Stainless versus carbon steel is a question often asked in the knife industry. Many claim that a stainless blade is softer and doesn't hold an edge like the higher carbon ratio in carbon steel. But given the additives today and sharpening techniques, this argument doesn't hold water. So evaluating barrels based on knife blades would tell me it is more a want than a need.
Stainless offers better protection from rust. But if you clean your carbon steel firearms, you will not have the problem with rust. I have an old Damascus barrel on my 1860 vintage shotgun that doesn't have any rust. I have a 1920s hand me down .22 that also has no rust. It is how it is cared for that really matters.
Saying that, there are a lot of folks that clamor to stainless steel. But no one has shown me where stainless steel makes a firearm shoot straighter or last any longer than blue steel. So it is a preference issue to me.
But I stand to learn from the metallurgy experts here to correct my thinking and open my eyes so that I may consider investing in a stainless firearm.
