{{Infobox weapon | name = Ruger Bearcat | image = Ruger-New-Bearcat.jpg | image_size = 300 | caption = Ruger New Bearcat - Blued | origin = United States | type = [[Single-action revolver]] <!-- Type selection --> | is_ranged = yes <!-- Service history --> | service = | used_by = | wars = <!-- Production history --> | designer = [[William B. Ruger]] | design_date = 1957–1958{{sfn | Wilson | 1996 | p=49}} | manufacturer = [[Sturm, Ruger & Co.]] | unit_cost = $49.50 (1958),{{sfn | Wilson | 1996 | p=50}} $639 (2020)<ref name="0912Specs">{{Cite web|url=https://ruger.com/products/newBearcat/specSheets/0912.html|title = Ruger® Bearcat® Single-Action Revolver Model 0912}}</ref> | production_date = 1958 * 1958–1971 (''1{{sup|st}}'' issue)<ref name="MGV">{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Philip|title=Gun Digest Book of Modern Gun Values: The Shooter's Guide to Guns 1900 to Present|edition=16th|pages =241}}</ref> * 1971–1975 (''2{{sup|nd}}'' issue)<ref name="MGV"/> * 1993–present (''3{{sup|rd}}'' issue)<ref name=Ruger>{{cite web|title=The Ruger New Bearcat|url=http://www.ruger.com/products/newBearcat/models.html|publisher=Sturm Ruger|accessdate=21 December 2012}}</ref> | number = | variants = see ''[[#Variants|variants]]'' * Bearcat, 1st issue * Super Bearcat, 2nd issue * New Bearcat, 3rd issue <!-- General specifications --> | spec_label = | weight = * {{convert|17|oz|g|abbr=on}} (''1{{sup|st}}'' issue)<ref name="MGV"/> * {{convert|22.5|oz|g|abbr=on}} (''2{{sup|nd}}'' issue)<ref name="MGV"/> * {{convert|24|oz|g|abbr=on}} (''3{{sup|rd}}'' issue)<ref name=Ruger/> | length = * {{convert|8.875|in|cm|2|abbr=on}} (''1{{sup|st}}'' issue)<ref name="MGV"/> * {{convert|8.875|in|cm|2|abbr=on}} (''2{{sup|nd}}'' issue)<ref name="MGV"/> * {{convert|9|in|cm|abbr=on}} (''3{{sup|rd}}'' issue)<ref name=Ruger/> | part_length = * {{convert|4|in|cm|2|abbr=on}} (''1{{sup|st}}'' issue)<ref name="MGV"/> * {{convert|4|in|cm|2|abbr=on}} (''2{{sup|nd}}'' issue)<ref name="MGV"/> * {{convert|4.2|in|cm|abbr=on}} (''3{{sup|rd}}'' issue)<ref name=Ruger/> | width = | height = | diameter = | crew = | passengers = <!-- Ranged weapon specifications --> | cartridge = [[.22 LR]], [[.22 Long]], [[.22 Short]], [[.22 WMR]] | cartridge_weight = | caliber = | barrels = 1:16" RH<ref name=Ruger/> | action = [[Single-action]]<ref name=Ruger/> | rate = | velocity = | range = | max_range = | feed = 6-round cylinder<ref name="MGV"/> | sights = }} 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 Arms|Remington]] single-action revolvers of the mid-19th century.<ref name=RugerOver>{{cite web|title=The Ruger New Bearcat Overview|url=http://www.ruger.com/products/newBearcat/index.html|publisher=Sturm Ruger|accessdate=21 December 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621090256/http://www.ruger.com/products/newBearcat/index.html|archivedate=21 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 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]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=Women and Guns|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nREUAQAAMAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Little River Press|page=2}}</ref><ref name=RugerOver/>
==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.<ref name=GunBlast>{{cite web|last=Quinn|first=Jeff|title=Ruger's New Bearcat|url=http://www.gunblast.com/Bearcat.htm|publisher=Gun Blast|accessdate=21 December 2012}}</ref> In 1993, Ruger brought back the Bearcat as the New Bearcat, now incorporating the transfer bar system.<ref name="Ruger Features">{{cite web|title=The Ruger New Bearcat Features|url=http://www.ruger.com/products/newBearcat/features.html|publisher=Sturm Ruger|accessdate=21 December 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120053738/http://www.ruger.com/products/newBearcat/features.html|archivedate=20 January 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 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{{sup|st}} issue=== The original Bearcat featured a fixed [[partridge sight|Patridge front sight]], music wire coil springs, a non-fluted engraved cylinder, a square notched rear, and made with an alloy solid frame and uncheckered plastic grips. The grips would later be made from walnut.<ref name="MGV"/>
===Bearcat 2{{sup|nd}} issue=== The Bearcat 2{{sup|nd}} 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.<ref name="MGV"/><ref>{{cite web | last=Hamm | first=Bill | title=Ruger Super Bearcat | website=GunBlast.com | date=2006-03-22 | url=https://gunblast.com/Hamm_SuperBearcat.htm | access-date=2020-06-28}}</ref>
===Bearcat 3{{sup|rd}} issue=== The Bearcat 3{{sup|rd}} issue, also known as the '''New Bearcat''', is Ruger's reintroduced model which came out in 1993.<ref name=Ruger/> It features smooth rosewood grips with a Ruger medallion embedded.<ref name="MGV"/> The New Bearcat also incorporated Ruger's new [[transfer bar]] safety system.<ref name="Ruger Features"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ruger Safety Information | website=Ruger Firearms | date=2016-02-16 | url=https://ruger.com/safety/announcements.html | access-date=2020-06-28}}</ref>
In 2002, Ruger began offering the Bearcat in stainless steel.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ruger's New Stainless Bearcat | website=GunBlast.com | date=2002-06-25 | url=https://gunblast.com/Stainless_Bearcat.htm | access-date=2020-06-28}}</ref>
In 2008, a 50th Anniversary edition was released with gold-filled script and special engravings, with 2,539 units produced.<ref name="Lee2014">{{cite book|author=Jerry Lee|title=Standard Catalog of Ruger Firearms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVeYCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA49|date=16 December 2014|work=F+W Media, Inc.|isbn=978-1-4402-4060-7|pages=49–|publisher=Krause Publications }}</ref>
In 2015, Ruger introduced a variant of the Bearcat with adjustable sights, addressing a longstanding criticism of the limitations of the fixed sights.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/5/26/ruger-s-new-bearcat/|title = An Official Journal of the NRA | Ruger's New Bearcat}}</ref>
== References == * {{cite book | last=Wilson | first=R. L. | title=Ruger & His Guns: A History of the Man, the Company, and Their Firearms | publisher=Simon & Schuster | publication-place=New York | year=1996 | isbn=0-684-80367-4 | oclc=33820244}} {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.ruger.com/products/newBearcat}}
{{Ruger}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
[[Category:Ruger revolvers]] [[Category:Single-action revolvers]] [[Category:.22 LR revolvers]] [[Category:.22 Winchester Magnum firearms]] [[Category:Revolvers of the United States]] [[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1958]]