Howa heavy barrel rifle - Blued or stainless?

[Nishon]

I have two heavy barrel Howa rifles in 243 and 6.5 creedmoor.both are the blued versions as i personally dont like the look of stainless.243 always shoots 0.5 MOA or better with factory hogue stock and my 6.5CM shoots 0.3-0.5MOA all the time.I have also been told that the stainless barrels in the Howa is not of the best quality,not sure how true that is.

[BBT]

To me, Howa stainless steel barrels look a bit fake,they don't look like the stainless steel barrels on say a Remington. That's why I also opted for a blued bull barel

[Curt]

Not sure where people are getting the idea that the stainless steel used in the HOWA is inferior.

Most people's reference of stainless is 316 and 304 which is not used actions and barrels. Firearm grade stainless steel is allowed differently to provide durability and corrosion protection.
The finish of the howa is bead blasted to have a matt finish.

As to rusting in the stainless steel version, left longer than the steel, could end up developing light rust as it's only the chromium oxide layer that gives extra protection and looks different.

Accuracy between the stainless and blued version is identical, so it's a much of a muchness - both will need to be cleaned and it comes down to personal preference.

I have the stainless rifle because of the look and my perception that it's easier and more forgiving to maintain that the blues.
Only negative on the stainless is that the material by nature does have a tendency to gall, so the bolt needs a bit more care, lubrication to reduce the likelihood of it happening.

Either way, steel and stainless are both beautiful.

[Draegan]

I love the stainless steel look, but I have a preference for the blued rifles. I would in all likelihood go for blued once I am ready to purchase a rifle.

[fkritzinger]

I have 1 Stainless howa (338WM) and a blued Howa (6.5x55). the 6.5 was ceracoat'ed, it is now a very nice matt black. I like both, and both are tack drivers, I am ALWAYS the weakest link in the system, but when I do my bit, I get sub-moa groups...

[BBCT]

Slight hijack, but here goes.....

I can remember reading a suggestion somewhere that stainless barrel steel is not as tough (in the engineering sense) as conventional barrel steel. If this is true, it could mean that a stainless barrel wouldn't handle as much overpressure as a conventional steel barrel of the same dimensions. I don't believe this should be a factor in choosing between the 2 as the manufacturers would have done their their homework to make sure both are sufficiently tough but was wondering if anyone can cast more light on the topic?