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Ruger Bearcat ammo choices-continued

tsr1965
I have three Bearcats, two originals, and one of the newer ones in stainless. They all will handle any 22 short, long, long rifle, shot, cb cap, bb cap, or blank. If shooting a number of the shorter rounds, you might want to give your cylinder a quick once over with a mop, brush, and dry patch, to get all of the residue out of the chamber's.

While I have tried several different brands of ammunition, and shooter's, I have yet to see one of these, regulated to point of aim, wthout having to tweak the gun, just a little.

For those who are interested, Hamilton Bowen, of Bowen Classic Arms, does some great modifications to these. While, not inexpensive, his work is flawless.

http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/catalog/ruger_bearcat_packages.html

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EDIT 1

Beantown,

I do totally agree with you, on your outlook. The Bearcat, is a S&W 22/32 kitgun size, which is significantly smaller then the k-frame based S&W 22LR revolvers. In all actuality, it is most likely a little smaller than the J-frame kit guns. It goes well in a backwoods hunter's back pack, or a trappr's as well. But so don't the little J-frame's.

I would just as soon have one of the NICE pre-war kit guns from S&W, or at least a pre-number series, to go along with my early 63, in stainless. However, it is also kinda like having a piece of a Picasso, by having something that the great Mr. Bowen, has had his hands on. I would be happy either way, or with both, and the prices these days are nearly the same.

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EDIT 2

Sometimes, its not about the money or investment quality, but it is about the name. Otherwise I would presume, that you would own mostly Colt's, than S&W. Yes, I do put a Wilson 1911 Commander sized 45 ACP, Supergrade in my hunting pack. It has its special place in there.

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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by tsr1965
    For those who are interested, Hamilton Bowen, of Bowen Classic Arms, does some great modifications to these. While, not inexpensive, his work is flawless.

    http://www.bowenclassicarms.com/catalog/ruger_bearcat_packages.html

    "Not inexpensive" is putting it mildly.

    I'm not at all knocking what the guy does; by all accounts he's one of the best revolver gunsmiths on the planet; but for the $1100 he wants to tune the gun and install Smith and Wesson adjustable sights into your Bearcat, you could just purchase a used Smith and Wesson 617 (or 17) with factory adjustable sights. . . AND a second new in box Bearcat.

    If you're actually willing to spend $1500 for a nice .22 revolver (ie cost of gun + cost of gunsmithing), there are all sort of other good options open, including hand-tuned pre-war Smiths, old Colts (Officer, Diamondback, Scout, etc), etc, and those guns will not only retain their purchase value, but probably continue to appreciate over time.

    Ultimately, no matter what you do to a Bearcat, its still a Bearcat, and it's probably going to be decades before you could ever recoup the cost of a custom-modified gun in resale.

    No comment on quality here, but if you do have your heart set on a custom Bearcat, this guy will do essentially the same work as Bowen for only $500, and he's using Bowen's parts to do it:

    http://www.clementscustomguns.com/rugerrevolvers.html


    quote: However, it is also kinda like having a piece of a Picasso, by having something that the great Mr. Bowen, has had his hands on. I would be happy either way, or with both, and the prices these days are nearly the same.

    The difference here between Bowen and Picasso is that if you buy a Picasso, you're probably doing so at auction and not paying much more than true market value. With Bowen, I think what's going to happen is you're going to take a $500 Bearcat, add $1100 worth of "name" gunsmithing, and end up with an (if you're lucky) $900 Bearcat.

    I "get" that the Bearcat is a small kit-type gun, but is anyone really going to throw what amounts to a $1600 custom revolver in their backpack? If you're after a small single action .22 revolver with a great trigger and adjustable sights, do you really need to spend $1600 to get there? I'd hope you don't.

    If I'm looking for a high-end SA .22, I think I'd skip Ruger and go for a Freedom Arms .22. Not only will that come right from the factory built exactly to your specs, hand fitted and tuned with adjustable sights, but it should also retain its value a bit better than the Bowen.
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by tsr1965
    EDIT 2

    Sometimes, its not about the money or investment quality, but it is about the name. Otherwise I would presume, that you would own mostly Colt's, than S&W. Yes, I do put a Wilson 1911 Commander sized 45 ACP, Supergrade in my hunting pack. It has its special place in there.

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    To be clear, I have both, but nothing I have is a "collector"; they're all "shooters". I certainly don't mind if they go up in value, but I'm buying them to shoot. If I were really after "name", I'd probably have all Colts and no Smiths.

    As you know, its the Colts that are mostly discontinued, adding to the name appeal, collectibility, and price.

    Not sure they're really the better gun, though. Obviously, it depends on which guns you're comparing and then its going to come down to both subjective factors, and which factors you think are most important ("feel" vs "accuracy" vs durability, etc). I think as pure "shooters" the older production Smith wheelguns are certainly up there.

    Even if (arguably) the Colts are a bit better for whatever reason, if you're interested more in actually shooting them (as opposed to collecting them) I'm quite convinced you'll do better for your dollar with older Smiths then Colts, mostly because the price of Colts has shot way into the stratosphere, where as old Smiths are still a bit more reasonably priced.

    In this case, its doubtful that you're buying a Ruger bearcat for its collectibility. If you're paying someone to tune it up for you, then, presumably you're doing so because you want a slick small SA .22 revolver, not because you're trying to increase its collector's value. So its a question of intent here. If that's what you're after, is paying another $1100 (ie more than double the cost of a brand new gun) the best way to get it?

    Anyway, I definitely "get" the appeal of branding. The whole point of "luxury" goods is having the best possible thing regardless of cost. In some cases, its having the expensive thing precisely BECAUSE of cost as a status symbol (eg a Rolex, where you're effectively paying $1000 for the watch, and $9000 more for the word "Rolex" on it).

    In this case, I think having Bowen work over your gun, is sort of the same thing. He's got the best "brand" in gunsmithing revolvers, so even if he just doing a by-the-book tuneup on your revolver that he could do in his sleep in under three hours, and even if the work could be done just as well by one of his many current or former apprentices (and heck. . .maybe one of his apprentices *IS* doing it) or some other gunsmith at a fraction of the cost, you still want HIM to do it, because you believe that the job can't be done better elsewhere.

    My reservation here isn't really about spending money on an upgrade, or even a "luxury" one if that's what you want. People definitely spend a lot more money on stupider things, that they won't enjoy for a lifetime then pass on to their grandchildren. Its just about spending it on THIS particular gun that rubs me the wrong way, a bit.

    EG, even if I could take a Ruger GP100 and spend $1500 to have Bowen tune to the point where it feels like a Colt Python is that really a smart thing to do? Its like putting a turbocharger into your Buick. Yes, you "can" do that. . .but "should" you?
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