that looks like something you would treat a truck frame with but is absolutely scratch and rust proof.
It is a 1936 Win 70 30-06 that I restocked 30 years ago in a hard dense piece of Circassian Walnut that is incredibly stable. I know it is because I fitted the edges of the steel buttplate perfectly with the wood, and no matter how humid or dry the air is the wood still fits perfectly. I cannot say that about the black walnut stocks I own.
Glass bedded, of course, with a full floating barrel. No space age finish, just linseed oil. The oil looks a little mangy after some time in the rain, but the fix when I get home is easy-wipe on some oil, give it a few minutes to soak in, wipe off with a paper towel. repeat every 4-5 days till it looks good.
The metal parts get a quick wipe with a oily patch at the end of the day back at the tent. Hardly a chore, I enjoy it, but maybe I am a glutton for punishment, as all my knives are carbon steel also.
My loaner gun for when I get visitors from the lower 48 is a entirely different matter. Some of them are incredibly hard on guns and get a synthetic stocked 700 Rem .300 Wby mag with some sort of ghastly metal finish that looks like something you would treat a truck frame with but is absolutely scratch and rust proof.
Jonny V
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Virgin steel baby! And oh yeah.....
blued + walnut = best
blued + walnut = best
Amen to painting stainless, I did that and it cut down on the shine. I did not paint the bolt though. The inside of the action is stainless too and thats important. I have a old rem 700 bdl that is blued that I bought at a pawn shop a few years ago for cheap, and it has had rust issue in the throat area where the barrel meets the rest of the rifle. SS is the best, less worry.
WalkAbout
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Every bolt gun I buy now is synthetic/stainless. My shotguns are synthetic/blued. I can appreciate a nice wood stock, but stainless just looks better to me.
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Or there's synthetic/blued steel....I got my birthday present early (I have a VERY good husband). It's a Weatherby Vanguard .270...olive drab synthetic stock, blued barrel. It's the rifle going with me for opening weekend of deer season. I will say that wood "feels right" under my hand, but that's a function of being used to that. I also find that a synthetic stock is not a happy rest for one's cheek when shooting. Wood slides away. Synthetic takes my head and snaps it back.
(That may have been a function of being at the bench and sighting in...my posture's quite different when hunting).But it's a nice rifle, and if it brings down that honkin' big 10-point on the ranch, then it's my new best friend.
Jan
Bird Dog II
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I love wood myself, but if anyone is reading who has not picked up a rifle with a Hogue overmolded stock, you have to find one and handle it. They are GREAT feeling stocks. Nothing like the hard plastic stocks. I have a Howa 1500 in .308 with one and I love it.
Welding Rod
Member
Unfortunately this is true. Inspection Trends Magazine (for Welding Inspectors) just ran a substantial article on this very thing regarding the decline in quality in modern piping and the corresponding dramatic loss in service life.
dougw47
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I have several hunting rifles, all are Walnut and Blue Steel, except one I bought in the 90's. It is a Winchester 70 Black Shadow in .270. Very accurate, tough stock and blackened not blued. Not as weather-proof as a Stainless, but is a tough finish and is my knock-around rifle. If I re-barrel it, it will get a stainless bbl. but as long as it keeps knocking down the game and putting them where the x is, I'll leave it alone.
I almost bought a Savage Stainless Rifle in .270 WSM, with a black stock...but talked myself out of it. That would have be the almost perfect rifle for me in Texas. But, I wanted a 7mm WSM and would not settle. Oh, well.
I almost bought a Savage Stainless Rifle in .270 WSM, with a black stock...but talked myself out of it. That would have be the almost perfect rifle for me in Texas. But, I wanted a 7mm WSM and would not settle. Oh, well.
Maverick223
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I prefer a polished blue with walnut, but I believe SS and Composite has its place...which is as a loaner rifle. Coated SS and laminated wood is a better option IMO.
Coated SS and laminated wood is a better option IMO.
Peakbagger46
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Make mine synthetic/stainless. Hunt hard, wet, and beat it up if you need to. You will be more able to concentrate better and enjoy time afield more if you aren't worried about hurting your rifle.
You should have seen the nasty weather/terrain we got into a couple of weeks ago on a hunt in the Rocky's... Even ended up using my HS Percision stock as a brace to help myself up a steep hill.
That said, I have all the respect for folks who like to stay with the wood/blued steel line of thought.
You should have seen the nasty weather/terrain we got into a couple of weeks ago on a hunt in the Rocky's... Even ended up using my HS Percision stock as a brace to help myself up a steep hill.
That said, I have all the respect for folks who like to stay with the wood/blued steel line of thought.
Uncle Mike
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Give me more money....give me more money....How much is enough?
American firearms makers 'could' build a firearm just as inexpensive as china, and of better quality, but that would cut into the 6 digit salaries of the top guys, and we can't have that!
Same with pipe and steel.
As for the op's question...myself, I prefer a deep, rich, bottomless blue with the finest of... something like Bastogne walnut, hand rubbed to a rich, deep luster...darn, sounds like I was doing a chocolate coffee latte commercial! hehehe
On the other hand...if you have it available to you, and conditions warrant, a synthetic stocked stainless rifle, or a rifle with some impervious type of 'coating' over 100% of its parts, such as the PVD coatings Remington and Styer are doing, or the Black-T coatings we use, definitely fits the bill!
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