Oh and one other thing. I would consider it "VERY UNLIKELY" that either the blued barrel of the APEX or the blue barrel of the OMEGA have greater tensile strength metal than the STAINLESS APEX. If a person is at all concerned with Spanish Steel, it would be almost impossible for them to produce a stainless alloy weaker than most any typical blackpowder rifle's with a blued barrel. For me, takes the worry completely away.