Maybe a rare New Model Single Six find

[Johnnu2]

Great to hear it is factory, almost had to be, done so well.. I thought to mention another old Ruger in my safe.. In 1960 I purchased a new Ruger Bearcat for my new wife, it fit her small lady hand so perfectly and she, even today, is very accurate with it.. It is sn D788, in it's original box with the paper work and in like new condition, less a very slight holster muzzle rub.. another lifetime keeper..
Thank you Jim for the additional info on my new high gloss, it is appreciated as is all the informative replies.. The chase and research have always been at the heart of my long 65+ year collecting career and so often reveal very interesting and many times un noticed or un recorded facts, eg. the "G" in the model number meaning high gloss you mentioned.. Tom

"

It is sn D788,

I believe that D serial number is "special" too.... IIRC it is a "duplicate" (serial number?) gun

J.

 

[TomTownUSA]

With ref to a forum comment about my early Bearcat sn D788, it was suggested the D was for duplicate, I had believed the D actually meant the 4,788th produced.. But I am a long way from being a Ruger expert..

 

[hittman]

Were there any D duplicate Bearcats or is D788 an alpha-cat?

 

[TomTownUSA]

According to one web Bearcat sn lookup, F483 started production in 1959 so I believe the D should be mfg'd late 1958, the first year of production... it seems the first couple years they used a sn alpha character that began after the production reached sn 999, A, B, etc. continuing thru the X when sn X545 began the 1960 production.. 1961 production began with sn 5600 so it appears the afpha character was eliminated sometime in late 1960..

 

[weaselmeatgravy]

With a 4-character A### Bearcat, the alpha letter is just an intentional part of the SN, and so the D is not a Duplicate indicator like on other Ruger models.

After 1-999 they started the alpha/numeric scheme, supposedly to confuse the competition as to how many guns they were selling (for some marketing reason). The suspicion is that they did not fill out every letter with 999 guns before moving to the next letter.

It does bring up an interesting question RE what they might have done had they accidently numbered two alpha cats with the same Dnnn number. Maybe DDnnn or maybe Dnnnn.

 

[moparclan]

My high polish Single Six in .32 mag.

Color difference Stainless L Nickel R