sorry but NOT stainless , Rugers did not get into casting stainless steel alloys till the early 1970s and the NEW models of 1973 started using those alloys....my bet would be it was either "plated" ( possibly nickel , even chrome, seen BOTH ways), also could have been a chromium plating, ala Armaloy or a little later SS Metalife, we used both for our shops back then, and settled on Ron Mahovskys Metalife and his SS , process as it looks just like stainless steel and is harder on the surface, wears better ( can't recall the reading on the Rockwell "C" scale for hardness been a few years ago for me) yes the gun could even have been stripped ,all bluing removed and polished but hopefully they keep it well oiled, as it WILL rust up......when in doubt we will test the surface somewhere out of sight, with a bit of cold blue, see if the surface darkens.......atfer all these years we can tell at a glance if its nickel ( shiny/yellowish) white, ( chrome) and either of the chromiums versus the stainless, and if its satin, (dull) or polished , (silver)..........buy the gun for its four digits, not the finish, price is the deciding factor,.....also if you want a "shooter" or a "collectible" like we always say ..." its the pucker factor....."
