blued vs stainless

I disagree with Mike Irwin -- but I love his arguments. If I ever buy an old blued revolver -- it will probably be his fault!
 
A good blued finish is BEAUTIFUL. I would not take $1000 dollars for my model 29. But I wouldn't load it and keep it on top of the kitchen counter like I do my 686 (stainless). For carry, stainless. For collecting, blued. And I'm sorry Mike, but IMHO, I love Nickel. Like my 1970 model 19. Tough finish and beautiful deep shine. Almost a golden color. My favorite finish.
 
Most of all my revolvers are stainless..
but a good ole blued S&W or Ruger with the bluing worn off here and there and a nice cylinder turn ring is a thing of beauty.... character:)
 
If you hunt/shoot outdoors then Stainless can sometimes reflect the sun into your eyes when you are trying to shoot.
 
I like both but prefer the blued when it comes to revolvers. Even with blued I am not afraid to wear it everyday and shoot every chance I get. To me a gun is a tool. One that can either help you relieve stress at the range while you also try to improve your skills. And also as a tool to possibly save your life or the life of someone you love. I like safe queens as long as they are not mine. Give me a pretty gun and I use it every chance I get. The only gun I know I would never use is this one.
hand-gun.jpg
 
I like blued better.....

......but,
I mean how many of us, submerge are guns in water for weeks on end or keep in a moisture attracting holster for months/years?
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, my stainless Vaquero is an ongoing experiment in Neglect. It stays in a leather holster at all times and only comes out when called upon to speak for itself. Well, it does get cleaned once in a great while. It's a reliable beater that gets used a lot and put away dirty and occasionally not dry. I put it away for a month after a full box of black powder ammo was fired in it. It looked really bad but cleaned up beautifully. And no, it never rusted. I don't expect to repeat that experiment, but I did want to see if it could take it. If it were blued I would treat it a lot differently. I think that stainless makes for a better survival gun in inclimate conditions far from cleaning supplies.
 
I only have one blued gun. I bought it because I had NO blued guns. I'm not such a fan of it. The finish is easier to mar up, I worry about it showing the wear. When it does, I'll probably worry less though. :)

I prefer a matte parkerized or coated finish, but stainless looks good too.

I would be willing to spend another 10%-15% to avoid the blued finish.
 
Stainless is a more resistant to rust and abuse. That said, a good blued finish will last a long time with just a little care.

I like some guns in stainless, some in blue. Depends on the gun and I buy whatever I like. Stainless is more resistant but a good blued gun doesn't have to be babied.
 
I worry about it showing the wear.
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You shouldn't. A gun is meant to be 'used' not 'abused'. Wear is only natural.... After all it is just a 'hunk' of metal... A tool like your hand drill or saw. Keep it in good working order and clean and it will serve a lifetime (and more) of usefulness. BTW I do have 2 Ruger stainless revolvers and a stainless Ruger Mark II, but enjoy the blued ones more. Personal preference.
 
Finish in order of preference:

1. Parkerized Tough non reflecting.
2. Blued because I like it.
3. Browned because it is traditional on BP guns and my Great Grand Father's converted flintlock has worn that finish for almost 200 years.
4. Brushed Chrome because I beat Buddy Walthal on a trade for an M-1 Grand with a very low serial number. The S&W 1955 was what he thought I was after. Got the Garand for 100 bucks.
 
In theory stainless is supposed to be easier to take care of.

Since I've never had any problem taking care of blued guns, I've never thought too much about the "advantage."

While I have a couple of stainless guns, I bought them in spite of them being stainless, not because of it.
 
I keep a Ruger single six in a leather holster all the time. Sometimes it sits in my trunk, where temperatures fluctuate enough to get condensation pretty regularly. It is stainless and I have never ever had a problem. I wouldn't think of doing that with a blued gun. A "good" blued finish such as on an old Colt will set you back a whole lot more than stainless and isn't as good.

Most new production "blued" guns don't seem to actually be blued anymore.
 
I am lazy,I'll admit it,so stainless is the way to go for me.

That's why all my guns are blued.:rolleyes:

I was ruined early in my gun ownership by a Dan Wesson 357 six inch barrel handgun I owned with a midnight blued finish that made that gun look like Darth Vader owned it before me.

Bluing so dark and perfect it looked like water running down a river at midnight.

Still,if I ever buy that 642 I'm running my yap about now,it will be stainless.

He-he,unless a good deal comes up on a 442.

Stainless is for refrigerators,Blueing is for real handguns.

Juz kiddn people.;)
 
When I first started to buy and collect handguns back in the 1970's, I bought only blued guns. That was as much out of ignorance as it was out of preference. As a result, I have several old Colt and Ruger revolvers that are blued. They are handsome looking pieces, indeed. But, I want to keep them looking handsome, so I don't shoot them very often.

For the past 20 years or so, though, I've bought only stainless guns. Unless a gun is not offered in stainless, and I want it very badly, I will not buy anything but stainless these days. In that case, I'll usually go ahead and buy the gun, and then send it off for hardchroming.

My preference for stainless is confined to the brushed or matte stainless finishes. I dislike polished stainless or bright nickel. I recently bought a stainless CZ75B, and it was polished to a mirror bright finish. I couldn't live with it, so I sent it off for hardchroming.

The only gun that I think has to be blued is a Python. Personally, I wouldn't want a Python any other way. A deeply blued Python is the summit of handgun elegance.
 
"That was as much out of ignorance..."

Yeah, word is you're one dumb... :p (Joking, obviously. Never give me that kind of opening!)

I get what you're saying, but when I buy a gun, I buy it with full intention of shooting it.

Yes, I'd like to keep it looking absolutely pristine, but I know that's not possible, so I don't mind buying blued guns on which the bluing isn't perfect. If it's mechanically sound and the right price, I buy it. I don't go out of my way to mistreat my revolvers, and a little use wear adds to the character, as far as I'm concerned.
 
The best finish is a good hard chrome like Starvel (Star's finish) or EAA's "Wonder Finish". It doesn't flake, inhibits rust and is much more resistant to scratches than stainless and nickel.
 
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