Tried to buy a Bulldog...

[Silvercreek Farmer]

...I really like the idea of a lightweight big bore, but just couldn't bring myself to do it. I drove to the next town over to a shop that had one in stock. There were rough machining marks on the outside of the cylinder, pits in the frame/barrel, and front sight (casting pits?). The roll marks were readily apparent INSIDE the barrel, and the throats were rough as a cob, perhaps out of round. It was a new 4" target model. The 2.5" model they had looked a bit better, but the throats were still very rough. Without a doubt, the worst finished new revolver I have ever looked at. Surprisingly enough, the trigger was decent, but after a couple clicks, the salesman waved me off, saying they weren't meant to be be dry fired. They had a 357 Tracker that I looked at for comparison, and there was no comparison, the Taurus looked much, much better. I offered them 5% less than sticker due to the blemishes, with the intention of test firing it and sending it back to Charter if it didn't shoot, but they weren't having it. When they didn't accept, I walked, as I really hate to buy one with the intention of sending it right back to the factory.

I've got a few more calls to make, but not many shops in the area carry them, and the 4" model is rarer yet. No way I am going to order one without looking at it first. I guess I'll just keep a lookout for a decent Wednesday gun.

Despite it being a pretty high volume LGS, you could tell the salesman wasn't used to someone looking a gun over with a pen light...

[Kraschenbirn]

Try looking around for an older 3" gun (with adjustable sights). Most of them didn't get shot a lot and, while they weren't up to S&W for fit/finish, were solidly built with half-way decent triggers. I've seen some of these in good condition at fairly reasonable prices. Hint: take it from someone who had one; original factory grips just might be an indicator of a low round count.

Bill

[Texas by God]

I had one of the early ones soon after introduction and it was a great gun. When I compare a new one to my vivid recollection of that one; No. Not gonna do it. I passed on one for $300 today just by viewing a pic beforehand.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Called Charter this morning just to share my experience. They put me on speakerphone with the owner, plant manager, and QC manager. They didn't have much to say about it but wanted to know where it was.

[Handloader109]

I've a model 65 Taurus stainless and bought my wife a Poly 605 with stainless cylinder. Both are good to go. Look good, no issues at all. The 65 is heavy..... the Poly 605 is way less.
Charter, no..... BTW, Taurus should be $50 or so less I think.

[TCLouis]

As I am QUICK to point out I have one that I threw(literally) into the back of the safe some years ago.
Had a dealer order it and did not even look it over good until after I got home.
Outside machining/fit was quite good.
Machining in the barrel was so rough it looked like fine threads
Chunks of the barrel were apparently pulled out too. It was so bad a machinist friend asked why I had shot black powder in it then let it corrode.
First trip back to Charter before I even took the hang tag off.
Got it back and found that would randomly decide to fire rounds out of all 5 chambers on the first, second or more passes and sometimes NOT all five.
Trip two back to charter.
Got it back and again would randomly fire all 5 chambers until the hammer transfer bar broke off and jammed the mechanism.
Trip three back to Charter
Got it back with new part and again it would not fire all 5 chambers.
I'm guessing the broken transfer bar is a hint of what is NOT fitted correctly.
Sintered metal part/poorly fit?

This was to be my carry gun while fishing, but was THROWN into the safe and occasionally seen when it is in the way when I am poking around in the back looking for a real functional gun.

Words that I could/would use to describe it, are far worse than a synonym I have already gotten a warning for using here in the past.
I have had other Charter products that were just fine.

[winelover]

About a year ago, I bought a CA "Fit for Duty" (shrouded hammer) Bulldog off GB. My LGS couldn't find one from his suppliers. So basically, buying blind. Cosmetically, the exterior finish is on par with the original poster. However, the barrel is fine and the cylinder throats are uniform, albeit on the large size. Works for me, since I cast all 44 caliber my bullets .432 diameter and larger. Gun is as accurate, as any of my other snubbies, manufactured by S&W and Ruger.






Winelover

[Gewehr-Guy]

I like the 44 charters, but I bought old blued ones. Look on Gunbroker, as the old ones show up frequently and sell for less than the new ones .

