To Re-Blue or not?

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Tinybear

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I have a very treasured Heirloom Belgian made Browning SA-22 rifle. It was purchased new by my grandfather and given to my mother when she turned 5. It was then passed to me as my first rifle.

It’s a nice rifle (not perfect it was never a safe Queen) but the blueing is worn and I fear rust I keep the rifle clean and oiled to keep it protected. But I’m thinking maybe worth having it professionally reblued. BUT I’m also nervous about doing so (not sure why).

What would you all recommend? Should I be concerned about getting it blued. Any recommendations on good places to get it done. (My local shop is shooters choice).

Picture of rifle in question along side the newer Browning SA-22 I picked recently. I have 2 kids of my own and figured it be cool to pass on the tradition my grandfather had of giving each kid one of these rifles.
IMG_6202.jpeg
 
Rifle Blueing is not a rust preventative, but it can help with resistance
Owners tend to forget this and that maintenance is still important

I get how you would be conflicted, enjoy it for what it is or alter to a look that makes you feel good
Myself, I would take the diy route and enjoy any result
 
I’d cold blue it myself (44-40 bluing works well). It may run about $400 to hot blue. With much nicer results. Might be worth it as you plan to pass it down.
 
I've used cold blue before but have always spent lot of time to prep the metal.
I also warm the parts on a baking tray in the oven, decrease and warm again, and a good soaking of oil after the bluing.

All the degreasers and warming dry it out.
 
boxhitch said:
Rifle Blueing is not a rust preventative, but it can help with resistance
Owners tend to forget this and that maintenance is still important

I get how you would be conflicted, enjoy it for what it is or alter to a look that makes you feel good
Myself, I would take the diy route and enjoy any result
Click to expand...
bluing is actually a rusting process
i did hot cost bluing for 20 years
bluing procces is not the issue the issue is the person doing the work
if they get the metal to hot buffing then you have different colour of bluing on the metal the other and i have seen it many times the buffing wheel will pull the lettering on the metal and that is ugly and a reflection of poor quality workmanship
one more thing round edges from the buffing wheel where it's supposed to be flat
if you get someone to do it ask for examples of the shops work
 
When I see a antique that's in perfect condition I always figure the gun wasn't liked very much or they would have actually used the gun. That or the antique had a boring life with a boring owner who never did anything worth remembering with the gun.
Why do you want to make the gun look like a greenhorn gun? I like it the way it is now.
 
Leave it. There are plenty of those guns in new condition out there if a new-looking one is what you'd prefer to pull the trigger on? What makes yours special is who owned/used it before you. You can erase the evidence of that to make it cosmetically newer-looking, but not sure why you would. To put it another way, the previous owners never saw it as a priority either...so every scratch/blemish is telling a story. I'd rather look at the blemishes and imagine how the gun was used, who was holding it..

Over 10 years ago, I tracked down a new/factory buttstock for my grandfather's old 12ga. He was a short-statured man and cut the factory one to suit his geometry. 39 years ago, I found a nice pc. of walnut and cut a spacer for the stock...re-mounted the recoil pad and while executed fine=definitely not invisible. Shot countless rounds of trap with that gun and shot my first 2 grouse with it. (First and only "double") Every time I've gone to mount the new buttstock, I look at the current arrangement and think "it was THAT pc. of wood my grandfather's face rested against=it stays for now"
 
Thanks All I am going to leave it as is and just continue keeping it clean and lubed. I gernally only shoot it a few times a year as I have many 22 rifles. But this one just feels special to shoot which was why I was hesitant to change anything on it.

My only change I made from when my grandfather shot it was to remove the scope he had mounted as I could not see out of it (and I wanted to shoot it not just hang it on the wall). I tried other scopes but this one just looks and feels better to me with the irons.

The second SA I purchased with the intent to run with a low powered optic just as gramps ran his but I specifically wanted a Japanese model with the drilled and tapped barrel. Works awesome. I truly love these rifles. Would love an even smaller scope eventually but for now this vortex 1.75-5x32. Diamondback works
 
Ya it’s not bad at all I would leave it alone
Usually when you get something professionally re blued you have to have the wood redone too to look right as you end up with nice bluing and crappy looking wood, that’s what the gun restorer I used said to me
 
Tinybear, Glad you decided to 'keep the memories' intact. No need to erase the age and patina that has developed over the years.
For your Grandfather's rifle, have you tried different height rings to make it 'shootable' for your comfort? Or was the problem a poor scope? You can find 'old scopes' to match the vintage of the rifle when your Grandfather bought it.
 
Buck1950 said:
Tinybear, Glad you decided to 'keep the memories' intact. No need to erase the age and patina that has developed over the years.
For your Grandfather's rifle, have you tried different height rings to make it 'shootable' for your comfort? Or was the problem a poor scope? You can find 'old scopes' to match the vintage of the rifle when your Grandfather bought it.
Click to expand...
The scope he had on it ended up fogged and no longer could see through it very well. It’s an OLD weaver 4x I believe very small 3/4” tube I think.

I have tried scopes on it mounted to the dove tail but accuracy is poor despite tightening the barrel lock screw. The newer rifle with a barrel mounted scope is a better setup for that reason.
 
Check out having the rifle cerakoted vs reblued. Lots of different finishes from deep blues to black to Titanium. Complete action done is usually in the $300 area, look great, and are as tough as original bluing.

Bottled cold blue processes are garbage for the most part.
 
Yes, a friend gave me an El Paso Weaver D4 about 20 years ago and I've used it on several rifles. Great for 20-50 yard shots. You might find another one on G-post or Town-post for a reasonable price. Refurbing that one might be reasonable, likely just lost its seal and got moisture inside. Might be good to restore that old one? Some repair shop out west is said to be good and reasonable, forget the name. Found it - Trace Scope Repair, https://www.facebook.com/tracescoperepair/ Cochrane, AB
 
Many in the past have fixed up Grandpa's old gun and regretted it. It no longer looked like Grandpa's old gun... it looked more like a new gun.
 
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