How do you deal with cosmetic damage to a pretty gun?
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starnbar
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Me I use what I have ex rays of me show fractured ribs and my skin has plenty of scars some over 1 foot long plus the road rash that took the pigment out of my shoulder and lower arm my rifles and pistols show some of the same but I still have full use of two arms and two legs so do my firearms.
.45Coltguy
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Remain calm fellow shooters. Read post #2 again. Slowly. This will solve all problems.
Reloadron
Contributing Member
Cosmetic damage? Cosmetic repair. Well within limits anyway. 
Ron
Ron
Paul R Zartman
Contributing Member
#2 post, unless really bad, then Bourbon
Mark_Mark
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It’s like when you buy a Sports Car like a S2000 (me) and baby the car, don’t corner so hard, No hard shifting…. then you get Dent
that when the car comes ALIVE! Heel toe Downshifting thur the whole gear range, 7,500 RPM on every gear, Hard cornering and watching for spring compression! YOU THE MAN (<<<ME)
Same with your high End Gun! Let it live and run and breath!
that when the car comes ALIVE! Heel toe Downshifting thur the whole gear range, 7,500 RPM on every gear, Hard cornering and watching for spring compression! YOU THE MAN (<<<ME)
Same with your high End Gun! Let it live and run and breath!
Mark_Mark
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Bourbon comes out for 2 reason.
You really dropped it, optic popped off, double charge and slide is cracked..
or
You literally are having a date night with said gun. We all been there
Why fret over the inevitable, unless you never remove that safe queen from its original packaging or fondle it with linen gloves, it will still show handling marks. I’ve found that polymer is the worst for that. Beer and bourbon has my vote.
.308 Norma
Member
Honestly, not well at all. That's one of the reasons I like synthetic stocks and bead-blasted stainless.
Shanghai McCoy
Member
One of the "advantages" of getting old is that usually when I see a scratch or dent I wonder how it got there..?
Howland937
Member
I rationalize owning pretty guns because that's what I like. It's easier to see and appreciate the craftsmanship in something fitted by hand, checkered, polished to a deep blue mirror. I've been the guy that put that first ding on more than a couple. I've also sold the nicest guns I've ever owned because I didn't wanna be that guy. I've since learned that a gun can possess all the traits I cherish without being in mint condition, so I don't seek them or try to maintain them that way.
I get where the OP is coming from. I take care of my stuff as much as possible (always have). Even my Airguns as a kid had cases and were kept clean and wiped down. They still work well and look good to this day. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Take care of your things and they will stay nice.
For hunting or something outdoors I tend to stick with synthetic stocks and if possible stainless but there are ways around that as well.There are wraps out there for camo that might be worth a try. Biggest thing with hunting is weather wear. For that Eezox or Wax is your friend. When I hunted a lot (younger days with Grandparents) I always kept my rifle in the case until we were inside the deer blind. Thats not really active hunting though. More like Deer fishing.
If I was hunting on foot through the brush I would probably check into wraps of some sort and see whats out there. If nothing else you could try getting materials together and making something. 3mm neoprene might be a good place to start. Maybe make a sleeve to cover the barrel. Even my range gun optics have home made neoprene slip covers to protect them.
For hunting or something outdoors I tend to stick with synthetic stocks and if possible stainless but there are ways around that as well.There are wraps out there for camo that might be worth a try. Biggest thing with hunting is weather wear. For that Eezox or Wax is your friend. When I hunted a lot (younger days with Grandparents) I always kept my rifle in the case until we were inside the deer blind. Thats not really active hunting though. More like Deer fishing.
If I was hunting on foot through the brush I would probably check into wraps of some sort and see whats out there. If nothing else you could try getting materials together and making something. 3mm neoprene might be a good place to start. Maybe make a sleeve to cover the barrel. Even my range gun optics have home made neoprene slip covers to protect them.
Mark_Mark
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I’m disorganized and dirty as sin. I throw my guns in canvas bag cases because it takes less space. my optic lens caps are thrown in the trash. I dinged so many new guns before using them.
Riomouse911
Member
Only twice have I been truly bummed about dinging a gun.
One is an “idiot scratch” on my SA V-16 .45 Super. Learned the hard way how to properly put a 1911 together after that boneheaded move.
Second was when a freak wind gust hit me while shooting. It flopped the hard case holding my son and my brand new Henry lever .22’s into the gravel, nicking both guns up. This was all because I got complacent about where I set the case down.
Most of the guns I have bought recently have been used, a couple abused. The abused guns I had either fully or partially refinished, but those guns still have “character.” Honest use is just that, it may even help spur a memory of a great hunt or your first 25-straight at the trap range.
Here is a list 3” Model 36 that “King of all Bubbas” stripped of bluing and “polished “ it with what looked like steel wool.
Before:
After:
Not pristine, but not bad.
