Well, yesterday, I spent the day going to see different gunsmiths. All of them said that it was, in fact, stainless. Four out of four is pretty convincing. I also took it to a couple of gun shops with knowledgeable staff, and they were convinced it was not plated, as well. One of the owners made me an serious offer for it, but I declined.
I stopped by another plating shop and hard chrome, brushed chrome, and any form of nickel were ruled out by three different guys there.
I am pretty convinced that this trapper is stainless steel. I guess that since Winchester says they never made one, I need to look into a non destructive acid test. More on this to come!
