gotta agree. ive tried cold blueing at home and it doesnt look or wear as good as sending it off to get hot blued. if your gonna send it off for re- finishing i also like the dura coat process (camo finish). i also just sent out a rifle for black ice teflon coating. im getting lazy in my old age and other than oiling the inside of the barrel those coatings protect way better than blueing. a good hot blue is like 100$ as compared to 150$ for duracoat or 140$ for the black ice. parkerizing might be a good option also. make sure the bore isint rusted out and the action functions properly. ive seen a couple wet guns that had been left in the plastic cases with the egg foam. i use the silicon gun sacks jst in case after a hunt. even a day or 2 will ruin the metal on a gun. i wish they made better gun case linings.