New and pristine or used with patina?

[Altitude sickness]

All else being equal. Would you rather carry a brand new pristine, immaculate rifle with perfect wood and blueing.

Or one that is in perfect working order but has some blueing worn off and some battle scars on the wood.

I appreciate both. But in my mind if I picture carrying a Rigby rifle for instance, on safari. I picture one with the blueing gone and replaced with a nice brown patina. The action nice and worn in. The stock has dents and scratches.

I love my rifles in great condition. But the look of one that’s been carried for thousands of miles is more unique.

I’ll start with my .458 WM

 

[AimSmall]

Shiny rifles got no stories.

 

[grand veneur]

Shiny rifles got no stories.

That's true, but unfortunately before they get a patina they are all shiny. For this reason, If you have bought a new rifle for hunting in Africa, you have to go hunting there immediately and repeatedly at short intervals. This is the only way to quickly give the rifle the desired patina.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Most of mine are more in the immaculate column.

But if I carried a fine British rifle. I would want it well worn.

 

[grand veneur]

Most of mine are more in the immaculate column.

...

For me it's the opposite, although Africa is not the continent that causes the most wear and tear on the rifles.

 

[Hogpatrol]

My 2¢, I'd take the old veteran, one which has proven itself in the field.

 

[Pondoro]

I have 4 vintage british rifles, 1906 - 1920ish..3 are double rifles.. I have ca. the story of one of them but not the others..

I wish they could talk and tell me their stories..

 

[Altitude sickness]

Pictures of the brown/blueing and wear would be nice to see

 

[DPHunter4570]

Patina, and I'm enjoying watch it take shape on a couple of mine.

I hunted deer with Hal Blood in Maine a couple of years ago. A bit of a legend up there in the big woods and tracking circles. He's carried the same Remington 7600 pump gun for years, and the blueing is worn off the receiver in the shape of his 4 fingers. That rifle has got some stories.

I like them all, but some patina can be really neat.

 

[Red Leg]

Of all my long guns, I am confident less than half were purchased new. Most of my shotguns were built before I was born - many long before. I use them all. However, I must confess my three favorite current rifles were bought new. But each has quite a few miles and an interesting story or two to tell. They are an R8 in .375 configuration, .275 Rigby, and 7x65R Bailey Bradshaw. The purchased as new with the largest total of game is my No. 1 B in 270. Purchased while a lieutenant stationed in Germany in 1975, it has accounted for numerous red stag, many dozens of roe deer, wild boar, foxes, coyotes, and whitetail. It has languished for quite a while, and it just landed at R J Renner's place for a bit of a Germanic face lift.

My most used older rifle is a Cogswell & Harrison in .318 WR built around an elegantly modified P14 action sometime in the 1920's. It has taken Nilgai, wild boar, and several whitetail. If I hunt black bear again, I've decided it will go with me. I would love to know the adventures it experienced before me. Though, the previous owner and I have shared a late evening whiskey or cognac more than a few times.

 

[B0MBOY]

I don’t get much choice in the matter… i manage to damage just about everything I own pretty early on. I’m just rough on things

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Provided that it is a quality rifle, I think it matters little whether it is spanking new or well used. I just can't get excited about a worn plain Jane rifle though.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Can we see the .318

 

[skydiver386]

Watched a hunt on YouTube yesterday, Dalton Tink showed his personal Winchester .458 stopping rifle. It's well worn with zero finish left on the metal, almost none on the wood, but I'd bet you couldn't buy that gun from him for love nor money. You can get a good look at it right around the 7 minute mark.

 

[Red Leg]

Can we see the .318

One of old Art Alphin's P 14/17's can look like a water pipe mounted in a 2x6. Between the wars, the British could create real elegance from such an action.

 

[Altitude sickness]

OK Red Leg, you sold me, I’ll take it

 

[Phil Giordano]

A very good point and one of the best threads title ever, to me.
Well, as in people, I prefer rifles with a story. Dents and scratches, well, can be very fashinating.
As the actress Anna Magnani once said "I love all my wrincles : it took me a lifetime to make them"
Cant agree more

 

[Tundra Tiger]

This is an easy one for me. I love older rifles. Some of my favorites include 2 Savage 99s, a Remington 141, a Savage 24, and a Browning BBR.

Sadly most of my rifles are GunBroker purchases. I say sadly because I'd dearly love to know the history of each rifle. My 99 EG, that I used to take a gemsbok, impala, kudu, and warthog with last June - what all has it accounted for since it was manufactured in 1947? It was listed as a gunsmith's special when I bought it, and it needed a lot of TLC. Somebody way back when had tried to drill and tap it, and while the holes are square, they did not match any base I could find, so I had to modify one - and it works just fine. But what did it do all those decades? Was it hunted hard? Shot a lot? Or did it sit in a closet? I have no idea. But I gave it some love, I redid the stock and forearm, and touched up some metal with cold bluing. And now I hunt with it.

Yeah, for me: used with patina, to use the language of your heading.

My 99EG and my 141... and the 99 in Africa...

 

[Rare Breed]

All else being equal. Would you rather carry a brand new pristine, immaculate rifle with perfect wood and blueing.

Or one that is in perfect working order but has some blueing worn off and some battle scars on the wood.

I appreciate both. But in my mind if I picture carrying a Rigby rifle for instance, on safari. I picture one with the blueing gone and replaced with a nice brown patina. The action nice and worn in. The stock has dents and scratches.

I love my rifles in great condition. But the look of one that’s been carried for thousands of miles is more unique.

I’ll start with my .458 WM
View attachment 593187View attachment 593188View attachment 593189View attachment 593190View attachment 593191

I’m with you, I love them both. I will say shiny and new never hinders me in any way hunting with them in Africa

 

[Altitude sickness]

Rare breed, the four I’m taking in May are in very good condition no patina