Outdoorslover,

Get some Stainless cleaning pads for cleaning rust of the exterior. It is less apt to remove the blueing.

The Triple O steel wool is basicallyaslight I think. If you rub lightly and have oil, it won'twear it eitherway.That does sound like a better idea though.

Since getting stainless, I do not oil the bore. I clean and dry thoroughly. If the stainless is dry, it won't rust. We don't have much for humidity here so its definitely working for me and I don't worry about rust or getting oil out before loading

My room is very humid. It's in the basement. That's whyI oil. Basically, ifI put a fingerprint on the steel, it will rust in several days if you don't wipe it off. I don't think they would normally rust if they're dry, I just do it as a safety measure.

Thanks for the advice Pglasgow.