stainless steel-vs-matte-vs-polished blue

[Larryjk]

There are two subjects at hand.
(1) Type of metal for a barrel. A very good barrel company told me if you shoot a barrel hot and keep on shooting, have a stainless barrel. If you let your barrel cool without getting it hot enough that you can't hold on to it, shoot a blue barrel. A chrome moly (blue) barrel will last longer than stainless if you don't shoot it "hot".
(2) Type of finish for a barrel. Having seen the reflection off a shiny (WBY) barrel from about a half mile distance, and watching a group of deer watching the same reflections, and then move to a different area as the shiny barrel approached, I will hunt with a barrel tht does not reflect light.

[hunt4ever]

Thanks for all of the replies. You guys helped me make my decision. I was going to have my matte finish blued, but I think instead I am going to trade for a stainless. I originally wanted stainless, but was concerned about visibility of the barrel. According to your comments, stainless doesn't really affect the hunt and may even last a bit longer. Look forward to more discussions.