I do not think they were referring to the barrel as pot ash Mike. I believe the comment was, an outside source referred to the pot ash appearance. Actually,that postercomplemented the rifle. Another comment was about the appearance of the receiver, but the barrel quality I do not feel was questioned. Appearance to many can mean many things. You want real beauty, look at the appearance of a Knight or my Thompson Centerrifle barrel when you wipe it off with oil That blued barrel is a thing of beauty just to look at. If I had thought that this Genesis was flawed, I would not have bought a stainless steel one today.