I'm a big fan of Stainless Steel due to its corrosion-resistance, durability, ease of refinishing, and aesthetic appeal, so whenever the option is available, my first choice is Stainless Steel.
However, I have noticed that one type of firearm in particular is rarely offered in true Stainless Steel. Shotguns, particularly pump-action and semiautomatic shotguns, never seem to be available in Stainless Steel. You can get them in various silver finishes like Nickel, Chrome, Cerakote, or proprietary finishes like Mossberg's Marinecote, but they're always some sort of plating or coating, never actual Stainless Steel. Why is that?

This is a question that has repeatedly found its way into my thoughts while looking at shotguns, but strangely I have never been able to find an answer to, so now for the very first time, I'm asking the question I've never seen asked nor answered; why?
Is there a tangible reason why shotguns aren't commonly available in Stainless Steel? Some sort of reason why it couldn't or shouldn't be done? Because I find it perplexing that something with such obvious marketing appeal isn't commonly available, especially by manufacturers such as Remington which offers other firearms in Stainless Steel.

Honestly, I've only seen one shotgun ever offered in Stainless Steel, a now discontinued over-under shotgun by Ruger known as the Red Label Shotgun.

Does anyone know why Stainless Steel isn't more commonly used in the construction of shotguns?

I can not answer your question. I only wanted to write that I remember handling a pump riot 12 gauge in stores in the later 1980s or during the 1990s. I think it was the common Remington riot pump made from stainless steel but I'm not sure. I am sure that it was not a plated non-stainless steel gun. I did not buy one because it did not have interchangeable choke tubes.

Perhaps manufacturers figure that hunters and police would not want silver shotguns revealing their presence and the limited market can be satisfied with plated non-stainless steel guns. Either that or they view the low sales of the few stainless models that were made as expensive mistakes they do not want to repeat.

Remington uses stamped steel receivers but almost everyone else uses aluminum alloy for shotgun receivers which won't rust if done properly and I also heard, years ago that stainless was harder to machine. With modern coatings, like on a Glock or S&W M&P, rust is much easier to avoid.

They have been made as "marine shotguns" for yachts for many decades, and were advertised during the boating boom. They just didn't sell well, and most owners I knew just bought a used pump and stored it in a locker.

As for buying one to use for hunting, forget it. Too flashy and the internals would still be tool steel anyway. Parkerized is plenty good for the ducks.

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Science plus Art

I've heard rumors of this Remington, but have been unable to verify it's existence because apparently nobody owns one.

It is possible to make Stainless Steel with a non-reflective matte finish by simply bead-blasting it. I own a Taurus Judge Magnum in Stainless Steel with such a finish, and let me tell you, it looks as if it isn't really Stainless Steel at all, which initially concerned me because I thought I had been ripped off, until I had taken a closer look at the internals which hadn't been bead-blasted.



As you can see from the pic, it's so non-reflective that it almost looks white when photographed with direct sunlight hitting it.

Smith & Wesson also offers some of its more budget-priced revolvers with a similar finish, although theirs is slightly more lustrous due to the finer blasting media they use.

Poking around the internet the closest thing I found to stainless steel pump shotguns was early aluminum framed Winchester 1200s had stainless steel barrels and magazine tubes. Later ones had nickel plated barrels and magazine tubes.

Non-reflective silvery grey solid color shotguns still are not as good camouflage as dark blue/black and wood.

The old Winchester Model 1300 Stainless Marine has a stainless barrel and magazine tube that is nickel plated as far as I recall. Obviously the rest of the firearm is also nickel plated like the aluminium receiver. I do not recall how much more of it is stainless Back in the 80s or 90s I first saw these on my buddies Coast Guard cutter in Miami.

I always thought it looked cool and still have one in my spare room. I am not sure if I have even fired it.

Back in the day I also bought one of the 14" Mossberg 590 Marinecote shotguns.

As an avid duck hunter that hunts mostly swamp and marsh area, stainless steel COULD be nice for the humidity. HOWEVER, I find that my parkerized Remington 870 is up for the task and doesn't throw a glare into a ducks eyes. No clue if that's a thing. Should I chance it? Maybe they are just dumb birds and don't know squat, but I've got a sneaking suspicion that by the time they get to me down in Texas, they've pretty much seen it all. If my 870 gets a little weather damaged it just adds character, and weather hasn't ruined it yet. At $250, what's even to ruin? I've fed my family WAY more than $250 in duck meat. The gun has paid for itself and is still working.

