Stainless Steel Lever Guns - HA.. WHAT R THEY GOOD 4

[kemosabi45]

You know I realy want to like the new S.S. lever guns but I just can't seem to warm up to them. I know they are practical and I am a realy practical guy. If I was in the snow or rain a lot I might get to thinkin I need one, but here in FL. it's just HOT and Humid.. I am even getting to dislike the looks of S/S revolvers and I have 4 of them. If it's not blue with a little wear on it for some reason it just does not look right or even feel right in the hand. What's wrong with me, I want to love them. I really do but... but... but... HELP.............

[L_Kilkenny]

Personally, I wish every gun owner in N.A. thought the way you do. Just more of em for me!! I like em, I like em a lot. Handled 2 Rossi 92's in stainless. Didn't have the available cash for either one. One was a .45 colt, 16" barrel and $300. And I passed, oh lord, what have I done?

LK

[stinson]

Come hunt with your purty blued gun in Kodiak. I discovered the hard way that I love blued guns, but not when they turn brown.

[kemosabi45]

OK I'm feeling your pain passing on a 45lc 16" 92 for $300.. If i found that I guess I might have to have a SS lever gun in my stable. I could always get some Grill FLAT BLACK Rustoleum paint for it.

[86er]

They are pretty good for rowing the boat. The water doesn't get contaminated with rust and the fish can see it so they don't swim into it and hurt themselves. Makes a decent anchor too if you feed the line down the barrel and out the action.

[L_Kilkenny]

Come on 86'er, everyone knows it take a 99 to paddle a boat.

LK

[kemosabi45]

OK I know you can't get a SS 99 but how about we get one of them 99's and get it Brushed Hard Chromed and speckle paint the stock... Now we're talk preet ty...

[Old Savage]

kemosabi you may be but the Lone Ranger you ain't, SS lever guns are great if you are around humidity or water or you sweat.

"Tonto is Spanish for 'stupid' or 'fool.' And Tonto, who was not so tonto, responded by calling the Lone Ranger 'qui no sabe' (with an Indian accent), which roughly translates from Spanish as 'he who knows nothing' or 'clueless.'"

[Old Savage]

On the other hand -" Coined for the 1938 Lone Ranger television serial, apparently from a corruption of Spanish quien lo sabe "(he) who knows". "

[Griff]

Shiney stainless... my first reaction: Second is: "whatchya doin' wid the pimpgun?"

[AJMD429]

STAINLESS guns are the ones I take out to hunt and target shoot and hike with, rain or shine...

The pretty BLUED ones are for hanging on the walls to look purty...

Seriously, whether or not 'stainless' looks good muchly depends on the applied finish (textured matte to me is very beautiful, not just durable, but mirror-shiny looks tacky, to me). It also depends on the wood finish, if the owner isn't doubly-blasphemous and has a synthetic stock.

Leverguns with tube magazines seem to get moisture under the forend and since the forends are usually such a pain to take off to dry/clean the gun, I figure stainless helps a bit there.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

Because most gun stainless is 416 alloy it will rust some but not as bad and unlike Blue guns they are easy to buff up.
But, some folks don't care for the shiny stainless guns.

No problem

I like mine Tu-toned bead blasted.



And you say you don't like your stainless revolver's' no problem.

[Kansas Ed]

I was pretty much give or take on stainless, until we had a gun come in at FA once which had been stored in locker on an Alaskan fishing boat for an extended period of time. It didn't work at all, cause all the springs had rusted out. A blued gun would have been a total disaster, but new springs and a clean up on the stainless put it in like new condition. My goal in retirement if I ever make it, is to live on a 40+ foot boat, and stainless is the only thing I'll be able to have in that circumstance. Besides, I'm pretty much hooked on stainless 1911's.

Ed

[Streetstar]

I have no problem with it on a "modern" gun like the MArlin SBL --- i even had a stainless Guide Gun once (albeit with a walnut stock) ---- i would scream like a prison girlfriend if Winchester ever rolled out a stainless production model though. I am kicking around the idea of a Rossi --- stainless would be ok for me there, but i'd probably order blued/CC anyway.

So --- to recap my views -- stainless Guide gun, XLR's, Rossis , Pumas etc etc. --- bring 'em on. But a stainless 1895 Winnie? --- someone get me the barf bag.

