Poll: Revolvers: Do you prefer them blued or stainless?

[OldBroad44]

I may be wrong but in the old days I felt that since stainless is more difficult to machine, a blued steel gun would be of better quality. I did think that blued guns tended to have a better feel to their actions. Today quality has gone down to the point that it doesn't make any difference.

I grew up shooting before the stainless era. And I think it took a while for manufacturers to fully master using stainless, so the stainless guns weren't up to blue quality for a while. I think they are now. There is a confounding factor that older guns often got more hand finishing love and labor. so modern production run smiths are not as good as older production run smiths. After labor became more expensive they modified designs to cut labor costs. It's the older blued smiths that have the pinned barrels and chamfered charge holes. All stainless guns, as far as I know, came after the labor saving redesigning. I don't think a modern blue gun is any better than a modern stainless for the equivalent model. Both have the labor saving rather than higher quality design.

Note, however, the performance center pro series model 627. This is an 8 shot N frame stainless Smith with chamfered charge holes and a barrel with a recessed crown. Looks like sw is giving us the option of the higher grade design, and now in stainless, if we are willing to pay a little more. Beautiful design. (Covet, covet, drool.)

 

[JustSomeGuy]

Hey now..I'm sensing attitude here !

Unlike nammac, I can't pass for a millennial anymore {too much holster wear} so I'll admit that I still use a revolver for EDC.

Anyone else care to confess ?

Fessing up... My EDC is a 4" stainless 629 I bought at the PX on Fort Richardson in the early 80's and had ported by a local gunsmith in Anchorage. Preparing for multiple flames...

 

[Kruel J]

What's NOT to like here:

 

[OldBroad44]

Hey now..I'm sensing attitude here !

Unlike nammac, I can't pass for a millennial anymore {too much holster wear} so I'll admit that I still use a revolver for EDC.

Anyone else care to confess ?

Hey, my EDC is "Buddy", a 686 snubby with crimson trace laser grips. And I make no apologies. Buddy is reassuring to carry and enjoyable to shoot. Buddy is a great duck flock defender, capable of eliminating predators day or night close up, and day time sometimes at distances beyond what I can do with any standard semiauto. Buddy is great to carry in woods or for hiking and camping. Or for reassurance just walking at night around the neighborhood. (We have bears and a neighborhood cougar.) Accurate enough to hunt with. Buddy is courteous and considerate. Does not spit brass in my face or scatter it all over the environment. Buddy can shoot full wadcutters or 180 grain round nose flat point bullets with large meplates and sharp edges, some of the best and most affordable designs. The pistol versions of these have small meplates and round edges, just slightly different from full round nose. And best of all, when practicing I don't have to load mags. I detest reloading mags. Reloading a revolver is enjoyable, an almost zen act. For me, shooting a pistol and a revolver are totally different experiences. And what I most enjoy is a really good quality revolver.

 

[ThemGunsThough]

I grew up shooting before the stainless era. And I think it took a while for manufacturers to fully master using stainless, so the stainless guns weren't up to blue quality for a while. I think they are now. There is a confounding factor that older guns often got more hand finishing love and labor. so modern production run smiths are not as good as older production run smiths. After labor became more expensive they modified designs to cut labor costs. It's the older blued smiths that have the pinned barrels and chamfered charge holes. All stainless guns, as far as I know, came after the labor saving redesigning. I don't think a modern blue gun is any better than a modern stainless for the equivalent model. Both have the labor saving rather than higher quality design.

Note, however, the performance center pro series model 627. This is an 8 shot N frame stainless Smith with chamfered charge holes and a barrel with a recessed crown. Looks like sw is giving us the option of the higher grade design, and now in stainless, if we are willing to pay a little more. Beautiful design. (Covet, covet, drool.)

I was comparing my fathers old blued .357 with 6.5" barrel(purchased around 82-83) with his recently purchased model 29 classic with 6.5" barrel and while they looked nearly identical, it was obvious the bluing of the older smith was superior to the newer one. I love the the actual gun metal color of the old S&W bluing.

 

[jbett98]

Vintage Colt Royal Blue is a thing of beauty, but a brilliant polish finish on a stainless steel Python is a close second.

 

[nammac]

Hey now..I'm sensing attitude here !

