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Ruger Bearcat
Ruger New Bearcat - Blued
Type	Single-action revolver
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	William B. Ruger
Designed	1957–1958
Manufacturer	Sturm, Ruger & Co.
Unit cost	$49.50 (1958), $639 (2020)
Produced	1958 1958–1971 (1 issue) 1971–1975 (2 issue) 1993–present (3 issue)
Variants	see variants Bearcat, 1st issue Super Bearcat, 2nd issue New Bearcat, 3rd issue
Specifications
Mass	17 oz (480 g) (1 issue) 22.5 oz (640 g) (2 issue) 24 oz (680 g) (3 issue)
Length	8.875 in (22.54 cm) (1 issue) 8.875 in (22.54 cm) (2 issue) 9 in (23 cm) (3 issue)
Barrel length	4 in (10.16 cm) (1 issue) 4 in (10.16 cm) (2 issue) 4.2 in (11 cm) (3 issue)
Cartridge	.22 LR, .22 Long, .22 Short, .22 WMR
Barrels	1:16" RH
Action	Single-action
Feed system	6-round cylinder

The Ruger Bearcat is a single-action, .22 caliber revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co., introduced in 1958. It is based on the classic Remington single-action revolvers of the mid-19th century. Because of its compact size and frame, it is advertised as being ideal for hikers or campers in need of a .22 LR revolver, or "kit gun".

Design

In 1974 Ruger patented a transfer bar safety system for their single-action revolvers and discontinued the production of the Bearcat, which was not readily adaptable to the new transfer bar design. In 1993, Ruger brought back the Bearcat as the New Bearcat, now incorporating the transfer bar system. Some time in the early 1980s, Bill Ruger gave an interview to a writer with the Ruger Collector's Association (RCA) and talked about the Bearcat. He said that the Bearcat was the first revolver for which the Ruger engineers developed the transfer bar and that they could easily have made it that way in 1974. They dropped it, Bill said, because of a mistake by the marketing department. When that department sent out the 1974 catalog and order forms to the distributors, they forgot to include the Bearcat. When the orders came back without orders for the Bearcat, they assumed that there was no demand and they dropped it. Today, only old members of the Ruger Collector's Association are aware of the true story of what really happened to the original Bearcat, since that story was published in the Ruger Collectors Journal and is a part of their history.

Variants

Bearcat 1 issue

The original Bearcat featured a fixed Patridge front sight and a square notched rear. It was made with an alloy solid frame and an uncheckered plastic grips that were later replaced with walnut grip. It also features music wire coil springs and a non-fluted engraved cylinder.

Bearcat 2 issue

The Bearcat 2 issue was marketed in 1971 as an improved version of the original Bearcat, and renamed the Super Bearcat; it featured an all-steel frame rather than an alloy frame.

Bearcat 3 issue

The Bearcat 3 issue, also known as the New Bearcat, is Ruger's reintroduced model which came out in 1993. It features smooth rosewood grips with a Ruger medallion embedded. The New Bearcat also incorporated Ruger's new transfer bar safety system. It was offered with an additional .22 WMR cylinder, which was recalled by Ruger in April 1994 due to a concern the cylinders were improperly timed.

In 2002, Ruger began offering the Bearcat in stainless steel.

In 2008, a 50th Anniversary edition was released with gold-filled script and special engravings, with 2,539 units produced.

In 2015, Ruger introduced a variant of the Bearcat with adjustable sights, addressing a longstanding criticism of the limitations of the fixed sights.

References

• Wilson, R. L. (1996). Ruger & His Guns: A History of the Man, the Company, and Their Firearms. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80367-4. OCLC 33820244.

1. Wilson 1996, p. 49.
2. Wilson 1996, p. 50.
3. "Ruger® Bearcat® Single-Action Revolver Model 0912".
4. ^ Peterson, Philip. Gun Digest Book of Modern Gun Values: The Shooter's Guide to Guns 1900 to Present (16th ed.). p. 241.
5. ^ "The Ruger New Bearcat". Sturm Ruger. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
6. ^ "The Ruger New Bearcat Overview". Sturm Ruger. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
7. Women and Guns. Little River Press. 2006. p. 2.
8. Quinn, Jeff. "Ruger's New Bearcat". Gun Blast. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
9. ^ "The Ruger New Bearcat Features". Sturm Ruger. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
10. Hamm, Bill (22 March 2006). "Ruger Super Bearcat". GunBlast.com. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
11. "Ruger Safety Information". Ruger Firearms. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
12. "Ruger's New Stainless Bearcat". GunBlast.com. 25 June 2002. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
13. Jerry Lee (16 December 2014). Standard Catalog of Ruger Firearms. Krause Publications. pp. 49–. ISBN 978-1-4402-4060-7. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
14. "An Official Journal of the NRA | Ruger's New Bearcat".

External links

• Official website

• Ruger revolvers
• Single-action revolvers
• .22 LR revolvers
• .22 Winchester Magnum firearms
• Revolvers of the United States
• Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1958