1B, years back in Rifle Colorado chasing Elk and Mulies I spotted something glinting, I could make it out later, a hunter, must have been close to or more than a mile off, it was his rifle barrel.
That was enough for me, I just don't want to give game any upper hand, I will take all the advantage I can
The current blued models are not terrible. No doubt, one reason I sold a GORGEOUS 243 Low Wall Browning was the HIGH gloss stock. It looked fabulous, but not really practical IMO for the field.
Jeff, I saw one of the CB models and it's an option for sure.
1B, I agree with your bead blasting, I would have done the same to a 77 SS in 350RM had my buddy not begged/forced me to sell it to him! LOL.
No doubt, a polished SS gun is worse on glare than the current No. 1s. The best thing to do is keep muzzle pointed AT game when possible, so there is less blued metal facing your animal. Bright sunny days is when I am most concerned, often hunting is when its cloudy, so conditions do vary and affect things.
Camo netting or tape is a quick cheap temporary option.
I bet the sniper who Carlos shot thru the guys scope, would have wished he had glare control on his objective lens.
Thankfully my targets are not armed!
Good luck in the field you guys.
BTW, I watched Larry Weishuhn dump a nice Mulie on a show the other day, RSI 270, an old fav or Larry's from back when I met him. He did good reloading a 2nd round as the first did not take him out. Not sure of the ammo but the buck was facing at an angle and hit around the shouler.
It made me miss my 243 RSI ....hard to get a Falling Block out of your blood - esp. after taking many animals with them.