doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Case colour is ugly!

Hi:

There I bared my soul and said it! I think that case colours are akin to bruises on a beautiful girl's face. They are not natural and hide the true beauty.

I recently purchased a Beretta Silver Pigeon in a lower grade to avoid buying a more expensive model that was cc due to my idea that cc is ugly! Did anybody ever paint a car. room or house in case colours? Any fabric in case colours? My nest Lexus will be custom painted in CC. lol

I have put my flame proof suit on and I am ready to take the heat.

Best to all,

Franchi

Plain flat bluing is to case colors what Plain-Jane floodplain black walnut is to nicely marbled English walnut.

There is a time and place for each.

Wonder if a lexus would look better hot dipped or rust blued. If it's someones cup-o-tea, there's a place for well done case colors. If nothing else, I'd hope the various classics don't end up with buffed polishes and mirror blues.

Franchi,

I wouldn't expect you to get much heat for your opinion of case colors as liking them or not is a matter of preference. As a manufacturing sort myself I admit that I rather enjoy the looks of a gun, even the likes of a car, in it's unfinished state as it gives one the ability to appreciate the details of the manufacturing processes. Then again much of what I see as beauty in firearms are the finishes. I especially like the way a good oil finish brings out the light reflecting qualities of some grain structures in a fine piece of walnut. To me good case colors add more interest to a receiver than a bare steel or blued finish, much as I feel an opal is a far more interesting gem than a diamond. I'm a traditionalist but see your point as well. As to case colours being "akin to bruises on a beautiful girls face", the other side of the coin could be that properly applied make-up can turn an already beautiful girl (woman) into a knockout.

Regards,

Buchseman

Case color, like bluing, runs the gamut from "mudhole" to ambrosia. I can see somebody not liking it, in general, like some people think "coin finish" looks cheasy. Tastes DO vary.

My only objections to case coloring are that I think it often doesn't mix well with engraving, it is now expensive to have it done right, and re-casing a gun carries some risk.

Beyond that, it is VERY MUCH to my personal taste on guns that are traditionally case colored. (Looks like hell on a 1911 or a DA S&W or a Remington 3200, tho. I don't think much of "Damascus" steel on anything but barrels--or scimitars--either....).

Depends on how well done and what it's on, guns that were originally CC look fine to me.

I find I am very attracted to case colored guns only if they are flat sided, such as SxS shotguns, single shots and lever actions. Case colored Mauser 98's and the like do nothing for me. With a plain flat side it's all about the color, with a round action there's too much going on.

Hi RR:

I saw a picture of a Mauser that was CC and it was quite unattractive to my taste.

I am not convinced that CC a rifle action would be a good idea. Would it lesson the strength of the action? Perhaps a person who has a background in metallurgy could set me straight on this question.

Have a nice day,

Franchi

I don't have a background in metallurgy, but have been told by a 'smith with mech engineering background that case coloring, done properly, is only "skin deep" and doesn't alter the metal beneath it. So it shouldn't weaken any receiver or action that is colored.

Still looks lousy on bolt actions IMO.

And on other types of actions that are not traditional. I bought a case-colored G2 action from T-C's Custom Shop when they were offering them, hoping that a "traditional" finish would help make a G2 Carbine look more like a proper single shot rifle instead of the ugly hybrid it is.

It didn't. The thing still shot like a house afire and switched barrels and calibers slick as snot. And still looked BUTT UGLY. Soon traded it off for 2 more barrels for my (admittedly and frankly) ugly blued G2s.....

i agree with mike a. i don't think case hardening does anything for engraving. i much prefer a coin finish. but everybody to their opinion. reading posts this old shows how boring all this rain is. jeff