Wonder if Uberti/Cimarron would find any takers on a stainless 1873 repro-- or a '76 ?

[AJMD429]

I like my stainles 1858 Remington replica - you mean the originals weren't stainless...?

[kemosabi45]

Nate Kiowa Jones

Those are beautiful lookin guns, What has been done to the revolver?

[kemosabi45]

Serious question,,,
How do you keep them from shining in the woods.
Do you use camo tape on them when you take them hunting?

[kemosabi45]

I asked how you all felt about SS Levers and I find you comments interesting, informative, and some times darn funny.
I have never had a gun get rusted up or turn brown, probably because I get a chance to clean them as soon as I get home.
My next thought to keep a lever gun looking more traditional, harder to spot in the woods when hunting, and still be better at keeping the rust off more than bluing is parkerizing. How well does a parkerized gun hold up in consistently bad weather?

[Hobie]

here in FL. it's just HOT and Humid..

To me, that is the perfect reason to have one, plus the salt air in some of the more coastal regions. I don't think you need it in the snow. I used paste wax on my blue guns and most are in good condition despite my seeming ability to hunt ONLY in the rain.

[madman4570]

Stainless or Blued,Once you paint em a nice flat black you never go back. No really the best protective finish I have found for maybe a couple guns that you will always keep/use a lot/and dont care if maybe you lessen its monetary value is DuraCoat.Stainless is great but even with that it will start getting surface pitting with the right conditions.Just remember though the DuraCoat only protects the outside of the gun and thats where the full SS has maybe the edge.For actual hunting with a long gun I like it Black and matte finish at that!

[AJMD429]

Parkerizing seems to do well for me on an 1894. Looks pretty good, too, although not 'traditional'.

[meanc]

HA.. WHAT R THEY GOOD 4...If I was in the snow or rain a lot I might get to thinkin I need one, but here in FL. it's just HOT and Humid..

I'm here in Florida also. I don't know how long you've been here or what activities you persue, but before this 4yr drought, it rained. And I mean it rained alot. It's slowly getting back that way too. Then throw in the humidity.

Now I've trekked thru the woods at 0430 walking thru thick brush laden with dew. I've had the pleasure of hunting many times in the rain both here in Fl many other places. I've also taken mine on a few boating/camping trips and been caught in a few rain showers.

Sometimes it doesn't take long for moisture to seep into the nooks and crannies, set in, and start rusting. And when you're in the woods, on a boat, or sleeping in a damp tent for 8-10 hrs, that's a lot of time.

Stainless definitely has a little more advantage in those situations.

Serious question,,,How do you keep them from shining in the woods. Do you use camo tape on them when you take them hunting?

I don't keep them from shining. Hunting in good cover takes care of that for me. Never had an animal spooked by one that I know of...of course I could have been asleep and didn't notice

i would scream like a prison girlfriend if Winchester ever rolled out a stainless production model though. I

Well,while not stainless, Winchester put out a couple of models with a hard chrome (brushed stainless finish) plating. The 9410 and Trapper 44mag are a few I've seen direct from Winchester.Don't know the production numbers, but they're out there.

I liked their Trapper version so much, I sent my own to Mahovsky's for their Metalife finish.

It's definitely a beauty to me... and practical.

[madman4570]

Doc, ya that is a very cool way to go for the finish, and it holds up very well. That for sure is one of the best.

[Streetstar]

MeanC,

I stand somewhat corrected --- that polished Trapper looks pretty darn cool

[mohavesam]

Blued carbon steel is soooo 19th century! It was what they used then because it was all they had. Purty, but fragile, relatively speaking.

Asthetics and nostalgia aside, stainless steel guns are an overall advancement, unless 100% of your shooting / hunting is done indoors!




BTW,FBHO.

[salvo]

All my hunting long arms have been blued steel since I was a kid. A rag, oil and maintenance was the first thing my dad taught me. No need for SS here.
I don't live in a particularly bad weather area though and could probably learn to appreciate a SS levergun if I did, I would still prefer blued steel or darkened SS on a hunting gun.

[Cruise]

We learned from years of blue water cruising that stainless isn't!

We also learned that a lot of workboat folks look at rust as a protective coating!

Mike