Ruger Bearcat is a cute gun

[Faulkner]

I picked up a clean, nice used Ruger Bearcat .22 LR revolver this week. Got it from an acquaintance who needed to sell it to fund another firearm purchase he was wanting to make. He was happy, I was happy, so I suppose it was a good deal.

He said it had not been shot much and after getting it to my work bench and removing the cylinder I'd have to say he was right. I took a break from servicing my Dillon press to check out the Bearcat when my wife stopped by the Man Cave to bring me a glass of her wonderful iced tea. I'd just finished cleaning it up and handed it to her and she said, "I like this one, this a real cute little gun."

I doubt it's the first time a Ruger Bearcat has been called cute.

 

[Mule Packer]

Faulkner, your wife is absolutely right when she says the Bearcat is a cute little gun. It is. But even better, it's handy enough to either carry on your belt, pack in your tackle box, or slip into your saddle bags without taking up much room or adding much weight. It's a perfect little "kit gun."

 

[Muley Gil]

Bearcats ARE cute! I have owned an Old Model and two New Models; one blue and one stainless. I still have the stainless one and recently added a rechambered to .22 Magnum cylinder.

 

[eveled]

Sacks Peterson makes great stag grips for Bearcats for a great price.

 

[DWalt]

I owned one once, over 50 years ago. It was just too small for my hands and I didn't keep it long. But I should have kept it as the early Bearcats are quite valuable today.

 

[Marshal Tom]

I purchased an old model for my wife several years ago. She also thought it was cute. She however didn't think that it was cute at all when she later found out that I had sold it to purchase something else. She had not been using it!!! I am going to look for an old model Super Bear Cat with box etc to replace it for her. OOPs!

 

[mrchuck]

I'll be looking for one at the next gun show that I go too. I sold my last one back in 1973, and have regretted it ever since.
I did not know that a 22 Magnum re-chambered would work in one.

 

[clang444]

Here is a Super Bearcat I picked up years ago. It has a steel frame.

Notice the frame, trigger and hammer are turning plumb, that sometimes happens to old Rugers - it has not been refinished.

 

[vonn]

Single action .22 cal. revolvers are among my favorite handguns. Cheap to shoot and will handle most anything that you might encounter out roaming the outdoors in most areas of the country.

 

[labworm]

Such a little darlin to have around.

DOB 1968, purchased in 2012, stock photo.

 

[Fishinfool]

Another vote for Sacks Peterson's Elk Antler grips, and the Ruger Bearcat. A favorite of mine for plinking and carrying in the woods looking for small game targets of opportunity. Accurate enough if you can get a steady grip and focus on those small sights.

Mine is shown with a Walther P-22 (another fun woods plinker) for comparison.

Larry

 

[Peak53]

Dad's Bearcat

I'm pretty sure Dad looked at SW and came home with the Ruger after conferring with my mother on a pay phone at K-Mart while I sat in the car. Not sure if he was asking for permission or forgiveness. I still have the hang tag for $59 from 1966. We had lots of fun shooting it at beer cans, made extra fun 'cause he was a teetotaler preacher. When he felt threatened by some neighbor's dogs here at the cabin in the 80's he took to packing it on walks around the neighborhood.

I have trouble shooting it very accurately, though, and it is a pain to reload and clean. I cleaned up some lead, shined up with Ren-Wax and put it in the safe. Once in awhile I think - "hey, I could sell this and buy another SW." Fortunately, the whisper coming from my shoulder prevents that. It was his.

 

[GypsmJim]

I bought an old model Bearcat a few years ago. It came with real stags, plus the original grips and box, paper, etc. I won't tell you what i paid because everyone would say I stole it....

Anyway, it IS a cute little gun.

BTW, in the OP's pic i see it is staged next to one of those newfangled Wranglers.....Nice combo.

 

[jimmyj]

Mine cost $39.50 (retail) in my youth. I always thought that the Bearcat in .22 Magnum would make a great "Hideout".

 

[DCWilson]

I recently came into a used but well-maintained Bearcat through the thoughtfulness of a friend. The very low six digit serial number makes it just a little younger than the one labworm showed, so maybe 1969 production. I had first become aware of them soon after their introduction because a high school friend had one. He lived on some acreage in a coastal canyon, and I used to visit him on weekends to shoot our .22s and occasionally his larger bore rifles.

