The Bearcat Shopkeeper is one gun that had been on the drawing table for several years. It all started with a visit to one of our biggest and most loyal dealers in Alabama. I was talking to one of their store managers, who is a true sixgun connoisseur, when he mentioned his Bearcat he had sent off for some custom work just showed up and wanted to know if I would like to see it. Naturally, whatever else we were talking about was put on hold until we could check it out properly.

He showed me a beautiful little 3″ barreled Ruger Bearcat that I just couldn’t put down. We both agreed a Shopkeeper version would make for a great Lipsey’s Exclusive, and after talking to Ruger, they agreed to take a look at it. The little custom Bearcat was sent up to Ruger so they could check it out and they agreed it would be a great project, however, Bearcat production was already tapped out with the regular models.

Ruger used a “button head” cylinder pin and a crescent shape ejector rod for easier casing extraction

“This is one of those guns that once you put it in your hands, you will have to get one.” – Jason Cloessner (Lipsey’s)

One feature that stuck in my head was the regular square butt on the standard model with the shorter barrel reminded me of the old S&W J-Frames that had 2″ barrels and square butts. They just didn’t look quite right. So we went out on a limb and asked Ruger if they could produce a round butt or birdshead type frame to go along with the 3″ barrel. In addition to the 3″ barrel and birdshead gripframe, we had to use a couple of other unique features to make it all work.

Due to the short barrel, Ruger had to use a “button head” cylinder pin and a crescent shape ejector rod so that the spent cases could easily be extracted from the cylinder. Ruger is also using a steel ejector rod housing that matches the rest of the gun. In my opinion, it looks better than the aluminum one used on the standard Bearcats.

Features a 3″ barrel with the trademark Bearcat rollmark on the cylinder