the "original" Ruger released Vaqueros were no actually "case hardened", though it looked similar,it was an inked on color process and if cleaned too hard, too often or the wrong cleaning solvent, rubbed and wore away.......towards the end , we had to refinish ( actually blue) some of those Vaqueros that the finish rubbed off........you can get "case coloring" today from such as 'Tyler Gun works' or' Turnbull Restorations' but for the Rugers, it is NOT "hardened" as the RUger are cast from a chrome -moly alloy and that being a "complex metal" does NOT "hardened and actually gets 'brittle'. 8) :roll: :wink:
still the vaqueros are a NICE gun, look neat and are great to shoot...just gotta take care of their finish, so if he likes it,,,go for it