DIY Rifle Camouflage....

This instructible is based on my latest camo job on a Ruger M77 25-06 long-range hunting rifle.

If you're looking for instructions on dis-and-reassembly, I'd prefer you consult either your owner's manual, or a reputable source, as I know only my weapons, and limit my expertise to what I own.

This entire project, as well as many others, is available at survivalismforums.com , where I and those with like minds go to exchange survival and disaster preparedness information, as well as some good humor and political insight you might find worth your time....also, don't forget to check out my personal site: www.htwtusa.com!

So....without further ado, if you please......CLICK-IT!!!!....I meant the "Next Step" button....

Step 1 Disassembly and Prep...

First, after familiarizing yourself with your weapon, its assembly requirements, and assuring that it has no ammunition onboard.......remove any accessories (scopes, lasers, tac-lights, etc.) and set them aside.

For this, a bolt action rifle, I removed the bolt assy, as it wil not get any paint on it, and also removed the barrel/breech assy from the stock....

After disassy, clean EVERYTHING with some brake parts cleaner......yes-everything.....it dries fast and strips ALL grime from the surfaces to be painted....

Comments

[blarg7789]

lol we have that same saw ... works great

[Jesus~Jonnie~Jewelry]

Great job, awesome camo painting.
Easy to follow instructions.
Would like to hire you to camo my Lincoln.
I seen the truck you camouflaged, really nice.

[Omnesty]

Ugh, we have this gun, i like it as fas as power and accuracy, etc, (25-06 shoots VERY flat), but trying to take the barrel off is a pain in my butt, the threads are locked tight and even the gunsmith couldnt do it, oh well

[HTWTUSA]

Really? I have no special tools and I had mine broken down in about 2 minutes...try some sea foam or some other kind of loosener..

[Omnesty]

tried wd-40, pb, several other penetrators, none work tho,

[phractal213]

You might want to sand the inside of the stock, where it comes into contact with the barrel. Barrels are like tuning forks and when anything (and I mean ANYTHING) comes in contact with them, it throws off the harmonics. I sand my stocks down so that I can slide a folded $20 bill all the way back to the reciever between the barrel and the stock. Give it a try and you'll see that your rounds travel straighter and won't keyhole nearly as soon. Thats why most SWSs (sniper weapon systems) have fully floated barrels.

[Omnesty]

wow rly, the last comment was more than a year ago...............

[jcaleb]

 WOW!  Impressive!  My first thoughts on seeing the intructable were,  "Why would anyone want to paint over that beautiful wood."  BUT It is actually very professional (and practical) looking.  Nice work. 

[DevilDogPratt]

 nice job! and nice shooting!
just 1 question, what did you use for the stencils? just paper?

[HTWTUSA]

Yep...just cheap ol' printer paper....

[DevilDogPratt]

 can you please give a link or make an attachment of your stencils? ive been looking for them, but i cant find anything that good

[HTWTUSA]

Just google "grass stencils" and pick yer faves......

[bombmaker2]

damn that looks awsum

[HTWTUSA]

Thanks for all the great comments....as far as the 25-06 performance...it shoots so flat and straight, that I'd pick this rifle over all my others, if I could only have one. This is my range paper from the re-zero session after the camo job, at 400 yds. You really should shy away from black as a concealment color....it very rarely occurs in nature, except in shadows, and even then has depth....I learned to camo in mil-tac training, and thisis what we were taught...

[tundrawolf]

Hot dang! 400 yards? What kind of scope do you have on that thing?

[HTWTUSA]

I use a 4-16X90 A.O. range estimating MIL-DOT by TacEdge...it has NV and IR functios as well as laser designation up to 150 yds...the only drawback o this partcular scope is the external pack (strap mounted) for the power and cpu....but the models wth internal support are about $2800 higher...

