Price Check: 1964 Ruger Bearcat 95%+

It has the original box and papers. The guy wants $375. Does that sound right? It's pretty old.

as usual, condition , NOT age is what its "mostly" about...to ME, that is a very good, fair deal.......

350-450 for the gun, and an easy $90-100 for the box/papers..........

Okay, now he says there's no papers or box. And the gun has the conversion kit installed but he has the old parts in the sealed plastic bag. He said to make him an offer. What about $300 guys?

As has already been stated, condition is what determines value. You haven't said what the condition is. Have you seen the gun yet? Actually looked at it. That will help you a lot to determine that. It can have a fair amount of holster wear and still be worth $300 IMO. Make sure it's functional and tight.

He just sent me some pics. From the pics the gun is in "like new" condition! No turn line. No loss of bluing. He has kept it in a padded case. He also sent a copy of a 2009 receipt from Ruger where they repaired the barrel, and replaced the action screws, trigger screws and internal components. I'd assume the internal components means the safety bar.


I threw out $275 and he said okay. I guess I'll have a 1964 Bearcat by tomorrow afternoon. Now I'll have to look for the box and papers.

Anybody know what the box for this 1964 Bearcat looks like?

Well, at $275,, you did ok. When Ruger "repaired the barrel," they may have done a reblue of the gun. That MAY be why it looks so good. MAYBE,, but you can look closely to see it.

As for the box, a black box, with a red end label, 2 piece type. I have a few,, but no pictures handy.

If Ruger did a re-blue, would that affect the value (+/-)?

been a long time since Ruger did ANY 'reblues" of the Bearcats at least with the alloy frames, they will NOT "pull the barrel", chance cracking the frame.......... still sounds like a very good deal . with the parts, just keep them with the gun.............

box will look like this......

I agree with Rugerguy, even if it was re-blued, which I doubt you bought it at a price that would not be affected. In fact, I have 3 Security Sixes that I believe to be re-blued, and as long as you don't over pay, and I'm not a collector, I consider them a very fine and fuctional firearm. At the price you paid, you did well.

For a 1964 version I thought the box was red on black, and the orange on black was for the 50's models.

If I could ever figure out how to send post an image, I'd attach a copy of the repair order he sent me.

Repair receipt:

Pic of Bearcat:

Nice looking gun, you did just fine, we like it.......and as noted on the repair invoice, they replaced the screws, and REPAIRED the barrel not remove or replace it.......just changing the screws cleans up any gun, and makes it look "cleaner"....as for the box, the one I pictured was it, and when the Super Bearcats came out, basically the same box with a small white tag in the upper left corner of the end label would say "Super"................nice clean boxes would run in the $50 to $90 range, the Bearcat box is a bit more than the Super box, as there were even "left" over ( over run) of the Super Bearcat boxes.........

Dan,

Check this link out.

http://www.armslist.com/posts/5651162/dallas-texas-handguns-for-sale--fs-ruger-bearcat-1964

Notice the black box with red. They say it's for a 1964 (same as mine). Are you sure it's black with orange?

I thought I read somewhere on the internet that the black/orange boxes were 1957-58 manufactured models.

Now I'm wondering if the orange on black is really a faded red on black?

unable to "see" your link,, I put a better picture in my other post to you as to the boxes for the bearcat and the Super Bearcats.......1958 till 1973

Thank you sir. The pics look like orange or black, but I'm pretty sure it's really red on black.

Okay, with a little more face-to-face negotiating this morning after seeing the Bearcat in person, I picked it up for $225. There is some loss of bluing on the tip of the barrel and a few minor scratches. No box, but it has the conversion pamphlet (1996) and all the original internal parts in a sealed plastic bag.

Question: I know how to take care of the scratches in the blued portion of the gun, but not the gold colored trigger guard. Is that something I can just buff or polish out without removing the finish? I guess what I'm asking is, is the trigger guard just coated somehow with the gold finish color or is that the color throughout the trigger guard?

Also, has anyone ever seen a hammer that has been partially blued like this one?

Pics:

The trigger guard is anodized aluminum. If you buff it, the finish will go bye-bye.