Now, this isn't just any old Bearcat, at least not to Bearcat fans and collectors. It's called an alpha cat because it's a Bearcat with a serial number that starts with a letter. The first year of production for the Bearcat was all the way back in 1958. The alpha cats ran only a little over a year, running late '58 through 1959. You can spot an alpha cat by those dark rosin impregnated rosewood grips without a medallion. Right after the Alph cats, Ruger switched to the more familiar oiled walnut grips.
The alpha cat pairs up nicely with my other old model Bearcat made in 1970, the last year of production for the old model Bearcats. Basically first and last production of the old model Bearcats in this pic.
A lot of folks, even some Ruger fans, don't appreciate just how small and petite these little jewels of a sixshooter really are. Here's my current production 2019 vintage New Bearcat with a familiar object to give a better sense of its size.
And here's the three Bearcats in my now growing Bearcat collection.
Questions/comments welcomed.