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Ban this man,
'89

I have a Winchester 1200 Stainless Police.

It is pictured here with some other stuff, but you get the idea.

Attached Images

DSCF0525_zps4pyeub3t.jpg (166.3 KB, 1171 views)

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On the Oak Savannah

I also prefer stainless steel. Here is a list of stainless steel shotguns both past and present.
Stoeger Coach, Mossberg 500 Mariner, Remington 870 Marine Magnum, Winchester Model 1200 and 1300 marine stainless steel, Thompson Center, Verney-Carron Snake Charmer, Browning Citori Stainless Steel Lightning Over/Under Shotgun, Browning BT 99.

The Mossberg 500 Mariner isn't Stainless Steel, it uses a proprietary finish known as Marinecote, older models were Nickel-plated. The Remington 870 Marine Magnum uses an electroless Nickel finish.

My guess would be because they wouldn’t look all that good.

Way before the 1200, Winchester made a Model 12 with a stainless steel barrel. They're fairly rare to find.

Ruger made Red Label over/unders in stainless didn't they?

And you saw how well those sold.
Browning did too; for a minute.......

Mossberg, Remington and Winchester, as mentioned, all offered stainless pumps at one time or another.

What doesn't sell gets discontinued..................

You'd think they'd still offer them in limited quantities at least, they'd certainly be a hit with the folks who buy Nickel plated versions, and would most likely be cheaper to produce since they don't need to be plated.

The simple answer is "Galvanic Corrosion". It's a hotly debated topic among gun guys. Essentially, when two dissimilar metals are joined, there is a risk of corrosion and metal failure that is much more aggressive than simple rust. Match stainless with carbon in a salty environment and it can be a disaster. Match aluminum with steel and add some graphite lubricant and a salty environment and you're going to get system failure (think AR Platform). Same with stainless shotguns. A purely, all stainless shotgun, with stainless internals, would be tough to machine and too expensive for most folks...what you get is a compromise of safety and affordability which is what's on the market.

Here's a quick explanation => Galvanic corrosion - facts and how to reduce the risk — Sandvik Materials Technology

The Remington 870 came in a nickel finish called "Electroless Nickel" not stainless steel. I came close to buying one in 2003 but the owner of the shop talked me into the Mossberg Mariner which was about $80 cheaper.

The Mossberg is not stainless either but type of coating.

My hunting shotgun is a Yildiz side by side 20 gauge that’s made in Turkey and has black chrome barrels with white chrome on the inside. They are a little shiny but not enough to scare off game and it makes the gun look really good with the rich checkered walnut stocks and gives me some pride of ownership unlike the plain black guns. Since real blue guns are almost a thing of the past I wish they would make more guns out of black chrome because it looks good, resists rust, is easy to take care of and is tougher than bluing.

I have an 870 "Marine Magnum" in the electroless finish. It serves its role as a house gun but would never go to the field. Personally I think a SS shotgun would be butt ugly. Older blue high polish guns are beautiful. Modern Parkerized/black/Ceracote guns are functional if not that appealing. Can't see where SS would fit in. I even put modern plastic furniture on my old "Wingmaster" to make it more field friendly.

Ah, galling! I never thought of that, but it makes perfect sense.

It's not really a problem with modern handguns because it's easy enough to just make the whole gun from the same batch of Stainless Steel or use MiM which Stainless Steel doesn't seem to gal with.

Been a few years since I hefted one, but as I recall, the Remington Marine 870 is quite heavy. Perhaps weight problems prevent stainless shotguns.

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I've still got it made.

I did have a Ruger Red Label all weather which was stainless. Unfortunately the gun was junk and I sold it.

Just for fun, lets make 2 lists of stainless shotguns that we can verify exist.

First, shotguns with stainless steel receivers. Most of us are aware of the Ruger over/under Red Label, the Rossi Circuit Judge revolving .45 Colt rifle/.410 shotgun, the Thompson Center interchangeable barrel rifle/shotguns based on the Contender design, Taurus' Judge and Raging Judges and the ridiculous .45 Colt/.410 derringers. The only serious shotgun on that list is the Ruger over/under.

double-dipper's list included the Stoeger Coach Gun. Currently Stoeger's site advertises polished nickel Coach Guns and high grade Coach Guns that have stainless steel receivers with blued steel barrels. My guess is their polished nickel Coach Guns have carbon steel receivers. Frankly I do not care enough about Stoeger's guns to research whether they ever made all stainless steel shotguns but since they make stainless receivers it would not surprise me if they did in the past. He also included the Snake Charmer and Browning which I know nothing about.

