Wood and Blue

1899

1899

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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It used to be that I hunted with wooden stocked rifles and blued barrels no matter the quarry. Fly in moose hunt? Check. Alpine mule deer? Check. Rainforest Sitka Blacktails? Check. Mountain goats? Check.

When weight was an issue I used a Remington Mountain Rifle or Brno 21. I'd carry around a zip-lock bag with an oily rag to wipe my rifle down and to keep it in good shape.

But these days I really seem to reach for the stainless synthetic rifle, unless I am going for a "cabin and ground blind" type of hunt. Don't get me wrong, I still love the look and feel of a wood stocked and blued rifle, but it just seems less practical. I know that's just me, but that's how it is. Oddly enough, given all that, I am building a Kibler flintlock rifle and I have a couple of lever action rifles that I want to take on a deer hunt.

How about you all? Do you still grab the classic for all your hunts? Only for the more comfortable style hunts? Or have you relegated those rifles to safe queen status?
 
I do still grab my blue and wood cause that is the only things I have( one cz550 with a synthetic stock but still blue metal) I never liked the SS and synthetic stock but that is just me. I don’t mind blue and synthetic but the synthetic need to be a nice classic look, with nice lines and not black hahaha.
But like you I have an oily rag in a ziplock bag and usually give the entire rifle a good wax job before I leave on a trip!
 
I have a 10/22TD synthetic, that’s it. I can understand why a synthetic stock will be used, but I do like wood and blue. For years I hunted whitetail with a homely old “sporterized” 98 8x57, later rechambered to 8mm-06, heavy old scope, later years I used a 94 in 32WS. Obviously I don’t hunt mountains or long treks.
 
I use whichever rifle best suits the hunt.

I don't really care, one way or the other.

I love my "wood stocked'' rifles that carry both stainless and blued metal, sometimes a combination of both, and a few with paint or cerakote.

Worrying about such things, is just something I never do.

I always wipe down my firearms, stainless or blue, etc, with a Birchwood Case product called SHEATH.

I started using it at gun shows about 35 years ago, to thwart the efforts of looky-loos with SWEATY PALMS, during their relentless persistence to leave "rusty fingerprints" on every blued firearm I presented for sale.

This stuff is one of the best products I've come across, and it leaves a micro thin film of free silicones on every surface it's wiped onto.

It has a bit of an odor when first applied, but that evaporates, and a few minutes later, no scent can be detected.

I use it on a soft cloth, with only a few drops, which is enough to coat several rifles effectively.

I find that one coat is good for a couple of days of hard hunting, under adverse conditions.

Not only does it inhibit rust, but it inhibits the adherence of dust and other detritus.

No, it won't stop mud attaching, but it does make cleanup easier.
 
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That's great info bearhunter - I've never heard of that product. I typically use G96 and for the wood I use Schaftol, as my current main wood stocks are oil finished.
 
Licensed to kill said:
If “practical” was that important I would not hunt at all. Like 9.3mauser said “life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun”. I don’t own any guns that are NOT wood/blue (or brown). For me, Plastic/SS would diminish the experience.
Click to expand...

Yes ditto , I don't buy/own any SS , Black , polymer , synthetik or guns
which are not Blue & Wood.

Old time Purest.
....skwerl
 
Was a blued and walnut ardent fan growing up, and still try to stay true, but a Ruger 77 Boat Paddle I bought as a young adult tru a wrench into things as the sheer utility was amazing. Have mostly traditional long arms but have some fit for purpose utility rifles and even a few hybrids…..

IMG_2997.jpeg
 
I have some nice Blued/Walnut rifles... but they almost never go in the field anymore. I mostly use stainless rifles in synthetic or laminate stocks, but I carry more than most do, and probably hunt in shytier conditions than most do... "rain or shine," as the saying goes.
 
I’ve always had a weak spot for the wood and blue rifles. They just feel right.
I do have some SS and synthetic stocked rifles that I use at times. No matter how many times I use them, they just don’t feel right.
 
This appeals to me. Done by Westley Richard’s as a one off

CtKY3PZ.jpeg
 
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