Oh yes, happened to me exactly 3 times, first was at a Ruger theme show years ago, walking with jeff M. and spotted this bearcat on the table, Jeff said you oughta get this one for Laura, was holding it in my hand,waiting for the guy to finish, and he took it and said the other guy standing at the end of the table wanted, and had first dibs, his name will remain 'anonymous' ( may he rest in peace) Yes, it was an "S" gun, years later at the I-X center I was one of the OGCA directors and was walking around on Friday night ,check the folks setting up and making sure the guns were "tied', and helped a friend who was new to the gun shows, first time setting up and I showed him how to properly "tie" wrap the guns actions, and did a Bearcat , in the box for him ,he said he was selling it, and I said I'd come back in the morning, lo and behold another "collector" grabbed it first thing it the AM and walked by the table and flipped it around his fingers and went "Ha Ha , lookie what I got", yep the same Bearcat and another "S" gun...both these guns sold for in the $200 plus range................
some months later he brought it back around the table asking if I ( or Laura ) was still interested in it and I said yes, I wanted it for my wife...we settled on $1500........next spring guy brings me a LOWER serial number Bearcat, new in the box, and wanted to swap it for a 45 cal Vaquero, I got one from the guy behind me, for $325 , and traded for the Bearcat, yessir, it turned out to be another "S" Bearcat, needless to say my wife does not want or "need" them all, kept the lower numbered one and we sold the other to my friend Don W over in Bowling green,for HALF what we paid for it, $750 ( income averaging???) and later, SOMEHOW the 'radical one' talked Don out of it. 8) :roll: