Blued Revolver

[Dolphin]

How do you take care of a blued revolver vs stainless? Do you have to baby them? I found a great price on a 4" but i've never had a blued weapon. I'ts a beautiful piece, do they stay that way? This is to be carried and shot frequently.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Roadrunner]

I have a blued 1911 that I've carried for about a year and a half. It's finish hasn't worn too badly, just some shiny spots around the edges. It won't stay that way though. I've seen quite a few older blued guns and the finish WILL get worn away over time. Any finish will. Blued guns are more prone to rust than stainless, so if you sweat a lot or live in a humid environment I would stay away from blued guns for carry. The cool thing is that IMO a well cared for blued gun develops a lot of character with use. It's not as pretty, but it still looks nice. If the finish wears and you don't like it, you can always get it hard chromed down the line for a couple hundred bucks.

[cmidkiff]

I have far more blue than other finished guns... just like the look of blue and wood firearms.

I carry a hard chromed P3AT daily, it's nearly imune to abuse.

I keep my nice, blued guns protected from such abuse. I do carry OWB with a blued gun once in a while, making sure that I clean it and oil it afterwords.

Police carried blued revolvers for decades, they hold up pretty well, but any gun you carry daily is going to show wear. If it's a collector piece you want to keep pristine, don't carry it on a daily basis, regardless of the finish.

[nn]

They can show holster wear esp with leather holsters. You will have to wipe them down after handling.

[bmcgilvray]

Fifteen seconds with a rag with a bit of RIG in it banishes rust.

I love blued steel firearms. Even the ones with wear patterns are attractive to me.

[dogrunner]

An awful lot of it just depends on the climate in which you live. I carried a nickled 19 for a lotta years as a cop due the coastal Fla. area wherein I worked. MY gun held up well as I wiped in frequently, but even at that I noted some "bubbling" of the nickle under the grips.

I have even seen stainless guns carried by officers with rust because they were neglected, conversely I've also seen blued service guns that had little deterioration, other than holster wear......It all just comes down to how much care you take of that piece.

That said, if I was using one in a salt marine environment I'd opt for either stainless or one of the new polymer finishes..

[pogo2]

A blued revolver that spends a lot of time going in and out of holsters will eventually start to wear on the high points, at the end of the barrel and the front edge of the cylinder. You will be able to see the gray steel of the gun peeking out. As far as rust goes, the best way to avoid it is to keep the gun clean and wipe it off frequently with a rag and a small amount of gun oil. If you are around salt water or sweat a lot, your gun will be more likely to rust.

If you are concerned about the visual appearance of worn bluing or the possibility of rust, you may be better to go with a stainless steel or stainless and aluminum revolver.

Blue finish will last a long time on a gun that is not carried in a holster, however. Here is a shot of my S&W model 27 that I bought used 40 years ago - the gun was made in the 1950s. I have used it at the range frequently but it has never been in a holster while I owned it, and the finish is still pretty good. The muzzle wear in the blueing was there when I bought it in 1967:

[P95Carry]

Just to add to the pic trend ..... I have non carry N frame Smiths and they keep their blue very well .. but even that deep luster blue can and will wear off at contact points if carried. Worst usually is either side of muzzle and, front edges of cylinder.

Here is a M29-3 with the classic Smith blue - shame to disturb that - but by contrast and even tho a Taurus with maybe a lesser depth of blue, look at the holster wear on that!

[Bark'n]

I have 3 revolvers all in stainless steel with a satin finish.

My semi-autos are all blued so go figure.

In stainless I like the brushed satin finish as opposed to a bright chromed or nickle finish, but that is just my personal taste. I wouldn't use that as a deal breaker on any of them though.

Your info says you live in Las Vegas so you won't need to worry about high salt water humidity of living in a coastal area like Florida so I would say whatever your personal preference is.

Blued guns need a little more care with the finish than stainless, but no gun should be neglected.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!