A stainless barrel is superior in that it is more impervious to rust, so may not have to be cleaned quite as soon after firing as a blued steel barrel. But it WILL rust, it just takes a little longer! ANY gun fired with black powder or a BP substitute has to be cleaned as soon as feasible after being fired. This of course does NOT apply to a smokeless powder ML such as the Savage (which, BTW, can be used with BP or a BP substitute in states where smokeless powder is prohibited in ML rifles, such as Colorado).

IMO, any time a ML rifle in good operating condition fails to fire in the field when hunting, it is the shooter's fault! He did something wrong while loading, or did not take adequate precautions to prevent the problem, such as putting plastic wrap around the lock, a piece of electrician's tape over the muzzle to keep out water, etc. Properly prepped, even a flintlock will fire in wet weather.