Tom, do a search on salt bath nitride for gun barrels. In a barrel, it actually outlasts chrome. The barrel has to be broken in first and the blue stripped. As a side note, it will also stress relieve the barrel. Larry Trotter has a 17 Remington and it shoots well. I have a 17 Fireball that he chambered and it shoots well. When the 17 HH is broken in, both the barrels are going off for nitride treatment, and they will out last the gun. If the barrel is polished, it will look like a high polish blue job.