Henry Rifle Forums

I've been looking through the handgun posts, and don't see much discussion about Ruger S/A revolvers. I was wondering if anyone owns, or has experience with, a Ruger New Bearcat? Ruger makes at least 5 models of this revolver in .22LR caliber. To my eyes, the coolest-looking one is model 0913 in stainless steel with fixed sights. Does anyone have a Bearcat as a companion to your Henry .22 rifle?

Here is the Ruger description page of the Bearcat http://www.ruger.com/products/newBearcat/models.html. Click on the 0913 model for some good photos. I think it would be a sharp revolver to have. I'd be interested in your comments.

Have a great day!

I kinda like the rounded birdshead style grip on 0915. I see some cylinder engraving and they look like fine firearms... but good lord $600 is quite a bit for a SA .22lr revolver no?

I just checked my local gun shop's website and they are priced in the high $400s to low $500s. Seems more reasonable I guess. I'll have to check them out next time I'm in.


http://www.riflegear.com/vsearch.aspx?S ... rm=bearcat

The last 3 SA Ruger 22 I've owned were junk . I had match pair of baby Vaquero cons numbered 22 lr . I spent big buck for them . And both guns leaded up so bad no matter who ammo I shot in them . They would shoot super wild after leading up . I sold them to a buddy at a big lost who is a collector and he said he would never shoot them . I replace them with the Cimarron in pic and it is perfect and shoots anything I put in it . .

Myself, I could never see the cost/price of them.

Practically the same price as a single six, which I would like to have, BTW

I own 3 Ruger single action revolvers but none are bearcats and none are rimfires. I have a single six in .32 H & R magnum; a blackhawk in .38spl/.357 mag, and a super blackhawk in .44spl/.44mag.

My friend"s wife had a .22lr bearcat and she loved it (she passed away about a year ago).

Generally, what I've read agrees with the three of you....other folk have said that the high cost is an issue. I've thought the same...

But txgunrunner also had the excessive leading problem with his two Rugers. I have an SP101 .357 Magnum revolver, and have no problems with leading, or anything else for that matter. So that leading issue was a surprise to me; but it is good to know.

Appreciate all of your honest comments.

Steve51 wrote:I own 3 Ruger single action revolvers but none are bearcats and none are rimfires. I have a single six in .32 H & R magnum; a blackhawk in .38spl/.357 mag, and a super blackhawk in .44spl/.44mag.

My friend"s wife had a .22lr bearcat and she loved it (she passed away about a year ago).

I've owned over 100 SA ruger in my life . And the last 15 or so where terrible . 44-40 in pic I sent 2 of the 4 in the pic back to Ruger and they replaced the barrel and cylinders in both guns . The 357 in pic had a short firing pin and I fixed that . The last 6 Rugers in 45 colt not in pic all the cylinders had 3 different sizes chambers in each cylinder and I reamed out to the same size . The two 32-20 and 357 MAX were perfect . I will never buy a Ruger SA in 22 revolver. The last 15 Cimarron / Uberti has all been perfect . The 38 "P" jr below are 7/8 size Colts .

All the SA 22 Ruger have .224 barrel because some shoot 22 mag in them . The correct barrel size is .2225 for 22 lr , plus the cylinders are drill and not chambered . The pic below shows how to test if it is drill or chambered . If you can 100 bullets out of those gun and run a patch down the barrel and not get any lead out of the barrel you are one of the lucky ones or your shooting a Uberti made gun .

My experience with the later model Rugers pretty well matches tx gunrunner's. The last two single sixes shot terrible and two Bearcats that were maybe a notch lower on the accuracy scale than the single sixes. I always wanted a Ruger Black Hawk Bisley. I was at the shop and a guy came in with a 44 Mag. Bisley model and wanted to sell it to the shop. He couldn't give the guy what he wanted for it so I was talking with the guy and asked what he would take for it and he gave me a better price so I asked the dealer if he would do the transfer and he said he would so I bought it. I took it to the range with a variety of ammo and I believe possibly I could have hit a barn if I was shooting from the inside. I sold it at a show to a dealer that collects Rugers. My older model Rugers from the '70's were all good shooters. I would like to have a single six again but afraid to buy one unless it would be a older one.

If I going buy a center fire revolver I carry a jacket bullet head with me and drop it in all 6 cylinders and use it as a gauge to see if all cylinder chamber size are the same size . See if some drop threw , need light pressure or hard pressure . Pass on gun if they are different sizes . I hope this make sense and help you buy a good gun and not a cheap MADE junker .

Thanks to tx gunrunner for some good head's up.

Two guns I really like are the Mark III and the Single Six. I have heard some rumblings over at RFC about the Mark III's. A lot of "This would never have gotten out the door if Bill Ruger was still alive". More and more, it seems if I want an accurate .22 with adjustable sights, the Browning Buckmark appears to be the answer, unless I buy used.

