Care for blued/wood stocked rifles on tough hunts?

[Igloo]

Figured this would be the place to ask, since the forum has an enviable reputation for rough country/mountain/hard hunting (IMO)

Let's say you had a rifle in your stable like a Win 70 Pre 64 in 270, etc. And you wanted to hunt it as your main rifle, including out in whatever elements you do, which are more than just one day or a walk to the blind etc.

A) Would you?

B) How would you care for it during this time?

 

[E.Shell]

Back in the day, I used to put a good coat of automotive wax over blued guns and they held up very well. Now, I'm in the cerra-coated stainless/synthetic stock crowd and only play with my walnut guns on pretty days.

 

[Igloo]

Back in the day, I used to put a good coat of automotive wax over blued guns and they held up very well. Now, I'm in the cerra-coated stainless/synthetic stock crowd and only play with my walnut guns on pretty days.

That sounds like a good solution.

Trying hard to decide between a Win 70 Classic Stainless (New Haven) in a synthetic stock...or a Win 70 Pre 64 blued/walnut.

 

[TimberRunner]

I have a beautiful kimber 8400 300 win Mag that has taken a few slides down some rocky faces. Got some work scars but haven't done anything special. It's a tool.

 

[Igloo]

I have a beautiful kimber 8400 300 win Mag that has taken a few slides down some rocky faces. Got some work scars but haven't done anything special. It's a tool.

Cool, that one's blued, too?

Nothin wrong with honest character, as long as it ain't broke!

 

[TimberRunner]

Cool, that one's blued, too?

Nothin wrong with honest character, as long as it ain't broke!

Yep, blued. I took a bad stumble packing out a deer in the bitterroot, gun came off my shoulder and slid. Still have a scar on the back of my hand and a patched knee on a pair of kuiu pants.

 

[TaperPin]

Yes, wax is a life saver - above the stock line and below it prevents a lot of surface rust. Tape the muzzle to keep moisture out.

I’ve never had a problem keeping blued rifles rust free and stocks free of scratches, and our part of Wyoming is full of rocks, rock slides, cliffs, boulders, rocky ridges, and slopes too steep to walk up or down - carrying a rifle isn’t something we do a week each year, but it goes along 25 weekends every year. If your bicycle in Jr high wasn’t scratched to hell, then you probably also keep rifles in good shape. In 4 decades of hunting and being outdoors I’ve dropped a rifle on the rocks maybe twice, but can only remember once and it wasn’t bad. Simply putting a hat or glove on a rock protects the stock if you set it down horizontally. A glove between the barrel and rock prevents scratches if it’s leaned up against something. Over time taking a hat off for such things becomes second nature, and most shots are taken resting over a pack.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

I just hunt with mine... clean/oil it before a trip, tape the barrel, don't put it in a case if it's wet, and don't forget to clean it after. Might wipe it down in the evening if it really got banged around.

 

[prm]

Just hunt. I do keep it reasonably oiled but otherwise not much difference than any other rifle. This is becoming the only rifle I hunt with. Last three Muley bucks and a bull elk.

 

[pacoalcracker]

While I have both wood/blue and fiber/SS rifles I find myself always gravitating to the wood/blue. It's just kind of more comforting to tradition type of thing and nicer to handle with bare hands when its colder and you just don't want to wear gloves. I wipe mine down with a silicon impregnated cloth from time to time.

 

[Choupique]

Wax it before you leave the house and otherwise, don't worry about it.

Plenty of 100 year old blued/walnut rifles and shotguns out there still going strong. Sure, they start showing wear after a few decades, but that just means more to the next person. Unless you're doing the saltwater thing, that steel and wood will outlive you

 

[Igloo]

I just hunt with mine... clean/oil it before a trip, tape the barrel, don't put it in a case if it's wet, and don't forget to clean it after. Might wipe it down in the evening if it really got banged around.
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Great photos!

Thats a pre-64 sporter as well isn't it?

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Great photos!

Thats a pre-64 sporter as well isn't it?

Yes. It's a very early model 70 in 30-06AI.

 

[Boltgun]

I have a minimal cleaning kit that comes along during bad weather, but mostly just oil beforehand and dry and oil after.

 

[Formidilosus]

A) Would you?

Of course.

B) How would you care for it during this time?

Oil the metal, oil or wax the stock if you like. Then just use them.


Pre 64 wood/blue:












Not Pre64, but blued, wood:

After a couple weeks in SE AK-