Stainless steel for actions of guns?

[His lordship.]

I traditionally use blued carbon steel in my guns, but times change as the gun makers are pushing more for this material in their catalogs.  I bought a new Ruger 10/45 .22 caliber pistol the other day with a stainless steel action.  Checking the Ruger catalog I noticed that the models that are intended for heavy use, the "target and competition" models use stainless, the general hunting/plinking types are blued steel.  This seems to me that they are saying that stainless is better.

The new Smith and Wesson M & P uses a stainless slide with a black finish, for example.

I have read from the varmint and bench rifle shooters that stainless barrels hold up better.  In the early 80's when stainless was first used in guns they were either brittle or soft, Colt even bragged about not using it for their guns.  Don't hear that stuff anymore.  Is stainless steel better wearing for actions and barrels now, or about the same as blued carbon steel?

[kynardsj]

I have heard that military weapons aren't made of stainless because it heats up quicker and takes longer to cool. None of my stuff is military or intended for military use so I'm in the process of swapping out all my guns for stainless models. Not that they shoot any better or any worse but I like the fact that they're much more resistant to the elements. If I'm in a place that's wet for an extended period of time I don't worry about rust. I still wipe them off with a light coat of oil after exposure to wet but that's just me.

[Keith L]

Stainless used to be quite difficult to machine so steel makers alloyed it with elements that provided micro cracking to allow chips to break and be eliminated during machining.  It was so evident in the early stainless that repeated firing could cause heat related problems.

Metal science has much improved as well as machining tools and practices.  It is much less a problem now than it was.  I also am going with stainless for any new guns I buy now due to Wisconsin's trait of either raining or snowing when I go out to play.

[trotterlg]

The stainless used in guns is not really stainless, more like stain resistant.  It will still rust if mis treated badly enough.  It is also magnetic which true stainless is not.  It does like different grease and oil than what a blued gun does plus threads and other sliding surfaces are slightly more prone to galling.  I find it slightly more difficult to machine.  It's not bad, just different.  Larry

[Victor3]

The stainless used in guns is not really stainless, more like stain resistant.  It will still rust if mis treated badly enough.  It is also magnetic which true stainless is not.  It does like different grease and oil than what a blued gun does plus threads and other sliding surfaces are slightly more prone to galling.  I find it slightly more difficult to machine.  It's not bad, just different.  Larry

 Stainless steel is defined as "an iron-base alloy containing chromium." Magnetic/non-magnetic has nothing to do with one or another type being "true stainless."

 There's no steel that's impervious to corrosion or 'staining.' In reality, all stainless steels are only 'stain resistant' to one degree or another.

 The difficulty in machining various stainless steels depends largely on the percentage of chromium and/or nickel in the alloy. Some, like 303, are close to mild carbon steel on the machinability index. Other types are extremely difficult to machine and often require carbide cutting tools.

 Gun manufacturers use various stainless alloys, and more than one alloy in the same stainless-based gun depending upon the mechanical requirements of specific parts. Some can be fairly soft (frame, bbl, sights, etc.), others (trigger assy, springs, etc.) require a tougher/harder alloy and/or heat treatment.

http://www.materialsengineer.com/E-Stainless-Steel.htm

[His lordship.]

After reading your kind responses on the magnet and different stainless steel qualities on one gun, I put a magnet to my new Ruger 22/45 and lo and behold, the magnet sticks hard to the barrel and bolt, but very little to the receiver.  So, the steel is not the same on the gun.  This has been a learning experience. 

[trotterlg]

Yes, you see by experience that the word "Stainless" is used somewhat loosely by the firearms industry.  Now try putting it away wet and see what you get.  Saying that a gun is "stainless steel" can mean it is made from a very wide range of materials, some of which are not much better at preventing corrosion than what a blued rifle would be.  Larry

200 Series—austenitic iron-chromium-nickel-manganese alloys
300 Series—austenitic iron-chromium-nickel alloys
Type 301—highly ductile, for formed products. Also hardens rapidly during mechanical working.
Type 303—equivalent to ISO [2] A1. Free machining version of 304 via addition of sulfur
Type 304—the most common; the classic 18/8 stainless steel; equivalent to ISO A2.
Type 316—for food and medical uses; Alloy addition of molybdenum to prevent specific forms of corrosion; equivalent to ISO A4.
400 Series—ferritic and martensitic alloys
Type 408—heat-resistant; poor corrosion resistance; 11% chromium, 8% nickel.
Type 409—cheapest type; used for automobile exhausts; ferritic (iron/chromium only).
Type 410—martensitic (high-strength iron/chromium); equivalent to ISO C1.
Type 420—"Cutlery Grade" martensitic; similar to the Brearley's original "rustless steel".
Type 430—decorative, e.g. for automotive trim; ferritic.

[Dand]

For all the warnings I've seen about stainless guns rusting or corroding, I haven't seen one do it yet. I have a rifle with a stainless barrel built in 1981 by HS Precision that has never shown a sign of any rust even though it has spent many days in the rain during many hunts. Some hunts have been so wet I've just left it on a rack in the rain outside the tent for days. I have a couple Ruger revolvers that have seen similar treatment. I've never seen any rust on or in them. While some of my blued guns have tried to turn orange all over in the same hunt. My old M94 has a serious case of rust measles right now and I'm looking at a steel wool session on it. It and my stainless HS gun had a 4 day soaking in near constant rain.

I HAVE worked around salt water with "stainless" calipers and other items that have developed rust spots even pits- so I know some "stainless" will rust /corrode.

Now, I haven't had my rifles soaked in salt spray or water like the tools above but I have hunted in mild salt water environments a bit. I suppose a stainless gun in a saltwater marsh might be a good test - haven't tried that.

[SHOOTALL]

I shot a Ruger SBH 10 1/2 inch bbl in IMHSA . I found one blue  and it was very accurate . I had two in SS and nither shot as well as the blue gun . This was in the 80's and early 90's . Things change . I see alot of AR target guns with SS bbls , some say if you want to be competitive you have to go SS. Well maybe , I have SRH's one blue one SS and the blue out shoots the SS. The blue is 5.5 bbl and the SS is 7.5 - go figure
I guess a good bbl is a good bbl no matter the metal as long as it is good metal.
As far as stain resistant , all SS is stain RESISTANT not rust proof .

[kynardsj]

The "stainless" in guns will certainly rust. A friends 22 semi auto Ruger pistol used to look so bad we ask him if he buried it when not shooting it. An Encore I bought recently had some spots on it that I had to clean up. I still oil my stainless guns but if I can't do it for a day or so in wet weather, like being in a hunting camp, I don't worry about it like I would a blue gun.

[SHOOTALL]

If you know you might get the gun wet wax it before ya go . Been protecting the metal on cars for years .