Changing finish on stainless M77MkII

Help Support Ruger Forum:

LittleBigOz

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
21
Location
North Alabama
I have an M77MkII Sporter with the satin stainless finish. I'd like to have a less reflective stainless finish for deer hunting. If you have had this finish bead blasted, how did it turn out? Would appreciate any info on companies that you've used, and the approximate cost for the service. If you have any other suggestions or experiences with refinishing the stainless surfaces, please share that as well. Thanks.
 

rugerjunkie

Buckeye
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
1,962
Location
Kansas
Sure you could bead blast it. It would look just like the new Hawkeye rifle then. Or you could swap it for a Hawkeye and might be in it for the same money after you had it blasted. I am one in the group of many out there that doesn't like the new finish that Ruger is putting on rifles now. There are many topics about it you could read up on by using the search function.

My other opinion....anyone that thinks a satin stainless rifle scares off game is full of bull! I have several instances while out deer hunting when deer have been so close to me that I could reach out and swat them with my hand and have felt their breath on the back of my neck because they were standing right on top of me.

The fact that I had a shiny stainless gun and the blaze orange from head to toe didn't bother them a bit. Some people must hunt a smarter breed of deer than me...because the deer I hunt don't know ant better than to stay away from that bright stainless.

It is a personal preference for looks on which finish you prefer but does nothing to scare/not scare off game.
 

LittleBigOz

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
21
Location
North Alabama
My current rifle is chambered in .280 Rem. Given my investment in dies, brass, and bullets, I want to stick with that caliber but it's not available in the Hawkeye.

I have to side with you on aesthetics. The satin finsh looks much better than the matte finish.

You may be right about the stainless not scaring off game. I'm just trying to remove one more variable from the situation when I'm hunting from the ground. May be that when the deer is close by, hunter movement is a bigger challange than barrel finish.
 

JimHnSTL

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Messages
391
Location
St. Louis, MO
LittleBigOz":2qz6e2lf said:
My current rifle is chambered in .280 Rem.

i thought maybe i was the only guy that had a M77 Mark II all weather in .280 rem :D
ihave no issues with the satin finish, much prefer it over the newer hawkeye finish but this is your rifle we're talking about. have you tryed taking a scotch pad to it?
 

rugerjunkie

Buckeye
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
1,962
Location
Kansas
I would think a scotch pad would give more shine than you are looking for. If it were me I would leave the finish alone...it is easy to bead blast a satin gun...not so easy to do the reverse. Like you said , movement will do more to spook them than the rifles finish will ever do. I don't care for camo tape on guns because it can really mess up a finish but I do use camo when I am calling coyotes. I use a slip on camo "sock" that is elastic and fits the contours of the rifle pretty good. Maybe try something like that before changing the finish.
 

Pinecone

Blackhawk
Joined
Jan 29, 2007
Messages
970
Location
Maine
Ruger Junkie is on the right "path"! I was into bow hunting for deer real big at one time (14 kills total) and once did a "study" from one of my low tree stands where deer could look right at me if they were 10 to 12 yards away. I did these tests with the wind blowing in different directions, raining, sun out, etc., etc. I wore a bright yellow shirt and hat and standing up straight in the stand. Many, many deer looked up at me and not a one of them ever spooked because of my "bright" colored shirt! Deer have basically "three" senses that they use: Sight, smell and hearing. Normally when they put "2" of them together, they are out of there like a lightning bolt! Even with movement on my part, they sometimes would take a step back and just look at me "confused". As soon as they got a whiff of me, along with the movement, they were gone! I had a great place to hunt on 40 acres of private property with around 15 to 20 deer in that woods at most any time. I proved to myself at least, that the color business where deer are concerned is another one of those "myths" that die hard!...............................Dick :wink:
 

rugerjunkie

Buckeye
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
1,962
Location
Kansas
Pinecone,

Yup , I even had a nose print on the top of my XP-100 one year. I was lying prone and had the crosshairs on a nice buck waiting for him to come around some brush and while I lie there waiting 2 doe and their yearlings worked closer and closer till they were on top of me. One doe stood 1 foot away from my arm and stuck her nose right on the XP to take a sniff!! They knew something wasn't right but didn't know what till I touched the trigger!! That is when the sense of hearing kicked in. They had sight and smell but that time they needed hearing to figure it out... and when they had the 3rd piece of the puzzle presented to them they were in the next section in 2 minutes flat!!

I might go as far as saying maybe a shine on a rifle might be noticed by a deer but I doubt they pay much attention to it. Deer only see shades of black and white if I remember correctly. So that shine isn't going to look the same to them as it does to you and I.
 

bnewberry

Single-Sixer
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
227
Location
MICHIGAN
Interesting stuff!

I've mostly hunted mule deer and I've found that they believe their noses but will wait for confirmation on sight and sound.

If a deer smells me, they are gone. But I've had lots walk up to me looking at me the whole time.

Hey, maybe I just smell bad?
 

LittleBigOz

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
21
Location
North Alabama
rugerjunkie.

I too have had deer almost run over me in spite of my blaze orange, so I recognize that they see everything in shades of gray.

My only concern was in minimizing the barrel's reflectiveness. I like your idea of the camo sock and will start looking around for one.

Thanks for your input.
 

LittleBigOz

Bearcat
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
21
Location
North Alabama
mcknight77,

It's the sporter model with the laminated stock, no sights. It's a nice looking rifle. My original post was about possibly bead blasting the barrel. Don't know if I would be happy with that if I had that done.
 

valkrider8

Single-Sixer
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Messages
110
Location
PA
I thought I read somewhere that the only color deer can see is blue :?: Don't know if it's fact.

I have a stainless rifle and have been thinking about spraying with Duracoat. Anyone have any experience doing this?

I will say, I have seen a reflection of light off a hunting rifle several times in the woods. Sometimes that's what enabled me to locate the hunter, just a flash.
 

rugerjunkie

Buckeye
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
1,962
Location
Kansas
You aren't too far off valkrider. I found an interesting article for everyone to read. I was part right and also wrong on some things I thought I knew about a deers vision. I knew about the limited color vision and the effects of using laundry detergent with UV brighteners on hunting clothes. Read towards the bottom where it states that a deer can see the UV reflectivity from vinyl ,plastics , and BLUED GUN BARRELS. That was a new one for me...

http://www.northcountrywhitetails.com/a ... eersee.htm
 

RJ556

Buckeye
Joined
Nov 28, 2009
Messages
1,070
Location
Focsani, Romania
Valkrider8, I have had a good bit of experience with Duracoat. I built a "bunch" of AK's and used Duracoat on all of them that originally had a painted finish. I also Duracoated the stainless scope rings on my stainless Rugers. It is a very tough finish. It is applied with an airbrush. It is a catalyzed substance and doesn't require heat to cure but does require a couple of weeks without heat to completely harden. If you have any more questions, fire away!
 
Top