I prefer stainless mostly just because I like the look in modern rifles. I have a lot of both. I do think the stainless barrels are a little more difficult to "break in" than the blue ones. My ss Omega was a bear to load until I ran a lot of passes with JB bore paste. Stainless tends to be more difficult to machine as the material tends to rip rather than cut leaving very small surface roughness that chrome moly tends not to do. I also feel it is easier to cover up small scrapes and such with stainless. My custom blue Remington Rolling Block 40-65 with a custom Fajen Walnut stock is a beauty however; same goes for my T/C Hawken and my Lyman trade rifle although they are not high polish blue like the custom job. I think stainless might be a little more visible to game although I have never confirmed that.