Weatherproof Gun- Stainless of Cerakote CM

[kfrye]

In the interest of building a weatherproof rifle for a wet climate (Alaska)- is their a disadvantage to Cerakoting a chrome moly gun rather than a stainless- or even cerakoting a stainless rifle? Will the cerakote protect the chrome moly no matter what?

[J E Custom]

Originally Posted by kfrye

In the interest of building a weatherproof rifle for a wet climate (Alaska)- is their a disadvantage to Cerakoting a chrome moly gun rather than a stainless- or even cerakoting a stainless rifle? Will the cerakote protect the chrome moly no matter what?

There are nice coatings that do a good job but they can't protect the bore, so for Alaska
I would look for a stainless action,a stainless barrel and eather a high end composite or
a good laminate stock. also a good stainless trigger like the Jewel.

There is no such thing as a weather proof rifle only a weather resistant one.

I have stainless barrels that were coated for looks but the stainless is the real protection.

In severe weather I use a finger glove over the muzzle whether it is chrome molly or
stainless.

J E CUSTOM

[kfrye]

Thanks J E

I figured the synthetic option as a given- and you are correct in calling it weather resistant, not weather proof.

Hopefully, some Alaska hunters will chime in here on how tough the area is on blued finish rifles.

[oneeyedmac]

Krieger says not to use Stainless Steel in extreme cold. Have you thought about Black Nitride? That will not only make it weatherproof, it'll make it scratch proof and tripple the life of the barrel. The treat the whole barrel, including the bore. Google H&M, they are in Ohio and do a nice job.

[J E Custom]

Originally Posted by oneeyedmac

Krieger says not to use Stainless Steel in extreme cold. Have you thought about Black Nitride? That will not only make it weatherproof, it'll make it scratch proof and tripple the life of the barrel. The treat the whole barrel, including the bore. Google H&M, they are in Ohio and do a nice job.

As Lilja said :This is a old wives tale and needs to be chilled.

In order for Stainless to lose any strength it has to get well below the temperatures that
a person could stand to hunt in or even survive very long.

Materials that are used in fire arms will handel temperature's that we can't (hot or cold)

So Using stainless or chrome molly does not matter as far as strength.

J E CUSTOM

[J E Custom]

One reason that I recomend Stainless Barrels is that some people don't seem to properly
care for there rifles and as a results many things can happen to them and the Stainless
just seems to hold up better.

The most common things are - not cleaning the barrel or the action properly or not
at all. when I say properly I mean clean and free of dirt, copper,solvent and inspected
before wiping it down with a light Cote of oil. I have had to re barrel many rifles because
of pitting. Some were rusted and some were etched from leaving solvents in the barrel or
not removing all of it before storing. The worst example of this was a barrel that had a
stuck case and the owner decided to pour solvent in it and leave it for several weeks to
dissolve the brass stuck in the chamber. (That's right, that's what he said).

Stainless barrels can be etched if solvents are left in to long and are ammonia bases solvents.

I have removed rifles from there stocks and found stuff under the action and in the trigger
that was older than I am.

I also like to fire a fouling shot just before I go hunting and I may leave it this way for
several weeks before cleaning and I wouldn't/couldn't recomend that you do this with a
chrome Molly barrel.

So if you are anal about handling and care and cleaning then the chrome molly barrels
are fine but when hunting you can't all take the care that you would if at the range or
at home so I recomend Stainless.

J E CUSTOM

[phorwath]

J E,

Good advice. I agree.

I often find it much tougher to baby and provide tender loving care for my rifles when hunting in Alaska, compared to the other states. It's a combination of some potentially poorer weather conditions, saltwater environment, and less comfortable and less controlled housing. Often camping is small unheated tents, and when the weather is wet and there's no heated tent or cabin, the rifles and gear stay damp until the weather clears or the hunt is over.

Stainless is the way I go, along with synthetic stocks. If a fella didn't like the stainless look, he could always Cerakote the stainless barreled action any color desired. I've considered the Cerakote but haven't had it done to one of my rifles as of yet. The stainless seems to tide me over during the hunts, until I can get back to a controlled environment and conduct the after-the-hunt cleaning.

All of my chrome moly barreled actions that I've hunted with up here for any period of time have some visible rust on them. I've sold most of them and converted to stainless. I don't mind some visible rust. I accepted it as a fact of life up here with chrome moly steel. But I don't like to have my bores corrode, so I migrated to stainless long ago.