what are the advantages and disadvantages of a stainless steel shotgun like this one... http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossb.../New/50273.jpg
in a shtf situation, i know looks don't matter but i would say this is the most beautiful firearm around and i normally don't like stainless steel
It do look good indeed !!! Are you sure it's stainless ??? Mossberg has a coating named Marine coat and they used/use it on some of there HD. shotguns.
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Last edited by ArkansasHunter; 12-10-2009 at 06:13 AM.
I know someone will really take me to task over this and that is o.k.
If you are a reasonable shooter who keeps his shotgun cleaned and lightly oiled you will never get any advantage from a stainless or electro-coated
shotgun. Have a good gun case to store the gun when not in use.
If, however, you neglect your gun and live in conditions of high moisture and/or salt water then it might be worth it.
I lived in New Orleans for several years and my guns did just fine as I kept them clean and lightly oiled with three in one oil. They stayed in a gun case when not in use.
ok... maybe i should clarify, i was thinking more along the lines of advantages and disadvantages if i ever got into combat using it or something like that, trying to hide from someone things like that is what i was really loking for
It's a fairly simple matter to duracoat or just spray paint a gun. Take your time and practice a little before hand and it can even look good, and with stainless steel, you haven't 'HURT' the gun with the paint and you can easily soak it in paint stripper to take it off.
I'm a big fan of stainless. Sure, it wears more than traditional carbon steel but rust is almost a non-issue in a SHTF scenario. Stainless is great if you plan on sweating on the weapon or can't spare a cloth to clean the outside.
I'm pretty sure that shotgun is 'marinecoate' which is like a nickle plating, not stainless. SO the steal will be just as wear resistant as a blue weapon and more resistant to rust than blue, maybe even more resistant than stainless. Of course, the internal areas (unless they are stainless, not just coated) will be susceptible to rust. I'll say this though. My dad had a Browning pump 12 gauge while I was growing up. We duck hunted with this thing. It saw mud and sand and got dropped in the water NUMEROUS times and it's never had much more than a coat of oil inside and the internals have never jammed up. This shotgun saw 20 years of use in the worst conditions, but was cleaned well and kept in a locker at the end of every season and, while the wood is cracking and the barrel shows a lot of rust, it still shoots GREAT to this day. It's gotten a little stiff though, but never locked up.
Point: I like stainless, but blue is almost always good enough.
Last edited by BarryHalls; 12-12-2009 at 04:08 PM.
Having a gun with a stainless finish would just be a matter of personal preference. The way I see it whether for home defense or hunting a stainless gun would not be a good choice because detectability is increased. Blued or black barrels would lesson your chance of being seen first. My opinion is if you want a stainless barrel you either want it for looks, or you're too lazy to clean the weapon. However, the stainless barrel would not rust in corrosive type environments such as the beach. This isn't foolproof though because I've never seen a gun made of all S.S. The parts are still vulnerable to rust. I don't have any guns in stainless and probably will never get one unless I pick the right 6 numbers and am wealthy enough to buy one for the looks. The way I see it either will get the projectiles where you point them.
that just sucks... i would have thought there as some advantage... besides the durability which apperently pales in comparison to the disadvantages...that really just sucks
As Da Mc said, the internal parts are still prone to rust. The Florida Marine Patrol uses stainless shotties (or did when I moved out). The externals don't rust as much, but they typically don't shoot or clean as much either. Most officers I know use the "throw & go" strategy and only clean and qualifiy when ordered to do so. Blued firearms are fine as long as you clean them after using or after exposure to the elements.
Stainless steel will only stain less. I have seen plenty of stainless firearms rust after being abused and not properly taken care of. One of my brothers has a 10-22 with a stainless barrel and it rusted pretty bad after seeing some bad weather and being put in a gunsafe still cold and wet. I was there when he took it out a couple months later. He used steel wool to remove the rust. Guess what. The steel in the steel wool will embeded into the stainless finish. I visisted a couple weeks later and the entire barrel was covered by rust. He had to "polish" the rust out and it was actualy stained with a black, almost blueing type stain.
He ended up painting the barrel and has had no further problems.
the only all stainless shotgun i have heard of is the AA-12, and even then the AA-12 has a black polystock and uses black drums so in the end, i would rather have a good blued shotty with a rag and a can of 3 n 1, then to have a bright-shine-shoot-me-i'm-over-here-gun, ya know what i mean...
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Hey binabik if you like the gun and already bought it all is not lost. If concealment is a concern remove the barrel and spray it with high temperature flat black paint. The paint won't be affected by the barrel heating up and you have the option of stripping the paint off later without hurting the metal. Good luck. M.C.
no i haven't bought it and i guess if i ever do it will be one of the last ones... of course i am trying to get in shape for the navy so in that case it migt be preatty good but i can't seem to get my weight down and my stregth up for that so... oh well
Not all finishs are created equal. I had one Ruger semi auto pistol that would rust if you looked at it cross eyed. Never have I had a gun that would rust like that one. Other Ruger pistols and rifles that held up fine. I learned loan a rifle to a son. You get it back after it sat in a gun case uncleaned for 6 months and had rust through the blueing in several places.
Bottom line is that I like stainless nichel coated guns. Just don't let the bad guy get closs enough to see the color. Or if he does get closs he can see you are armed and ready.
Hey binabik if you like the gun and already bought it all is not lost. If concealment is a concern remove the barrel and spray it with high temperature flat black paint. The paint won't be affected by the barrel heating up and you have the option of stripping the paint off later without hurting the metal. Good luck. M.C.
Do you guys know how long it would take for a shotgun to rust through to the point of being unsafe? You'll be out of shells and teeth before that happens.
They make that for people to throw in their saltwater boats and leave it there forever. I wouldn't buy the gun for the coating. Also, not sure if the barrel is lined, but don't permanently store your 870 in the saltwater aquarium and you should be just fine.
