Do Stainless Steel/Nickel barrels Spook Game?

J

jonutarr

New member
Just wondering if there is a difference from a blued barrel,
I will be after pigs, goats, deer, foxes, rabbits and cats

Im thinking about getting a 7600 Rem 308 Weathermaster (Nickel) cos I like the looks more so than the blackie

and would it be unnecessary to have some kind of fabric (maybe camo) barrel cover?

All opinions and experiences are welcomed ;)
 
You can cover it with camo tape if it makes you nervous. Highly polished guns , blue or stainless are more likely to spook game since give a bright reflection. A matt finish is much better .
 
Experience...
I was hunting along the side of a valley about 700-800 yards across...
I stopped and sat over the area for about 30 minutes...
I saw a movement all the way across in the trees on the other side...
I looked, and saw it was a hunter who had apparently been sitting there for some time...
and he had been found out because he had a reflective rifle...
I saw him with the naked eye at a VERY long distance and if I could... then so could a deer or elk...

In the "woods"... reflective is more noticeable because it's out of place... :eek:

As for white metal or light grey... you are OK... until you move... :rolleyes:

In the old days they had "sing-alongs" at the movie houses and the words were white against a black background... If you didn't know the words you could follow along by watching a white "bouncing ball" on the screen which showed you the tempo and the words to sing along...

Dark, flat finishes are better... :)
 
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I've had the same experience that Pointer's had: I observed another hunter who was a long distance away w/a stainless barrel. It looked like a glowing wand in the morning sun.
 
travis was sitting rock solid still wind in his face 200 yards away from me. i looked and saw 3 deer headed into the woodline were he was and all i was waiting for was the boom of that SS puma lever action when all three deer burst out of there w/o any other provication.
so i say yes they spook deer.
 
I dunno, but I don't take any chances if I've spent a lot of time preparing for a hunt. I use a blued gun or camo-tape the stainless barrel, just in case.

If you do buy camo tape, do not get that H-S "no-mar" tape. It sucks. It won't stick and it's loud ("crinkly"). Get plain old Allen brand cloth tape or similar; cheaper too.
 
blue, parkerized, or camo

Had a ruger 10/22 Stainless and took it hunting squirrels. They new where I was because the darn stainless reflected the light. Went to walmart and got a roll or camo tape (sticky whe you remove it, use alcohol with cotton balls or paper towels) and taped it up. Went out the next day to the same spot and bagged 4 from the same spot I hunted. I only use a stainless barrel when varmint shooting prairied dogs because they are too stupid to notice. I prefer most of my guns parkerized or teflon coated. I just had an old enfield and an M1 reparked for about $75 (plus some refinishing). Check midwayusa.com for some spray on bake on coatings.

And no the camo tape doesn't melt. I can unlad a 30 round clip in my 10/22 and a full 5 shots in my 12ga (both taped) and it no melting. Had it on both guns for a few years and only need to retap a few areas the wore off from rubbing. Cheap solution to the problem and it works.
 
I always buy SS when I can get it, but I camo paint all my hunting rifles.
I can pick up a SS barrel movement for a long ways in the woods, so I'm sure game can do the same thing.
The finish is fine for a target rifle, but really isn't what you want for a hunting weapon.
 
Camoflauge tape vs. 3m Coban

There's a product 3m makes that will not stick to your gun ,that is wraped around your barrel then sticks to itself.Its actually coban and its in camoflauge od.green,white and dessert grey.I know scheels had it for a short time but i haven't seen it for a while.The best thing about this stuff (if you can find it) is that it leaves nothing behind on your rifle when you take it off.
 
I figure if the deer dont notice the six foot tall guy in an orange hat with a walnut/blued rifle they probably wont notice me when I get a stainless synthetic rifle.
 
I figure if I can see the reflection from a nickel gun, so can the game. I'm not crazy about using nickel guns for hunting. But, if that is what I had, I wouldn't think twice about using it. The camo tape is a good idea too.
 
camo sock

I saw a camo "sock" at wal mart a few years back. Kinda like the gun socks for storage, but this one was supposed to be for shooting. just cut to length and cut out around the bolt and you were good to go. My only thought on this would be does it slip around while on the gun or is the inner got some kinda rubbery or no slip grippers?
 
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