[cabezaverde]

I have 2 of the old Stratford guns. Bought the blued one back in the 80's, a stainless one when I saw a good deal at LGS.

I like the older ones.

[CJR]

TCLouis,

Re: Your Randomly Firing Charter Arms Bulldog

Here's something to try for your Bulldog. With an EMPTY GUN; point Bulldog muzzle vertically upwards and slowly DA the trigger and watch what the transfer bar does. Does the transfer bar stay in contact with the in-frame firing pin, while DA, and until the hammer falls? OR does the transfer bar lean-back from the firing pin (i.e. not in contact with the in-frame firing pin), while DA, and until the hammer falls? Do this DA many times to insure consistency. Then tell me what your Bulldog is doing.

Best regards,

CJR

[hanleyfan]

I have had a bull dog for 4 years and love it, so like it so don't

[FergusonTO35]

Seems like Charter's biggest problem has always been that they can't decide whether to be a budget gun maker like Taurus or a mainline brand like Ruger and S&W. As a result, too often they end up with the worst attributes of both approaches: Taurus QC at a Ruger/S&W price. I have an old Stratford Undercover purchased for $130.00. About half the finish is gone and there is some rust pitting, however the lockup is tight and accuracy is on par with my S&W 637. The definition of carried a lot/shot a little, I would guess this gun spent it's life on a cop's ankle or in a glove box. Perfect little piece for when you want some dependable firepower but not anything big or expensive.

[cabezaverde]

There is one up for sale in S&S right now. Not mine.

[bdicki]

There is one up for sale in S&S right now. Not mine.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...rms-Bulldog-44

[Cottonpicker]

Bought a Charter Arms Bulldog in 45 COLT new, July 2018 from Classic Firearms; out the door to my FFL for $370. I have apprx. 300 rds through it and haven't had any issues. The fit and finish for a sub $400 hand gun is as good as I would expect. The only thing I changed are the grips. I opted for a smaller set of wood grips from EAGLE GRIPS. I couldn't be happier with this pistol!

[Gewehr-Guy]

That looks like one SERIOUS belly gun. A bad man couldn't miss seeing all those copper bullets looking back at him!

[Petrol & Powder]

Charter Arms has a varied history of quality and not all of it good.

I've examined a lot of them over the years and my take is the design is decent but the execution of that design isn't always good.

The company has gone through a lot of iterations and quality has been a bit varied over the years.

The Off-Duty and Undercover models were popular with police officers back in the revolver days. For those that couldn't afford a S&W J-frame 38 for a off-duty/back-up gun, the Charter Arms models were a good option (the Taurus Model 85 was the other option). Some of those were solid little guns.
At times the 44 Bulldog was a decent gun and at other times it seemed that Charter Arms just saw it as a novelty that sold well.

I agree with the others that will not buy a Bulldog sight unseen. There are guns that I'm willing to take a chance on and purchase without a close in-person examination. The Bulldog is not one of those guns that I would ever buy without the opportunity to examine it closely.

[Petrol & Powder]

Seems like Charter's biggest problem has always been that they can't decide whether to be a budget gun maker like Taurus or a mainline brand like Ruger and S&W. As a result, too often they end up with the worst attributes of both approaches: Taurus QC at a Ruger/S&W price. I have an old Stratford Undercover purchased for $130.00. About half the finish is gone and there is some rust pitting, however the lockup is tight and accuracy is on par with my S&W 637. The definition of carried a lot/shot a little, I would guess this gun spent it's life on a cop's ankle or in a glove box. Perfect little piece for when you want some dependable firepower but not anything big or expensive.

/\ This sums it up pretty well /\

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Well, I closed my eyes and ordered a 4 inch M69. Almost 2x the weight of the Bulldog, but I shoot more than I carry, and I couldn't see the Bulldog going thousands of rounds even with light loads. My SP101 will continue to fill the occasional carry role. I'm sure I'll shoot the heavier revolver better anyway. The ability to easily mount optics on the Smith was a plus as well. This will be my first Smith, fingers crossed I get a good one!

[Petrol & Powder]

Silvercreek, I think the odds are good that you will end up with a decent S&W M69.