The Mark III is another one that is hot or cold in accuracy. Doesn't seem to be any middle ground. My wife has a Government Competition Mark II "slab side" that is a fantastic shooter. It has a Japan Tasco on it that works flawless and has a mount set up that I have never seen before. I bought her this for Christmas over 20 years ago. I have shot some groups with it that would be equal to quite a few rifles. It has had the trigger worked down to 2lb. and it is fun to shoot. I would only buy a single six if it was older. Here is her Ruger MK. II with our other hand guns. The Colt New Frontier is gone as it was not as accurate as the cheap Heritage.

The problem is with the SA Rugers 22lr only not any other Ruger 22 they make . The SA action has a .224 barrel for 22 mag/ 22 lr and the Ruger other 22 have a .2225 or .223 barrel which is the correct barrel size for a 22 lr . All there rifles and bottom feeder the chamber are reamed with a chamber reamer , where there SA guns all 6 chamber are drilled at the same time with 6 drill bits not a chamber reamer . That is why a 22 lr will fit in the front or back of Ruger SA 22 cylinder and will not seal the gases in chamber . Drill bits are like $1 each and chamber reamers are like $60 each wholesale and break easy . That how you cut cost and lose Quality .

After reading this thread I thought I would get out an H&R 686 that I have and see how cartridges fit the cylinders. 22 lR drops in , 22 Mags don't, so by my thinking ( and please correct me if I'm wrong) these combo 22's should be thought of as 22 mag revolvers that can also shoot long Rifle?

tx gunrunner wrote:The problem is with the SA Rugers 22lr only not any other Ruger 22 they make . The SA action has a .224 barrel for 22 mag/ 22 lr and the Ruger other 22 have a .2225 or .223 barrel which is the correct barrel size for a 22 lr . All there rifles and bottom feeder the chamber are reamed with a chamber reamer , where there SA guns all 6 chamber are drilled at the same time with a drill bit not a chamber reamer . That is why a 22 lr will fit in the front or back of Ruger SA 22 cylinder and will not seal the gases in chamber . Drill bits are like $1 each and chamber reamers are like $60 each wholesale and break easy . That how you cut cost and lose Quality .

Texas GunRunner,

First off, I always appreciate the knowledge and experience that is so obvious in all your posts.

I get it; the 22mag is 1 to 2 1000th of an inch larger than the 22LR. My combo, the Heritage seems to shoot the 22 mag better than the 22lr (accuracy).

So this problem isn't unique to Ruger, but I'll honestly have to educate myself quickly to understand what you're saying about the drill/reamed difference.

More to come.................

tx gunrunner wrote:If I going buy a center fire revolver I carry a jacket bullet head with me and drop it in all 6 cylinders and use it as a gauge to see if all cylinder chamber size are the same size . See if some drop threw , need light pressure or hard pressure . Pass on gun if they are different sizes . I hope this make sense and help you buy a good gun and not a cheap MADE junker .

Henry88 wrote:]Texas GunRunner,
~~First off, I always appreciate the knowledge and experience that is so obvious in all your posts.
~~Thanks to tx gunrunner for some good head's up.

Ditto-ditto. I agree with Henry88's comments to you, tx gunrunner. Your experience and info to my original post have been quite helpful.
Glad you are on board the Forum as our resident "Firearms Advisor!"

Jdl447 wrote:After reading this thread I thought I would get out an H&R 686 that I have and see how cartridges fit the cylinders.
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22 lR drops in , 22 Mags don't, so by my thinking ( and please correct me if I'm wrong) these combo 22's should be thought of as 22 mag revolvers that can also shoot long Rifle?

Well said . A 22 mag that shoots 22lr ...Ruger is NOT the only company that builds there guns that way . I only found Uberti 22 to have .2225 / .223 barrels in there comb gun and REAM there cylinder . I'm a serous shooter and I want super accurate gun shoots good and don't lead up . I don't want a gun that just goes bang . There is some that shoot good but they are very picky on ammo too . Shooting at a beer can and missing it is not a big deal with most shooter and spending more time cleaning lead out of a barrel then shooting it is no big deal either . I want that Bearcat shopkeeper with the birdshead so bad . I when to 10 LGS to find and BUY one and it was a little pricey and I don't care about cost . Checked it out and boy I was very disappointed with ...It has .224 barrel mag barrel and it is a 22lr only and cylinder are drilled and NOT reamed and this is out of Ruger's custom gunshop .... I want a shooter and not a safe Queen .

Appreciate the comments made by everyone...more than I expected! I learned quite a lot of helpful & new info from this thread.
Onward again to the drawing board!!

tx gunrunner wrote:If I going buy a center fire revolver I carry a jacket bullet head with me and drop it in all 6 cylinders and use it as a gauge to see if all cylinder chamber size are the same size . See if some drop threw , need light pressure or hard pressure . Pass on gun if they are different sizes . I hope this make sense and help you buy a good gun and not a cheap MADE junker .

This is a GREAT tip. Thanks.