The second list would be shotguns with aluminum receivers combined with stainless steel barrels and other major stainless steel parts. I am aware of two such shot guns, the S&W Governor and the early Winchester 1200 pump.

Additions? Corrections?

Benelli M4 H2O......not stainless, but looks the part......Pricy........

Benelli M4 H2O Adds Enhanced Corrosion Resistance and Durability to Duty-Proven Platform | Benelli Shotguns and Rifles

Rugers short lived Gold Label SxS shotgun was a stainless steel frame, forend and all internal parts, but the bbls were carbon steel (at least on the few I had to work on).

I have a Benelli M4 and I love it - slugs hurt (as can be expected). The difference between this model and mine is a cerakote finish. It's not worth the extra price.

You mean like the Remington 870 Marine magnum?

Attached Images

12 Guage Remington 870 Marine Magnum.jpg (79.7 KB, 47 views)

Personally, I wouldn't count the Taurus Judge as a shotgun, it's a revolver that can shoot .410 Bore shotshells. Rossi Circuit Judge is closer to being a shotgun than the standard Judge, but is really more of a pistol caliber Carbine that can shoot .410 shotshells. Same goes for the .410/.45 Derringers. Only California considers the Judge a shotgun, but they apparently can't understand the meaning of that whole "shall not infringe" part in the 2nd Amendment either and therefore arbitrarily make up arbitrary reasons why as many firearms as possible ought to be banned. I'm honestly surprised they haven't reclassified flare guns as Destructive Devices at this point.

Lordy, Rick....I tossed one of those overboard about 10 years ago just before coming into port in Cozumel. Man I hated doing that.... glad I did, though.

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Halfway and one more step

The Remington 870 Marine Magnum currently advertised on Remington's web site has a "receiver milled from a solid billet of steel" and "electroless nickel plating covers all metal, including the inside of the barrel and receiver." It is not stainless steel.

For an emergency shotgun on a boat I would rather have a gun with interchangeable choke tubes so that I could hunt food with it. That makes my $96 KFC brand Auto 5 better for the job. Also it would not hurt so much if it had to be thrown overboard coming into port.

YEP. And touted as a "waterfowl hunters ideal OU" A shiny SS shotgun in the duck blind ??? LOL

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John

Find it humorous reading through the posts that make reference to 'stainless finish'. Umm...SS is a material, an actual alloy, not a 'finish'.

Living in a place surrounded by saltwater, can tell you an all-SS shotgun (or anything) if neglected would only survive and function for a short time longer than conventional design.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

I'd like to see a picture of that.

The AA12 is all stainless and plastic construction. But you are not likely to find one at the next gun show.

I bought this nickel S&W marine 12ga from a walkin pinhooker at National Gunday Sept 2012. Also got the 5" 27-2 and the Texas Ranger Bowie at the same show. Good thing about having a table is it forces you to keep your line in the water and more times than not I find something good.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

Mossberg made a true stainless model 500 in addition to the marinecote models we see currently. It was a very limited run.

I’ll post pics of mine shortly.

Remington has made an 870 Marine Model for many years.

Model 870 Special Purpose Marine Magnum | Remington

A SIMPLE SPRAY OF WD-40 WILL REPEL RAIN AND MOISTURE......

REST ASSURED THAT A DUCK WILL NOTICE THE FLASH OFF A STAINLESS BARREL. IT WILL BE INTERPRETED AS A MESSAGE FROM A SIGNAL MIRROR, TELLING IT TO KEEP ON FLYING BY THIS OBVIOUS THREAT.......

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

I would think a shiny anything would be bad for ducks & geese, as birds' eyesight is akin to a dog's sense of smell. I wouldn't be worried about rabbit hunting, etc. But, as stated earlier, spray it down with wd-40 or Ballistol & a standard barrel should be fine. That one in the pic from San Antonio really looks nice, though, especially accompanied with the lever action rifle!

One of the guys at our skeet range has one that we named the "Silver Buzzard" .
He has long since sold it and I no longer know its whereabouts.

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

*sigh*

It seems that most of the responses this thread has been receiving lately are by folks who didn't read the OP, are ignorant of the difference between true Stainless Steel and the various silver finishes on the market today, or fail to understand the appeal of the corrosion-resistance of Stainless Steel outside of a bird-hunting environment.