I have a rifle I don’t shoot as often as my others that is an Aero precision build with an Aero (ballistic advantage) stainless steel barrel.
I have only shot this twice in the last year and just sits in my safe...

What should I do to protect the stainless steel barrel from rust?
I have the inside oiled but should I also remove the hand guard the oil the exterior of the barrel to help prevent rust?

How often would you oil the exterior if only firing a few times at ear and sitting in a safe the rest of the time?
I also clean/oil my guns after a range day, but I don’t break them down to wipe the exterior part of the barrel.

I know rust on the exterior may not affect performance but I want to keep this look clean and rust free.
I use ballistol mostly too, for whatever that is worth.

Guns only have 2 enemies: Rust & Democrats

Use these * see pic ** they are cheap, kinda single use but do a good job of protecting. I've got heirlooms that never get shot , about once a year I pull em out and wipe down outside. I use light gun oil on patch for inside.

This leaves a kind of film on the outside, kinda oily. But protects very well

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1556223547?pid=796413

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Not only do I wipe em down, they live in a silicone gun sock to help protect further.

Has it rusted so far? Probably not. While 416R (common for stainless rifle barrels) isn't a true stainless, it's pretty damned stainless. I live in the western US where things are dry and there's not really any salt in the air so my 416R match barrels sit dry, never get cleaned or lubed and never rust. On the other side, my chrome-moly guns do get affected by corrosion here and it doesn't take but a few days if I don't give them a little oil coat, so it's not a complete desert here. It might be best to just not overthink it. If you live close to the sea then a light coating of remoil for storage should be sufficient.

My barrel is 416R
It has not rusted yet, but is only a year old...
I’m in the northeast, so salt isn’t an issue but humidity is

These look decent...
Do you use these on the exterior only or do you also use them inside the barrel and chamber and other internal parts?

Do you clean this stuff off before you shoot? You say it’s leave an oily residue so I assume it stays kinda “wet” during storage and would need cleaned off?

Just exterior only,  I just wipe with dry clothe when I shoot them,,which is very rarely. Its kinda weird, as its kinda like a dry film but leaves light oily feel , had to explain, but it does protect well

My 9mm AR barrel is stainless and I’ve never oiled the outside and it’s never rusted in almost 10 years.

I recommend instead keeping it in a gun sock and putting some sort of evadry in your safe. I did this for the past 8 years or so and not a hint of rust. I only owned a stainless steel barrel for about a year though but only shot it for once.