'72 Super Bearcat

[Blackhawk41]

Not long ago I came to the realization that the lack of having a Bearcat is not a good thing. After checking around I ended up bidding on this unconverted 1972 (my birth year, it just so happens) and won it for a very attractive price. It had some cosmetic issues such as chipped grips, marred ejector housing, some worn bluing and a slightly buggered hammer pivot screw; most likely the reason for people not bidding it up higher. I then immediately located a nearly complete parts kit (everything minus the frame, barrel and base pin) for what seemed like a reasonable amount on eBay. The gun came with a steel trigger guard but the parts kit included the brass one so I can swap them out as desired. All told, I'm in for about $400 for everything and have a lot of good usable parts left over (including old-model trigger/hammer parts).
Just one question, though. Were the original "brass" trigger guards solid brass or not? This one is anodized aluminum.

[johncdougan]

Hello blackhawk41

All Bearcats and Super Bearcat "brass" trigger guards are gold anodized aluminum. You made a killer deal on your gun and parts stash.

Regards, John

[arcticruger]

What a beauty! You done good.

[RocDoc]

I've been trying to get Wells Grips Frames to come up with a brass triger guard for a while. Hopefully they can complete the project someday.

[Blackhawk41]

Thanks, guys, it's rewarding to find those "budget" guns that may need a bit of attention and turn them into a nice piece on the cheap.
The cylinder from the parts bag is in great condition and I gotta admit that it's very tempting to have someone like Bobby Tyler convert it to .22 Mag and fit it to this gun.