I see these came out awhile ago but I just discovered them.....are they still in production or was this a limited edition? How does the Bearcat compare to the Single Six size-wise (I have a Single Six Bisley model now)?

Looks like a fun little gun. Anyone here have one, how do you like it?

Blued: https://ruger.com/products/newBearcat/specSheets/0918.html
Stainless: https://ruger.com/products/newBearcat/specSheets/0915.html

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The little birdshead shopkeeper. Werent these Lipsey exclusive guns?
They looked to be nice but I never could find one and the price seemed high on them.

Bearcat is noticeably smaller than the single six to the extent that it can be more difficult to load/unload for those with large hands.  However they are excellent tools for teaching new handgun shooters especially women and children.  The bearcat is what I taught my daughters on and I think had they been available at the time I would have certainly picked one up.

The shopkeeper has a shorter barrel than the standard Bearcat 3.5 vs 4.2 (ish).  They typically have fixed sights and take some getting used to when shooting on where to hold

The blued shopkeepers don't have the bear and cat scroll work on the cylinder,


I have my dads 70's Bearcat and a stainless steel one i bought new lately..  they are fun to shoot and quite accurate


UNLIKE the single six you still have a 1/2 cock to load a Bearcat.  And then let the hammer down manually.

I have a single six convertible with a 6.5" barrel - and that thing is HUGE in comparison.  The bearcat fits my hands better, but you would have issues shooting a BC with gloves..

I had a stainless Bearcat, a Shopkeeper, and the blue Shopkeeper in your picture.

The only one I kept was the one in your picture.
I wanted a Shopkeeper from the time they came out.
I like small guns.
They are easy to carry and fun to shoot.

The reason that I kept the blue version is that the barrel is 1/2” longer.
This gives you an extractor rod that is 1/2” longer.
That makes all the difference in a fun afternoon of shooting.

One of the few complaints about the original Bearcat Shopkeeper was that extracting the shells was too difficult and time consuming.
The only way to do it was to hold the cylinder and use the extractor to catch the upper edge of the empty shell with a sharp tap.
Another complaint was the sharp edges on the extractor rod.
Combine the hard tap and the sharp edges and it was easy to end up with bloody fingers.

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I tried to buy one, but they were sold out everywhere, and only available on the secondary market (like gunbroker.com) at hugely marked-up prices.


ETA: Since the Shopkeeper gave me a .22 revolver boner, I relieved myself by buying a stainless Bisley Single-Six.

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Fun little gun if you like single action. Great for teaching kids to shoot.  Stainless version has cool engravings.

If you can find one, get it.

Interesting. I don't know why it never crossed my mind that there would be a difference in barrel length and cylinder engraving between the blued and stainless versions.

Thanks for the photo @mini14jac .

I have a newer (2010ish) Bearcat and I love it. When the shopkeeper came out I saw one in a gun shop and had to have it. The first one I looked at the cylinder would just spin no matter what position the hammer was in, the second was so bound up it was basically nonfunctional. The third the hammer locked back into place and was just stuck. It would not fall whe the trigger was pulled even while pushing on the hammer. So being 0 for 3 I left and never did get one. I couldn’t believe all 3 with issues like that got out the door, let alone all ended up at 1 dealer.
I was bummed but better than walking out with a lemon and dealing with that.

Funny, mine was totally locked up at the store as well.  Got it for quite a discount due to that issue.   Took off the grips and soaked it in oil (Mobil 1) overnight.   Worked just fine in the morning.   Still working just fine.    I'm thinking whatever oil Ruger used on them at the factory evaporated or got sticky.

My first Bearcat was the “full size” stainless with the engraved cylinder.
I ordered it from CDNN Investments.
After I picked it up from my FFL, I tried to pull the hammer back.
It wouldn’t budge.

I took the trigger group apart and polished all the parts with a cloth wheel and polishing compound.
Even though I couldn’t see any obvious issues, it worked perfectly when I put it back together.

Ruger, seriously!!!!
These are high dollar guns and you can’t have better QC than that?

In all fairness, both the stainless and the blued Shopkeepers had working triggers when I picked them up.

@Grendel_j you are welcome sir!