Walnut/Blued rifles

GMC403

GMC403

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Who here hunts with em?, I mean Really works em.

My Hunting experience is based on the West Coast of BC and Coastal mountains, with a little bit of East Kootneys mixed in.
I almost exclusively use Stainless rifles with some kind of composite or laminate stock. Lately though the traditional Walnut/Blued setup has been calling to me.

What's your go to configuration?
-Blued/Walnut
-Stainless/Walnut
-Blued/Composite (synthetic)
-Stainless/Composite (synthetic)
-Blued/Laminate
-Stainless/Laminate
 
Blued/Walnut
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Arma-coated/Composite (synthetic)
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In Ontario, at least, never an issue with the blued finish. I think there is a difference between a quality rust blue or hot blue vs. some of the crap manufacturers are passing off as bluing today -- hence the reason why the Tikka T3 was parkerized and Arma-coated.
 
Until now I have always carried walnut/blued for deer/moose in Ontario.

But that's because my "youngest" gun was built in 1957.

Since age is starting to take hold I have decided to replace my two main rifles (Rem 740/30.06 and Win 94/30-30).

The 30-30 (deer) got replaced by a Wby VGII with a synthetic stock mostly because the price was right and the wood stock version wasn't immediately available to me.

The 30.06 will get replaced with a wood stocked something - still waffling between blued or stainless, might come down to availability, and probably a Browning.

The two rifles I'm replacing (sending to the safe) are 59 and 58 years old respectively. They were never babied, hunted in some nasty weather, rugged terrain and to be honest, I'm not particularly vigilant when it comes to cleaning/oiling and they survived just fine all that time with very little signs of wear (beyond the typical).

I think the mfg's, in an effort to cut costs, collectively convinced us that synthetic was solving some great problem and we should be thankful that produced a stock for about 1/10 the cost of a wood one and discounted that model by maybe 10% compared to the wood version - real nice of them.

If I buy a new wood stocked rifle today, and it gets anywhere near the lifespan that my older pair have, I would have to live to be about 110 to retire it.

I just don't think wood/blued is anywhere near as "fragile" as some tend to believe. It's not like we are living on the mountain for months at a time.

I'm not averse to synthetic or stainless or both, but I would only buy it if the rifle appealed to me - thinking it will give me some advantage in lifespan of the firearm doesn't even come into the equation..
 
Blued/Walnut [or other wood, if well figured] is my favorite.

However, I do recognize the virtue of a Synthetic stock/ Stainless rifle in very inclement weather.

I'm having a new one built as we speak....Blued C-M, and Walnut!

Regards, Dave
 
I can appreciate the quality in a GOOD piece of synthetic material made into a well-fitting, weather-resistant package, housing a stainless steel machine which is less prone to rust than standard steel - some are truly accurate and amazing pieces of machinery. However, despite the fact I'm only in my mid-30's, I still prefer the old-fashioned feeling of wood with real checkering, carrying a bit more mass. This is a good chunk of why when I was looking for a "new" hunting rifle I looked old - and bought a .30-06 BBR. I grew up using my Dad's pre-War Model 70 .30-06, so I guess it just "imprinted" on me. I won't throw stones at anyone who prefers synthetic/stainless (a couple of my best friends do), especially those who can really use them.
BTW, my wife, who just walked in the room, is of the same opinion - she was thrilled to get a walnut/blued .308 Ruger 77 Hawkeye for Christmas . . . I have the best wife :d
 
Husqvarna 308 Norma Magnum that was recently retired from service as per my signature below.







She may be old and wrinkled, but still puts a magazine full of 180s at over 3000 fps into five inches at 300 meters. ;)

There's nothing quite like walnut and blued steel.
Ted
 
Keep the replies coming,
I just picked up a rifle I've been trying to track down for a while, TC Icon Ultra Wood. It's not in the calibre I wanted, but sometimes ya take what you can get.
I'll be giving the Blued/Walnut a shot this year.





 
My dad and I have hunted hard with beautiful walnut stocks for a long time now and yes some of the big scratches will make you cry ��
 
The Old Man had a BSA built into a 7mm Weatherby back in the 60's. Beautiful rust blued steel and highly figured walnut stock. He used it exclusively when he worked and hunted around Granisle. That country has some pretty foul weather but the old rifle is no worse for the wear. Like Ted's 308 Norma, it has some wrinkles but that comes from use, not some deficiency in the materials chosen. I used the rifle myself a few years back to take a freezer doe on the Saskatchewan prairie. Still reaches out with authority and takes game as well as it did when it came out of Ian Dingwall's shop in Van City. If I manage to get my mitts on it permanently it will be a never sell rifle and will probably become my main rifle.

If I can beat my brother to it!
 
I have synthetic stocked rifles but I prefer wood and blued steel. However my next gun will be stainless and laminated stock but it will be for bad weather hunting and rough use
 
BigUglyMan said:
Are they doing the "Stealth Lamination" thing with their stocks like Serengeti/Kilimanjaro does? I've always been intrigued by that concept.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's essentially 2 slabs of nice Walnut bonded to 2 strips of Carbon fiber with a third thin strip of wood down the middle. Supposed to act like a "spine" they say. The Icon was Discontiued which is a shame, beautiful gun IMO.
 
I've been somewhat obsessive about needing a stainless rifle over the last few years. I was soured by a bad experience with a cheap SPS finish 700 I used to own and how easily it rusted. I picked up a stainless Tikka last winter and while I really love the rifle, I carried my Ruger 77 RSI at deer/moose camp. We had terrible snowy weather but she held up well. Here I am getting back to camp - the only thing I didn't like was how easily snow built up on the open sights, but this kind of weather isn't the norm so I think I can live with it :) I like having the stainless option but I've stopped worrying about the rusteez on blued rifles

 
I don't own a single stainless firearm or synthetic stock, and I don't anticipate any in my near future. I don't live on the wet coast, but we never get through a season without a few days of rain or snow. I use my guns but I don't abuse them. I don't use them as canoe paddles, toss them into the back of the truck, set them down on rocks or anywhere they might tip over. The odd ding or scratch is unavoidable, but those are battle scars they wear with honour.
 
Mostly blues & wood for me, from the old Lee Enfield to the little Cooey. I did get a stainless & comp in 223 last year for coyotes. It is ok, still haven't used it as much as I would like so I reserve opinion yet.
 
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