Rau Wildcat .22rf

[FloridaFialaFan]

Back in 1969 Harold Rau, a Florida retiree, used his retirement funds to start a gun business in the unlikely area of El Dorado, KS. Thus the Rau Arms Corp. came to be.



The oddball little single-shot .22rf rifles his firm offered were available up through the late'70s at places like Woolworth's, Woolco, etc.. Prices ranged from $17 to $29.95 - depending on finish wanted, and WHERE you bought it.



This model was blued finish with real wood stock insert and forestock and was called the WILDCAT 500. Another fancier finished model was designated the 600.

It's thought Harold named his little rifle after the Kansas State University Wildcats team which was situated only about 100 miles from El Dorado.

Rau sold out in 1970 to Mountain Arms of Ozark, MO. From 1971 to 1975 they continued to make the Wildcat under the Rau name, then changed it to Mountain Arms, then sometime later changed it to their Precision Industries Division Ozark, MO. - which is stamped into the side of their later guns. (See my write-up in this thread about the Precision.)

The last date of production is listed as 1978 with a total of 6,243 guns produced by Mountain Arms. No production total has been been published for the Rau period of operation.

The gun was also offered in a takedown model. Its design obviously borrowed heavily from both the Garcia Bronco and Hamilton families of guns.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ FFF

[Gav-n-Tn]

As usual, a really nice and unique piece of firearm history.

[dew38]

nice looking little 22............

[FloridaFialaFan]

To give you a better idea of its size and weight, and why it was originally intended as an inexpensive "first gun" for women and children to sharpen their shooting skills, it is just TWO INCHES SHORTER THAN YOUR YARDSTICK, and it weighs in at only 3.5 pounds EMPTY.

Just need to find one marked Mountain Arms, WITH the takedown lever, and maybe one of the nickeled versions... but I ain't holding by breath for it.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ FFF

[Gav-n-Tn]

FFF,
A new member just posted about another one.

http://www.southernoutdoorlife.com/s...93-Wildcat-500