At that time the gun seemed small to me even in my not fully grown teenage hand, but I recently checked its size against S&W's prewar .22/32 Kit Gun, with which I am more familiar than I probably deserve to be, and which is definitely a compact revolver but not one I think of as small. The KG and the Bearcat are basically the same size. So I now definitely think of the Bearcat as "about the right size" for specific purposes and circumstances.

Nice little guns. I haven't yet had the chance to shoot the new addition in my safe, but hope to soon.

 

[wundudnee]

I always wanted a Bearcat, I got this one at an auction of a Ruger collector. I keep thinking I should shoot it, but when I go out to shoot .22s I just always take one of my K-22s.

 

[diyj98]

I've had a few and sold them over the years, but my adjustable sight Bearcat is a keeper.

 

[Rudi]

I've never owned one. But as a kid I remember looking at one in the Ruger catalogue and thinking they were cool. What are 50 year old Bearcats going for now?

 

[les.b]

I've always lusted after one of these, but never seemed to find one at the same time I had some spare gun funds!! I see some real nice examples here. Someday.....

Best Regards, Les

 

[.38SuperMan]

I've had a few and sold them over the years, but my adjustable sight Bearcat is a keeper.

Same here. I had one in the early 70's and sold it then acquired a pristine 1970 model in the mid 70's. I just traded that one a few weeks ago along with a almost new 2206 with box and papers for a beautiful condition Winchester 62. I had recently bought a new Bearcat with adjustable sights and really love it. No regrets trading the 1970 Bearcat on that Winchester.

Actually the Winchester and Bearcat make a great pair.

 

[Erich]

Bowen .22 Mag conversion with Sack Peterson stocks:



(It's cute.)

 

[D Brown]

Ruger New Bearcats

I used to have an old model Bearcat, but sold it many years ago.

I currently have two New Model Bearcats; a blue one I've had for 14 years or so, and a stainless one I just picked up within the last year.

They're lots of fun to shoot, but that's always been the case with these small .22's.

 

[Old Corp]

Have always admired the Bearcats. I'm afraid if I got one now it would languish in the safe.
My S&W M63 4" with it's newly finished-reamed chambers fills the same niche.

 

[schutzen-jager]

mine

from last year of original production run -

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Such a little darlin to have around.

DOB 1968, purchased in 2012, stock photo.

I bought one like that NIB around 1970 for $40.00. Wish I had kept it.

 

[Drm50]

I had several of the old models that I bought new at the time. They are a well made piece of cuteness and always ended up trading them off because everyone thought they were cute. I never did much good at shooting them accurately except short range. Don't see a lot of them on used market around this area. People that have them hold onto them. They are a nifty little SA but they ain't a m34. Adj sights would have made a big difference on them.

 

[Muley Gil]

I'll be looking for one at the next gun show that I go too. I sold my last one back in 1973, and have regretted it ever since.
I did not know that a 22 Magnum re-chambered would work in one.

I THINK the Old Model cylinder is too short to rechamber to .22 Magnum. My New Model has the transfer bar, but loads like an Old Model (half cock.)

 

[Biggfoot44]

I have a one owner 1963 Bearcat . I knew the owner .

The husband died after years of bad health . She sold a lot of the guns to our mutual aquaintence FFL , then she passed within a month also .

Came with 1963 synthetic MOP grips, 1963 Buchiemer holster ...... and her name engraved on the bottom of the grip . The flip side is that was the reason I could snatch up a VG condition 1963 Bearcat affordably . Someday I'll get some custom grips that extend below the butt to both conceal , and fit my hand better . Meanwhile I'm contemplating either a piece of black electrical tape, or strategically placed black nail polish .

Yes , for pure shooting , Single Sixes fit me better , but as noted above , the Kit Gun equivalent size fits its own niche .

 

[CH4]

Not often do you see Ruger and cute in the same sentence, however, handsome and No 1 works.

 

[JayFramer]

Wasn't the Bearcat originally meant for trappers as a finishing pistol on trapped critters?

Most say that for actual hunting, a Single Six is superior. Just more accurate.