[rocoberto]

Robert Todoric e-mail : [e-mail] This is very good way to make one excellent camouflage of sniper rifle . The chosen colours are example of excellent choice of war and combat camouflage colours . The way of making camouflage is also very excellent . The finishing Ruger rifle is now just perfect . Only silencieux is missing in this story . June, 29. 2009. Sincerely Robert

[HTWTUSA]

thanks...i wish i coiuld post an instruction for fabricating "silencieux", but American laws forbid it....unless one is licensed....

[x10penny]

hey buddy could u email be how to make a silencer just for general noledge :P

[recon506]

Actually, in Arizona silencers are perfectly legal! Although you may get some weird looks from the authorities....

[tundrawolf]

It's called "Class III". You can own full auto, suppressed, etc. You must pass a background check and pay a licensing fee. Most importantly, you must live in a state where such things are legal, such as AZ or NV, not CA. Lastly, you must pay for the item, which is about its weight in solid gold.

[HTWTUSA]

Um, without the proper credentials, possession of a suppressor is a violation of federal firearms laws and comes with a stiff consequence, regardless of State of residence....better speak with your local authorities first....

[crazycommanche=US=]

well i agree i dont know if i could paint that beautiful wood stock so if u ever want to be go back to it u could posiibly do it on ducktape around the gun then do it. i also noticed the scope u did it next time u might want to put tape aroud the sighting thingamajigs on the top and side u know great job i love it

[HTWTUSA]

Also, those "sighting thingamajigs" are just dust caps which thread down over the scope adjustment dials. If your scope is of moderate-to-high quality, it should have dust caps, as well...paint 'em up....they'll still remove and re-thread easily...and they won't be an eyesore in your camo scheme...

[crazycommanche=US=]

ahh ok that makes sense then

[HTWTUSA]

Well...the great thing about this process is...you can strip the whole thing in turpentine (done it, after a horrible experiment-gone-wrong), and start fresh with your beautiful stock ready to be finish-sanded and refinished.......Whereas with the dipping process...the stock needs to be sanded heavily to remove the camo layer, usually resulting in a deficient stock or stock replacement, altogether...

[crazycommanche=US=]

i didnt know that in thats case i would doit knowing its possible to fix

[Bourne11]

I like what you've done but if you ever have another one of your guns to paint instead of using your stencils from google(Awesome regardless) try foliage laid across the firearm because it adds a very nice touch. Thats purely preference when it boils down to it but I ve done it on one of my airsoft guns(after hearing about it from a friend) and it turned out really well. Props though it looks really well done:) *If you do try it varying the colors of paint with the different types of foliage helps greatly with blending into the given environment.

[HTWTUSA]

Hey, everyone has a favorite technique, and I think it's cool....I know a guy who dips ropes in automotive acrylic and drags them across his rifles, and it looks sick.....thanks for the tips and the commentary. :D

[Bourne11]

Yeah no problem and I think I might have to try that rope dipping technique : )

[S1L3N7 SWAT]

Great job man! I'll refer to this Instructable when I eventually do this to one of my airsoft sniper rifles.

[alaskanbychoice]

Looks real good, you did a great job and nice Instructable too. Just one question have you checked this under and infared light to see how it looks to animals ?

[HTWTUSA]

I've never heard of different color paints being able to disperse more or less heat into the IR range. And since red light refraction is only intensified by red pigments, the camo color array is comfortably non-red. IR is just heat and red light refraction....

[alaskanbychoice]

Thanks that clears it up for me.

[explosivemaker]

....sweet paint job.....it was be great if I could get one that good on my potato gun.....

[Kaelessin]

very nice job! this is a real step above the seemingly typical "spray random cammo colours in random places" approach. I would find it very difficult to spray paint a wooden stock like that though . . .silly me. on a side note, how's that ruger perform?

[hg341]

wow you should get paided to do this

[ac1D]

It look professional. Really nice job done, and nice instructable. Thanks you!

[JakeTobak]

Very well done. I personally like everything to be matte black, but your paint job looked extremely professional.

[wazzup333]

very nice! I shall be doing this to my rifle =)