kel

So what are the tradeoffs.
I am buying a new Ruger 10/22 (my first rifle yay!) as soon as I can decide on the finish. Stainless steel, or blued. The price difference is insignificant.

Visually I prefer the blued finish but I have read that it doesn't protect the gun as well. It will be strictly a range gun and I won't have use it outdoors. I intend to keep the rifle for a very very long time.

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"It better be funny"

eribrav

If you like the way the blued finish looks, then that's what you should get. Why worry about all other sorts of intangibles?

There are very few people I know who stop at just one gun (rifle, shotgun, etc.). So make your next gun stainless!

splck

I have a stainless, but I wouldn't hesitate buying a blued. I use mine outside a lot, that's why I went with stainless.
Have fun with it...I know I do.

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nice line eh?

Moonduck

If the environment isn't a concern, go with whatever suits you aesthetically. The only time aesthetics should lose to practicality is if you are going to using the weapon for practical pursuits. A range gun is a pleasure gun that will be taken to the range in a case, shot, brought home in a case, and cleaned before being put into storage. The finish matters not a whit.

Additionally, remember that bluing came about as a rust inhibitor. It is actually rather good at keeping the gun from rusting if it is properly maintained. I have guns that are nearly 100 years old, blued, and still good-looking. Also, with the wonderful lubes and protectants available these days, it is a no-brainer to maintain a blued gun.

Aesik

If you take good care of it, a blued finish will last danged near forever. However, if you are rough on it, like I am with my waterfowl hunting shotgun that gets dragged through mud, dunked in rivers, etc, blue will eventually wear off and then the metal can rust. You can also have your gun re-blued for a nominal cost at most decent dealers.

Caphreak

all of my guns are blued, but i really think stainless is sexy. ive used blued weapons in the rain, sleet, snow, swamps, sun, and just about every other weather condition, and as long as you take the time to oil all the parts, when youre done, youll never have a rust problem

peeweesbigbong

i personally prefer parkerizing a gun. lasts a lot longer but i dont believe stainless steel will parkerize

blueing is good if done by someone who knows what they are doing. otherwise it can rub off (ive seen it before)

Moonduck

Parkerizing is becoming more and more hard to find, from my experience. I also like the look of a parkerized gun, and consider it a superior finish to blueing in field guns. I think it has something to do with the chemicals involved and EPA regs. I figure we'll see more and more stainless and less blued/parkerized/hard-chromed as time goes on due to ever-increasing EPA strangle-, er, controls.

blockmaan2000

Buy the stainless...


more resistant to rust under most circumstances

looks better (to me)

if it gets nicked, it looks about the same



if you're going to keep it for a very long time you might want to look at the synthetic models.


block