Barrel type

[Dmac]

any thoughts on which Barrel is better for a muzzleloader, Stainless or Blued?

[TUCKER]

They should not shoot any different. You can get away with a little more time in between cleanings with a stainless barrel over a blued barrel due to rust forming. I have blued barrels and wish that I had stainless for that reason alone.

[One Eye]

As Tucker states, stainless' main advantage is in the cleaning department. I still like the looks of a blued barrel. To me, that is what a gun should look like :cool:

Dan

[outdoor junkie]

Give me a blue, stainless seems to shiny to me.

[bunji_hunter]

<- prefers chrome lined blued barrel. easy cleaning and concealment.

[jc502]

I'm partial to browned............:D

[Swamp Monster]

Stainless is the way.....get matte stainless and you won't have to worry about shine. In a traditonal gun I would stick with blued or better yet brown, as mentioned earlier.

[dogjaw]

I'd rather fuss with a blued barrel than own stainless for big game hunting. You might as well be waving a flag pole when hunting with a stainless barrel.

I have thought of one advantage of stainless. Although you need to clean them, you don't need to worry about the smell of gun oil giving you away. Just keep the barrel down.

[Luv2hunteup]

I prefer stainless steel. The residue from black powder is highly corrosive and any amount of moisture just makes it happen quicker. I've spent many an hour in a tree stand in the rain and the SS on mine is not even discolored, the front sight ramp is blued and shows some signs of light rust.

I can't believe that an animal can tell the difference between blue and SS. If you are not moving they will never know what you are holding. Beside the only thing they see is the end of the muzzle just before it belches smoke and fire. :D

[dogjaw]

Dark vs bright.

[Swamp Monster]

Depends on the bluing and the stainless. I have seen plenty of bluing...Browning especially that is entirely to bright and shiny, and Rugers stainless is nice but polished to mirror finish! Not what I would want in the deer woods. Both of my stainless Remingtons 700's, one centerfire, one muzzleloader are matte stainless and look dull gray in the woods, no shine what so ever. I do have a stainless Leupold scope that looks fancy but does have a little shine to it, similiar to a gloss black scope. I wish I would have gotten it in matte black. (why do they even bother with gloss scopes today.....a total waste on a hunting rifle imo. Sure they look nice on some fancy customs, but useless in the field)
Basically, go with what you like best and don't worry about it. They will shoot the same and last a lifetime with proper care.