Unlike nammac, I can't pass for a millennial anymore {too much holster wear} so I'll admit that I still use a revolver for EDC.

Anyone else care to confess ?

Hey now, who you callin a millennial? I'm the tail end of the baby boomers...

I've been known to carry a 2" .38....

REVOLVER....

Get your mind out of the gutter ....

 

[Ruger Rich]

Certainly part of my love for fire arms is how they look, appear, cosmetics. I was raised on blued guns and wood stocks. Just like Mom's cooking, sometimes other things just don't come close. I own mostly blued weapons and most of my rifles are wood stocked. I'm well aware of the practicality of stainless and synthetic stocks. I have some, and they came to me because they were a caliber I wanted or had some other feature that made them attractive. If I had to choose 'tween blued and stainless, it would always be blued.

 

[Hawaiian]

Stainless. Less maintenance. I am lazy.

 

[David Wilson]

There's nothing like good old-fashioned blue. It is beautiful -- when done right. Sadly, my hands tend to be a bit acidic, and they like eating finishes. Now, most of my older Smiths tend to stand up to this pretty well, but I find that more recent S&W bluing absolutely sucks. I've had two recent Smiths (A 29-8 and a PPK) and both exhibit the kind of wear you'd normally see in much older guns -- the 29's backstrap is now totally gray, and the PPK's front strap is mottled gray and blue. It's kind of ugly. The bluing on my older Smiths does not seem to be as weak; it's also a shinier, more attractive finish than the recent guns I've seen. Now, with stainless steel, this whole thing is moot. Are the stainless guns as pretty as the blued ones? Maybe, maybe not. But they are more durable -- you generally don't have to worry about their finish. Still, I have more blued revolvers in my collection... I like them both, for different reasons....

 

[OldBroad44]

There's nothing like good old-fashioned blue. It is beautiful -- when done right. Sadly, my hands tend to be a bit acidic, and they like eating finishes. Now, most of my older Smiths tend to stand up to this pretty well, but I find that more recent S&W bluing absolutely sucks. I've had two recent Smiths (A 29-8 and a PPK) and both exhibit the kind of wear you'd normally see in much older guns -- the 29's backstrap is now totally gray, and the PPK's front strap is mottled gray and blue. It's kind of ugly. The bluing on my older Smiths does not seem to be as weak; it's also a shinier, more attractive finish than the recent guns I've seen. Now, with stainless steel, this whole thing is moot. Are the stainless guns as pretty as the blued ones? Maybe, maybe not. But they are more durable -- you generally don't have to worry about their finish. Still, I have more blued revolvers in my collection... I like them both, for different reasons....

Right. Beauty of a gun is really important to many of us. And of course, it's in the eye of the beholder. One thing that puzzles me is so many of the SW performance center hunting revolvers are just so atrociously ugly. At least to my eye.

 

[ob1]

Hey now, who you callin a millennial? I'm the tail end of the baby boomers...

Well then,...my apologies. Must be all that Chick-fil-A.

 

[Fast Eddie]

I have a DW44 which has some of the most mis-matched blueing you've ever seen, but that's how you know you have a factory blued DW. My Smiths are stainless and I could be carrying my 649 on any given day, but I do polish it for weddings and special occasions. My 686 is a real nice shooter too. They all are. I have to say that they take more care and feeding than my semi autos, and my semi autos are more reliable than the revolvers have been. I love revolvers, but those are the facts.

 

[RVTECH]

After a lifetime of loving blue - I bought this (reluctantly - because I really wanted blue) only because of a GREAT PRICE on a Friday evening at closing time at a local LGS after a lot of haggling - and fell in love with SS - Then I bought the Smiths WILLINGLY - I am a 'convert' to SS!

 

[clearconscience]

I'm kinda weird in this way.
I only like stainless revolvers and blued semi-autos

 

[01rednavigator]

What's NOT to like here:

View attachment 449453

SEXY!

 

[Kruel J]

SEXY!

Not too shabby for over 6k down the tube.

 

[Kruel J]

I'm kinda weird in this way.
I only like stainless revolvers and blued semi-autos

Same!!

 

[Kruel J]

Not too shabby for over 6k down the tube.

And it toight like a tiger!

 

[01rednavigator]

Not too shabby for over 6k down the tube.