Why were blued guns discontinued?
- Thread starter Doug.38PR
- Start date
Dfariswheel
New member
Customer demand.
The gun buying public and the police just plain bought in to the durability of a stainless gun.
Blued guns rust easily and the finish is the least durable of them all.
Stainless has no finish to wear off, resists rust better, and can be freshened up with out having to re-blue the entire thing.
Most makers don't offer blued guns simply because the great majority of buyers want stainless and don't buy blued. They make what people want to buy, and people want stainless.
The gun buying public and the police just plain bought in to the durability of a stainless gun.
Blued guns rust easily and the finish is the least durable of them all.
Stainless has no finish to wear off, resists rust better, and can be freshened up with out having to re-blue the entire thing.
Most makers don't offer blued guns simply because the great majority of buyers want stainless and don't buy blued. They make what people want to buy, and people want stainless.
Mike Irwin
Staff
People are lazy and unwilling to expend the rather minor effort needed to preserve a blued gun's finish.
Dont forget that in the good ole USofA bluing involves many process that the EPA likes to get involved with too. Not saying thats bad, just more hassle, more money and ultimately less sales.
But I had to snag up a 586-6 that was at my store a few months ago. Love em.
The old blueing sure is pruty though
But I had to snag up a 586-6 that was at my store a few months ago. Love em.
The old blueing sure is pruty though
well,
1) I remember posting a blue vs. stainless poll on this and I think Colt and S&W sites before and if I remember right blue and stainless in popularity was about half and half...or at least there was a large body of people out there who like blue finish.
2) I just had both my OPs reblued by a gunsmith about a year ago. It's hard to keep my holster from rubbing bluing off the barrel and the bottom of the frame. On top of that the lubricant or oil wears off of the grip part of the frame so quickly that surface rus appears almost daily. The grip started to look "cloudy" along the bluing within a few days after my having gotten them reblued. I just take a kleenex and rub until brown stops coming off the metalic surface of the grip frame and then spray a good coat of lubrican on the gun.
However that being said, my dad never seems to have this problem with his M10 nor I with my Highway Patrolman (and my dad has had his M10 for almost 2 years now.
But with diligance and care (like with any object) it will last.
1) I remember posting a blue vs. stainless poll on this and I think Colt and S&W sites before and if I remember right blue and stainless in popularity was about half and half...or at least there was a large body of people out there who like blue finish.
2) I just had both my OPs reblued by a gunsmith about a year ago. It's hard to keep my holster from rubbing bluing off the barrel and the bottom of the frame. On top of that the lubricant or oil wears off of the grip part of the frame so quickly that surface rus appears almost daily. The grip started to look "cloudy" along the bluing within a few days after my having gotten them reblued. I just take a kleenex and rub until brown stops coming off the metalic surface of the grip frame and then spray a good coat of lubrican on the gun.
However that being said, my dad never seems to have this problem with his M10 nor I with my Highway Patrolman (and my dad has had his M10 for almost 2 years now.
But with diligance and care (like with any object) it will last.
Not all bluing is the same and like any job the technique and components used plays a big part. The rust (the brown you were wiping off) reappearing after a couple of days sounds like your 'smith didn't fully wash the salts off. Bluing does take a small amount of time to cure so it doesn't readily wear, but it sounds like your 'smith doesn't do a very good job of bluing.
Sir William
New member
Threefold answer. Part one is labour. There would be a demand for craftsmen, inspectors and the handpolishing that a robot cannot perform. Part two is the steel required. The best steel is not American. Asian steel is superior and it would need to be imported and run through the factory in the USA. S/H is expensive. Part three is the EPA garbage. Nickel firearms are a pretty sight. Blue and nickel require EPA storage, monitoring and disposal. Stainless firearms can be made by robots, polished by robots, assembled and testfired by robots and even dropped in boxes and stacked by robots. Labour, steel and the EPA are the causes.
Mike Irwin
Staff
"Dont forget that in the good ole USofA bluing involves many process that the EPA likes to get involved with too."
Both the Smith & Wesson and Colt factories were on EPA's Superfund list as toxic waste nighmares.
Not surprising when, for 100 years, the standard practice was to dispose of old bluing and nickle plating chemicals by dumping them in pits in the ground at the back edge of the property.
Both the Smith & Wesson and Colt factories were on EPA's Superfund list as toxic waste nighmares.
Not surprising when, for 100 years, the standard practice was to dispose of old bluing and nickle plating chemicals by dumping them in pits in the ground at the back edge of the property.
Smith is still making blued Model 10's. Are they still using the actual bluing process or is it some type of paint? I've been told that Ruger "paints" their blued models. I have a mechanically sound Model 28 that has some significant holster wear (old cop gun). I've heard mixed opinions about re-bluing. Well I'll ask anyway. Does it work? Is it worth it? Or should I just let my old soldier enjoy it's semi-retirement bearing it's "war wounds"?
We talked to the S&W reps at the shooter's fair a few months ago, and they told us that it was the costs of clean up and the hazardous by products of the bluing process that made S&W stop bluing their guns. I have a 586 too and it was a limited run. That being said - WHO'S GOT A S&W BLUED 44 MAG THEYRE WILLING TO SELL ME??? 
Just kidding - no more guns for the rest of the year for me - I'm only allowed to purchase a shotgun between now and Dec. 31.
Just kidding - no more guns for the rest of the year for me - I'm only allowed to purchase a shotgun between now and Dec. 31.All and all, I think it depends on you. Do you want the gun to have great collectors value or do you want it as a nice beautiful shooter for yourself. If the latter, go ahead and reblue it.
Rebluing will decrease the value of the collector's value of the gun depending on how little wear there already is on the gun. If most of the original bluing is all but gone then go ahead and reblue it, it won't really affect the value. If it is just a little holster wear on say the end of the muzzel and on the bottom of the trigger guard then rebluing will decrease the value.
That's what several people have told me
Mastrogiacomo
New member
I personally prefer blued guns which is why I got the 36LS myself. I plan to get the model 10 this year or early next. As my father always says, "There's something special about a blued gun."
Mastrogiacomo
New member
I'll probably get the older version as it's much cheaper and I need to watch my money. My favorite is the pencil barrel though, but I'd take a heavy barrel too if in good shape. I just think the model 10 is a cool looking gun.
Yup, know whatcha mean. I like that plain jane look of a simple police .38. I have the M10 Colt counterpart the Colt Official Police. My dad has a pencil barrel M10 and loves it. Those two guns don't have all the bulk and flashiness of so many recent guns. Not too big, not too small, but just right for getting the job done. 40 years ago they were as prominant as the Glock 9mm is today. And they are still a good fundamental weapon. Their simplicity makes them as you said, a very cool gun. 