I know Stainless can not be blued. I got one on an auction that stated made of Robust Stainless Steel. It is an early made Old Army 140-099xx and appears unfired. emailed auctioneer and goa reply that they were made in SS and then blued. I don't believe that. Thanks
Ruger Old Army Question. Were Old Army guns all made of Stainless steel then some blued?
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I believe I'm safe in saying it's not stainless. Yours is from 1973, and the stainless ones came out in 1975. 
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Blued guns were the first, (1972) and some were sent out with the coveted MR-3DB brass grip frames.
Back in the day the Old Army's were slow sellers and a lot of them were bought to harvest the BGF.
STAINLESS guns came out in 1975 and the first ones did not have a prefix in the SN#. Kinda weird but very unusual looking as all guns 1968 forward had a prefix.
There was also an early batch of stainless guns that got the cylinder rollmark, rolled on backwards, in other you pointed the gun at yourself to read it…. Kinda sorta….
140 prefix is a Blued gun
145 prefix STAINLESS
Sounds like you have a stripped "in the white" 1973 gun.
Picture or 2 would be nice…
Back in the day the Old Army's were slow sellers and a lot of them were bought to harvest the BGF.
STAINLESS guns came out in 1975 and the first ones did not have a prefix in the SN#. Kinda weird but very unusual looking as all guns 1968 forward had a prefix.
There was also an early batch of stainless guns that got the cylinder rollmark, rolled on backwards, in other you pointed the gun at yourself to read it…. Kinda sorta….
140 prefix is a Blued gun
145 prefix STAINLESS
Sounds like you have a stripped "in the white" 1973 gun.
Picture or 2 would be nice…
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Sugar River
Buckeye
I well remember the cover story in Guns & Ammo with color pics of a field stripped stainless Old Army
being run through a dishwasher.
being run through a dishwasher.
I clean all of my black powder handguns in a dishwasher.
His question was not did they make ss guns and then turn around and blue them? It was did they manufacture ss guns before they manufactured the blued ones? I know he poorly worded the question, which made it seem as if "we're they bluing ss guns?".You had your answer before you asked the question
Both of these started life as blued. They are now nickel plated.
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BoggusDeal
Single-Sixer
Some stainless can be blackened. I've done some Old Army parts for a friend who wanted the blue/stainless contrast.
BoggusDeal
Single-Sixer
I don't think you can blue copper. You can iron plate over copper and then blue the iron.
Busterswoodshop
Buckeye
All Remington 700's made before 1964 had stainless steel barrels.
So basically , the first two years of production.
Every one I have ever seen was blued.
Busterswoodshop
Buckeye
Whatever they did to them , it made them look blued.
The looked like any other blued gun.
The looked like any other blued gun.
The first couple of years they made SS ones, then they started making Blued ones.
People are getting mixed up thinking that the OP was asking if they blued the SS ones because of the way the title was worded. So some are answering a question that was not asked.
So yes the blued ones were always blued ones and not the ss ones ending up getting blued later on.
Busterswoodshop
Buckeye
I was talking about the Remington 700's.
The first couple years they all came with stainless steel barrels.
The blue ones , came from the factory blued.
The blue on the barrels , matched the blue on the receivers.
The first couple years they all came with stainless steel barrels.
The blue ones , came from the factory blued.
The blue on the barrels , matched the blue on the receivers.
NikA
Hunter
Read a bit about these after your post. Article I read said they were copper/iron plated then blued.
So did they copper iron plate over steal or stainless steel barrels before bluing them?
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