Which way to take off barrel nut from barrel?

Extremely ignorant question here:
Either my powers of search are not very good or this has not specifically been addressed on the forum.
I took of my first barrel this evening. Easy.
The barrel nut stayed on the barrel because I used an action wrench to hold everything while I loosened the nut.
So....
before I do something stupid, I need to ask, "Which way should I unscrew the barrel nut from the barrel? Toward the muzzle or toward the breech?
Or can it come off either way?
(standard shank, Stevens 200 sporter contour barrel)
I ask because I am going to have to apply a large amount of force to get it off and I don't want to "assume" anything and make a hash out of it all.

Thanks very much in advance for your assistance.

take the nut off toward the chamber...

take nut off breech end, might try a little heat on nut or oil to loosen it

Thank you very much guys. ;D
I already had some kroil on it and was simply waiting a bit.
Less than 10 minutes and my question was answered.
That is why I like this forum so much!
Thanks again.

If you have a tight Barrel Nut, clean the threads good with a tooth brush and apply a light coat of anti-seize, then unscrew the Barrel Nut toward the chamber end.

Jim Briggs
NSS

Thank you to all. I got the nut off this morning.
I had "assumed" that it came off toward the breech/chamber, but then I got to second guessing myself and thought that it would not hurt to search (no joy) and ask before I did something stupid. Thanks again for helping out.

I still had to use a barrel vise to hold the barrel enough to get the nut loose.
After I got it off, I cleaned out the factory threadlocker or whatever the greenish compound was in the threads. Using acetone and rag, I got a lot of it out. Then I used a 20 tpi thread gauge and scraped out what was left in the thread grooves of both the barrel and the nut. I'll hit the receiver before I reassemble everything.

Jim, do you use anti-seize when you reassemble?
(After working in a high heat/saltwater/hot steam environment some years ago, I have become a big fan of anti-seize.)

Thomae,
Anti-Seize or a good assembly lube will keep everything working smoothly. The locking action of the Barrel Nut will hold everything in place so you are safe to go this route.

Jim Briggs
NSS

Thank you.