STAINLESS vs BLUE SINGLE ACTIONS

[ward01]

I hear so many bemoaning the new Ruger offers - "if only it were stainless...." Now since single action revolvers have been around for a very long time and for their first 100 years (approximately), stainless wasn't much used in their manufacture. I think we can say that stainless is certainly not "traditional." Isn't the single action enthusiast to some degree a traditionalist?

Yes, I can see the advantage to having a relatively rust proof revolver but stainless just doesn't look right with case colors or nicely figured walnut grips.

Would someone care to offer up an opinion on why they like stainless so much?

Ward

[Lee Martin]

Personally, I like the look of stainless over blue, but that's just me. I think most folks prefer blued.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com

[alinct]

While I like the look of blued better, especially as bluing wears through use, I've not had the best luck with blued guns. I think my sweat has a high salt concentration or something because I've had blued guns rust during the course of several hours while using/wearing them. For that reason, stainless has a huge appeal. That being said, I don't have any stainless guns. I do make sure that they are wiped with an oily cloth regularly.

[avidreader]

Because I have acidic hands and it leaves rust if not wiped down after each "touch" of the firearm, the finish is easier to maintain, a little 600 grit and it's "new" again.
Plus to my eyes it looks better than blue, although blue and color cased is the Ultimate, I'm lucky enough to own all three, so I am "TRUELY BLESSED"
WES

[ff1063]

I can go either way. I've never had the rust trouble, maybe the cold climate doesn't make me sweat much here in MN.
I'm buying a Bisley Blackhawk .44 special in blue, I don't think I would have bought it in stainless.
I do like the Sheriff's Vaquero in stainless though. Looks nice and tuckable.
I guess I like the big ones in dress blue.

[tpelle]

I certainly prefer blue (real blue, not the paint that most manufacturers today call blue) over stainless. And stainless is not really stain-LESS, it's Stain-LESS THAN BLUE, if you get my drift. You still have to maintain a stainless firearm if you want to prevent surface corrosion.

Case in point: I have a stainless 1911 that I use for CCW. I have Hogue wooden stock panels on it. After carrying it for some time in a leather IWB holster, and giving it daily wipe-downs before storing it in the safe, I had occasion to remove the stocks. I was dismayed to find surface pitting where moisture had apparently soaked into the wood and was held against the stainless frame. I then made up a thin "barrier" of transparent plastic that I cut from a "report cover" from the stationery store which I now keep sandwiched between the wood and the frame. Solved the problem.

But stainless still corrodes under the right conditions - heat and high humidity.

But back to the original question - nothing looks sexier on a pistol that a blue finish with honest holster and handling wear.

[scout63]

the easiest answer is personal likes, i have owned several Ruger SBH in blued and stainless, at the moment i have a polished Vaq. in .44 mag w/stag grips, but the best shooting one i ever had was a blued version w/walnut stocks (let that one get away, oops!).

[peacemaker]

Well, nickel plating IS a traditional finish, and polished stainless looks much like nickel, though more blueish than brownish to the educated eye. If I were to get a "traditional" stainless SAA type revolver, it would have to be polished. The plus side is that stainless can safely be repolished time and time again if need be, unlike nickel, and stainless will not flake as nickel is commonly known to do.

That said, I prefer color cased and blued for visual appeal.

[jimmarch]

One key difference: if you're into customizing your hardware and think you might swap barrels one day, the threads on a stainless barrel and frame are liable to gall on you and worst case, trash the frame. Blue guns don't suffer this problem. This is the main reason my gun is blue although the one thing I haven't done (yet?) is swap barrels .

[louiethelump]

Here in hot humid Florida, where we run air conditioning about 10 months a year, and where I keep my guns in the house; the simple act of going outside with a gun be it blued or stainless means it is instantly covered with a coat of moisture from condensation from the 90% or so humidity. I have blued guns (mostly Ruger single actions as I prefer the balance of the aluminum grip frame over the all steel stainless grip frame version of the same gun) but they require more care or else leave them outside................ not really a good idea...................

So, guns I am going to use and carry into and out of the house, car, or anywhere air conditioned, need to be stainless. They will still rust if provoked, but are much more forgiving.........

Louie

[461tim]

I don't mind stainless at all, but pretty much all of my single actions are blued. If it goes bang, I pretty much like it.

[dmize]

I have always like the look of brushed stainless steel.

[bigbores]

A octagon Barrel on a Stainless gun....WOW to me there's nothing better!
CCH framed, blued everything else would be a close second.

And we still Gotta Have at least one Deep Blued sixgun.

[Frank V]

First & formost I like Blue & CCH, still I like Stainless too. I've seen bright stainless that looks a lot like nickle. I think a nickle Colt looks nice, with stainless you can have almost the look of nickle without the upkeep.
Frank

[maxcactus]

Jul 13, 2011 14:41:27 GMT -5 jimmarch said:

One key difference: if you're into customizing your hardware and think you might swap barrels one day, the threads on a stainless barrel and frame are liable to gall on you and worst case, trash the frame. Blue guns don't suffer this problem. This is the main reason my gun is blue although the one thing I haven't done (yet?) is swap barrels .

All true enough, but I would counter that many custom jobs require some amount of rebluing while the same modifications in steel would only need a touch-up with the correct abrasive and as a result is less expensive.

I'm pretty well split between blued and stainless sixguns in my toy box, but almost all of my blued guns are such because stainless wasn't an option. If I could have some of my guns blackened stainless, I'd go that route for aesthetics purposes but I still prefer the look of stainless - best example in my mind is the mighty Bowen Nimrod.