Going from stainless laminate BLR to blued wood - should I have durability concerns?

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buckchaser

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My stainless laminate BLR has been "in the Browning shop" since February to sort out a tarnishing issue on the nickel finished receiver. I've been told I may have to switch to a blued finish BLR if it is judged the tarnish is the result of a chemical reaction between me and the finish.

Almost all of my deer hunting (in the "big woods") takes place in the "backcountry", including backpack hunting trips of up to a week. It's wet, cold, and if I am camping out it can be difficult to "pamper" a firearm with full cleaning, etc. In my hunting career to date, I have basically used stainless firearms exclusively.

Should I have durability concerns? I want to avoid a situation where my firearm is rusting as a result of backcountry use.
 
Wood and blued steel were used for a long time before stainless and synthetics came out and with some precautions and ordinary care should be fine. For such guns you can protect the steel with a wax or a daily rub with an oily rag . The bore can be inspected and cleaned as needed with very compact simple cleaning tools. The stock if properly finished should provide no issues either but I always check that the barrel channel has a protective finish on it as factories often skimp in this area. In short though not as weatherproof as "modern' components they will give ggod service with minimal care.
 
My Father bought a blued wood stocked rifle new in 1952, He gave it to me and I gave it to my Son, it has been cared for and used for over 60 years, I refinished the stock once and my Son has refinished it once, it is still an accurate nice looking rifle.
 
Think of all the soldiers with full wood stocked, blued rifles in the mucky trenches or humid jungles. Wipe her down with oil every day and you're fine.
 
Definitely, you should have concerns about the durability of your blued steel rifle.
Just look at these rifles that go back a hundred years, to early on the 20th century. On some of them most of the bluing is worn off. Is this what you would like your rifle to look like in a hundred years?
 
Durability, no. Rust forms when steel gets wet, usually from condensation. You can leave your rifle outside to avoid that. Or just wipe the thing down with an oily rag and give the innards a shot of WD-40 if you take it inside.
Nickel is 19th Century rust prevention, not proofing, technology that didn't work well then or now. And the technology is much better now.
You ever shot a deer in the "back woods"? Think in terms of carrying out over 100 pounds.
 
yes if you arent careful it will rust and stainless wont. Theres no comparison for durability of the metal as far as corrosion goes.
 
Stainless and synthetic is far easier to maintain than blued and wood, but that doesn't mean wood and blue can't work. Seal the stock, prep the wood and keep on top of maintenance and they usually do fine. It's still possible for wood stocks to absorb moisture and swell up though.

S/S rifles can be a really great asset to the hunter, especially when hunting around salt water, and I'd choose one over wood and blue for backcountry hunting but no reason traditional guns won't work too
 
There are many folks out there that have acidic perspiration and when handling guns will help speed up corrosion in
most gun steels, including stainless. Stainless steel is only rust resistant, not rust proof.

I've seen plenty of "stainless" steel go for a dump around a salty environment.
 
Just to add, my "stainless" Ruger 10/22 Takedown developed rust on the barrel from simply handling it! I got the barrel replaced, and the second barrel did the same thing! Needless to say that I'm glad I got rid of it. This never happened to any of my blued rifles I own/owned. IMHO, the most rust resistant finish out there is nickel plating.
 
Boeshield T-9 for protecting blued metal is one of several available barrier products used in firearm applications.

ht tp://boeshield.com/

ht tp://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=50252&cat=1,43415,43440
 
SHELL SHUCKER said:
There are many folks out there that have acidic perspiration and when handling guns will help speed up corrosion in
most gun steels, including stainless. Stainless steel is only rust resistant, not rust proof.

I've seen plenty of "stainless" steel go for a dump around a salty environment.
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x2

Almost all my stainless firearms have got a speck or 2 of rust on them from time to time- easy to remove with a bit of superfine steel wool and oil, same as a blued rifle. I'd take a stainless gun in a salt water environment any day though...I've seen first hand several times how fast rust can develop on a blue rifle compared to stainless, and how the stainless is so much easier to maintain.
 
I believe the Browning BLR stainless have nickel plated aluminum receivers. I think the tarnishing is a common problem with these rifles, since the one I had always ended up being tarnished.
 
The Kurgan said:
Just to add, my "stainless" Ruger 10/22 Takedown developed rust on the barrel from simply handling it! I got the barrel replaced, and the second barrel did the same thing! Needless to say that I'm glad I got rid of it. This never happened to any of my blued rifles I own/owned. IMHO, the most rust resistant finish out there is nickel plating.
Click to expand...

Having spent a majority of my working life in maintenance in the pulp & paper industry, I've seen a good variety of grades of stainless. Depending on the grade, many, under the incorrect handling and use, will show signs of rust. A definate no no with virtually any grade of stainless is to brush or polish it with a carbon steel agent such as a brush etc. When being welded, the brush used to clean up the new weld bead after the slag is chipped off is stainless. Brushing with a carbon steel brush will promote the rust process.
 
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