I also had to have some pretty serious pitting cleaned up and reblued on the left side (at the grip) of an otherwise very clean Model 57:
I wont shed many tears as these guns get use marks from being shot.
Stay safe.
One is an “idiot scratch” on my SA V-16 .45 Super. Learned the hard way how to properly put a 1911 together after that boneheaded move.
Second was when a freak wind gust hit me while shooting. It flopped the hard case holding my son and my brand new Henry lever .22’s into the gravel, nicking both guns up. This was all because I got complacent about where I set the case down.
Most of the guns I have bought recently have been used, a couple abused. The abused guns I had either fully or partially refinished, but those guns still have “character.” Honest use is just that, it may even help spur a memory of a great hunt or your first 25-straight at the trap range.
Here is a list 3” Model 36 that “King of all Bubbas” stripped of bluing and “polished “ it with what looked like steel wool.
Before:
After:
Not pristine, but not bad.
I also had to have some pretty serious pitting cleaned up and reblued on the left side (at the grip) of an otherwise very clean Model 57:
I wont shed many tears as these guns get use marks from being shot.
Stay safe.
sheesh, some of you folks really mistreat your firearms. To each his own though. Just dont complain when things start breaking and say the firearm is a piece of junk. Seen that lots over the years. Youtube is full of those silly type videos. No point in buying new or high grade firearms. Just buy solid shooters and save the money for ammo. Better yet buy broken stuff and fix it. I enjoy ressurecting abused orphan firearms makeing there way through the secondary market. Deep pitting is always the worse unless some joker disguises something thats been in a house fire.
Riomouse... how on earth did you let the pitting get that bad on that nice S&W 57? I hope you bought it that way.
Riomouse... how on earth did you let the pitting get that bad on that nice S&W 57? I hope you bought it that way.
I dont use the plastic boxes because they are bulky but a decent soft gun rug is inexpensive ($5-$6) and give pistols a lot of protection. I usually just purchase from ACE CASE. My spare magazines even get cases. If nothing else a clean old rag and tie it with an old shoe lace before you just toss it in a range bag.
.38 Special
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You Lie HaHa. I have seen pictures of your pistols. They all look great and well kept.
Ignition Override
Member
If it is/was an actual “combat rifle” or a clone, then it can add character, even when such rifle was Not Carried or used in combat.
Especially on magazines of my G3 clones (pair of PTR-91), VZ-58 and AKMs.
The faded, partly scratched appearances mean “ all business “.
Scout21: several years ago I bought a Service Grade Special M-1 Garand at the CMP Anniston store.
It was so attractive that I never even tried out the gun. It was sold on Armslist and had been my second Garand.
Especially on magazines of my G3 clones (pair of PTR-91), VZ-58 and AKMs.
The faded, partly scratched appearances mean “ all business “.
Scout21: several years ago I bought a Service Grade Special M-1 Garand at the CMP Anniston store.
It was so attractive that I never even tried out the gun. It was sold on Armslist and had been my second Garand.
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230RN
2A was "political" when it was first adopted.
Dings and dents from honest usage have to be accepted but of course corrected if possible.
They're like campaign ribbons on a soldier's chest reflecting good and true service.
I remember AA's protocol was 12 steps.
Terry, friend of Bill's, 230RN, working on my 30-year chip --February 9th 1993 at 7:47 PM MST
Not to derail the thread, but one must celebrate one's victories.
REFs:
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+friend+of+Bill's
\https://findrecovery.com/how-do-i-get-an-aa-chip/
Fund a pic of that bookend dealie...
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=192169&d=1386618633
They're like campaign ribbons on a soldier's chest reflecting good and true service.
I remember AA's protocol was 12 steps.
Terry, friend of Bill's, 230RN, working on my 30-year chip --February 9th 1993 at 7:47 PM MST
Not to derail the thread, but one must celebrate one's victories.
REFs:
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+friend+of+Bill's
\https://findrecovery.com/how-do-i-get-an-aa-chip/
Fund a pic of that bookend dealie...
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=192169&d=1386618633
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Smaug
Member
Funny you should mention that. I was going to use my brushed stainless gun as an example.
Most people wouldn’t consider it a pretty gun, and I bought it with the idea that it would be zero hassle finish AND I thought it was pretty. It’s a Ruger SP-101.
How did I mar the finish? By storing it badly in a damp basement. I figured it would be OK, being stainless and all. Nope. It’s got a big patch of rust on one side and a small patch elsewhere. Really ticked me off. Wear and tear, I expect, but rust on a stainless gun?! It defeats the whole point.
If I hadn’t done a trigger job on it, I’d have asked Ruger to fix or replace it. I don’t want to do the trigger job again.
Howland937
Member
...always thought people were kidding about hiding guns in their back yard. Do you plant annuals or perennials on top to mark them?
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