Thanks for the reply Swedefiddle. Yes I can't rename the topic. 4340 is a heat treatable low alloy steal containing Nickel, Chromium, and Molybdenum. The steel is supposed to have great fatigue strength over time. It is also supposed to max out around 60 HRC.
I miss quoted earlier when I said Flame hardening. Being as that I don't know what xxx xxxx I am talking about and came here for help. What I should have stated (thanks Steve for being so helpful, yes that is sarcastic) is Flame hardening can get up to 50 and Nitriding can get you 60.
This is taken from Techsteel.net:
After tempering, flame or induction hardening will produce material with Rc 50, while nitriding will produce Rc 60.