I got mine secondhand. The barrel was coated with some kind of brown manure but only on the top- it hadn’t been taken out of the stock. Pretty sure the barrel is stainless. Likewise all the furniture was smeared with the brown stuff and had also rusted some. I stripped it all, hit it with Evaporust, and then spent a few days treating it with vinegar, which mellows the steel- gives it a patina that’s more pleasing to me, and knocks down the shininess. Used some Citrus-strip to clean up the stock and rubbed in a couple or three coats of tung oil. Pretty happy with how it came out.
The coworker I bought it from said he was happy with it throwing round balls to 50 yards. I haven’t really had a chance to put her through her paces yet, but she points naturally. Heavier than a Pedersoli Brown Bess, though.
Jay
