DIY Rifle Camouflage....

Intro: 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.

Also, don't forget to check out my 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....

STEP 2: Materials...

Next I arranged my materials...I choose brake parts cleaner because it absolutely strips all goo from any metal and dries pretty fast; Krylon ultra-flat camo paint because it's basically the toughest sh*t in a can; Acrylic, flat clear coat for extra durabiliy and super low-gloss. Choose your colors assuming your AO environment, and stay away from black....it rarely occurs in nature and is pretty easily spotted. Since I wanted a forest break-up pattern, I chose khaki for my base, brown for layer 2, and dark green for foliage layer 3.

STEP 3: Masking and Suspension....

I taped off and otherwise covered anything I didn't want paint on (trigger assy, bolt holes, etc.)...as you can see, earplugs work great as barrel plugs, too.

Next I hung everything up w/bailing wire from the ceiling and prepared for my base coat....

STEP 4: Base Coat and Stencil Prep......

I put 4 base coats (in khaki) on everything, stock, barrel, scope, magazine trap, trigger guard....Then I went to cutting stencils for layers 2 and 3...I use a disposable straight razor and a pane of glass as my backer-board.

I got my stencil designs online....just google your favorite leaf and pick out some line art...print and cut - you got a free stencil....

STEP 5: Layers.....

I used a "stick" stencil and some brown to make "branches"....I just went random and relatively sparse with the layer, to avoid "bundling."

After applying layer 2, I fogged the whole project lightly with the brown paint, to fuzz it up a bit and darken the overall scheme.

After 15 minutes or so, I went ahead and hit up coat #3 with a leafy stencil and some green....same advice as in the previous layer.....break up, not clutter...

STEP 6: Don't Forget the Details....

After waiting another hour for the project to cure again, I pilfered my kid's colored pencils and chose a peach-colored one to add sketch accents to the leaves. They don't need to be perfect....a sketchy outline actually adds good breakup to the overall pattern....

STEP 7: Watch Where You Put That Thing Down!!!

After accenting where I wanted w/the pencil, I fogged the whole thing again lightly with green, waited another hour, and applied about 5 coats of clear, low gloss acrylic to the whole d*mn thing....and after another 2 hours under a baking lamps , I was ready to reassemble the pole....

STEP 8: Reassembly and Conclusion...

Well, what can I say? When it's dry, put it back together, wait about a week for the paint to fully cure, and hit the range to re-zero that scope....

The whole project took about $20, has stood up to Hoppe's No. 9 powder solvent so far, and I couldn't be happier with the resuts....

Hope you enjoyed my second "Instructible".

Comments

[allen.benge]

I just read an article by another camo fan, and feel I should pass this on to you. Brake cleaner or card cleaner is fine for wood or metal, but never, EVER use it on polymer. The sad soul used carb cleaner to clean his ATI, I believe, stock prior to doing a camo job on it. When he picked it up to begin work, the stock was sluffing off and he got melted polymer all over his hands, etc. Krylon fusion says to clean plastic parts with ammonia, and I have used isopropyl alcohol after the ammonia, and end up with a strong finish that does not come ofe on your hands and clothes.

[kudzu63]

Very nice. I'm looking into camo-ing my golf cart and needed some ideas. I will be at least using part of this for my job. At the very least I can use some of the tips for how to layer it on. I'm thinking of doing an instructable on doing my cart. Hmmm.........

[MR_NATE_H]

Nice tutorial. Will come in handy when I get my first rifle.

[SLEDHEDONE]

looks good my friend

[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...