Charter Arms 44 special Bulldog a waste of money?

[ioon44]

I got a 2.5" .44 Bulldog about 10 years ago and still like it, good gun for concealed carry and fun to shoot in IDPA Bug matches.

[Petrol & Powder]

Factory loadings for the 44 Special are held ridiculously low by SAAMI specs. In order to get the full potential out of the 44 Special, it needs to be loaded a bit hotter than the 15,500psi SAAMI limit. The "Skeeter" load gets the 44 Special to where it needs to be but it is just a little outside of the acceptable pressure limits [240 gr LSWC with 7.5 grains of Unique in a 44 special casing]. This is no problem in a strong, modern revolver like a Ruger or S&W but I don't believe the Charter Arms Bulldog is up to the task over the long run. That means you are stuck with the anemic factory loadings for 44 Special when using a CA Bulldog. I'm not saying the gun is weak, it is not. I am saying that I would be uncomfortable using a CA Bulldog with the "Skeeter" load.

I have to agree with DougGuy - you get what you pay for.

For years I have lamented that the 44 mag has just about killed off the 44 Special, particularly in the field of DA revolvers. There are very few DA revolvers chambered in 44 Special but at least Ruger finally stepped to the plate and made a GP-100 in 44 Special. The S&W model 69 is chambered in 44 mag and at least gives you the option of using 44 Special in something smaller than an N-frame.

In order to extract the full potential from the 44 Special cartridge I would go with the Ruger or S&W instead of the CA Bulldog.

Just my $0.02 worth.

[Skipper]

That means you are stuck with the anemic factory loadings for 44 Special when using a CA Bulldog.

The Hornady 180 XTP at 1000' is hardly anemic

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/h...-180-gr-xtp#!/

[FergusonTO35]

As long as the topic is Charter Bulldogs, here's one for you:

6" 44 Bulldog. I emailed the lady at customer service and she said " yes, it's a catalog item ".

Would love to have one of those in .38 Special. I have always found Charter's 8 groove rifling to be very accurate.

[ebner glocken]

Over the years I knocked around the idea of getting a bulldog, liked the idea of a 44 in a smaller frame but never ended up seeing one at the right price at the right time. When S&W came out with the 69 it hit a nerve, I still didn't buy. After the 69 had been out for a while one was seen here locally in new shape in the used case, I bought it worth the money. This was the 44 I wanted that wasn't made until recently. It carries well, as accurate as I can shoot any 4" revolver, will shoot full snort 44s and will get your attention while doing so but any 240 cast at 1000 fps will do anything I want to do and not beat you up. Any itch I ever had for a bulldog was scratched and then some with this. S&W please make one of these in 41 mag.

If one wants a bulldog by all means get one but in my opinion there's better options today and worth the extra money.

Ebner

[CJR]

Here we go again. Some facts on the Charter Arms Bulldogs:
1. Designed by the late Doug McClennahan; formerly a gun designer at Colt, High Standard, and Sturm Ruger.
2. US Government tested, accepted and then carried by US Marshals on-board commercial planes during first plane hijackings in US.
3. IIRC, US Government tested the Charter Arms 44 Special Bulldogs to failure; after shooting 44 Mag level loads the Bulldog held together but would not cock.
4. Cited in Robert Dunlaps' gunsmithing video as being "quite strong".
5. Cited in George C. Nonte's article (Gun Digest 1974 issue) as being " more than adequate in strength".
6. Cited by John Taffin as being in his Top 10 Gun selection. John and wife also carry Bulldogs.

In my view, Charter 44 Special Bulldogs are "working guns" or in other words;"fighting guns". When set up properly; they are accurate, hard hitting, very concealable,and most importantly "go bang every time". I'm sure the US Marshals, who carried them on planes were not interested in super polished handguns or ones that came from certain manufacturers. Other manufacturer's guns were evaluated, but the fact remains that the US Marshals Service picked and carried the Charter Arms 44 Special Bulldog.

I have fired many handguns over the years and have seen many failures with top brands. Matter of fact there have been some very well documented failures of name brand handguns by Government Agencies like the FBI. I have never fired any revolver that can place two rapid DA shots close together on a target like the Charter Arms 44 Special Bulldog. The first NRA test on the Charter Arms 44 Special mentioned this rapid second shot characteristic and it is true in my experience. This is a gun characteristic that is more important to survival skills then say a highly polished handgun or some name brand that just "looks right". Likewise, my "fun loads" in the Bulldog are maximum loads with 325 gr. LBT LFN CBs that keyhole slightly at 7 yds- but who cares when it's a 325 gr. CB.

Buy what handgun you like. You will live or die by your selection.

Best regards,

CJR

[FergusonTO35]

I think the Charter revolvers are a really good design. Unfortunately, the company has had a roller coaster existence over the years and has not always done their products right.

[MT Gianni]

I owned a 3" and liked it. I would pass if you are looking for target accuracy @ 25 yards. Mine might have been over torqued and put everything 2" left. It shot Skeeters load very well but your palms paid the price.
If you are looking for a close encounters gun for a carry often, plink occasionally and have it with you when you need it gun it fills the bill.

[Petrol & Powder]

There have been several iterations of Charter Arms over the years and consequently, there have also been several iterations of the Bulldog.
The quality of any Charter Arms gun is influenced by the time frame of when it was made.

I'm not biased against Charter Arms. I've inspected and shot a few Charter Arm Undercover revolvers chambered in 38 Special and it is a serviceable gun. They were once popular off-duty guns for police officers on a budget. However my experience with the Bulldog is not as positive.

I've seen some Bulldogs that were early production revolvers and they were ok guns. The use of solid side plates by Charter Arms mimics the design of the Ruger DA revolvers and is a positive feature. However the lock work and cylinder of the Bulldog do not have much margin of strength.
As a lightweight, big bore, DA revolver that is intended to be carried a lot and shot a little with factory loads - Bulldogs may be entirely serviceable for some people.
Despite the increase in weight, I would opt for a 3" Ruger GP-100 in 44 Special over the Bulldog.

[crankycalico]

Never forget the bull dog is a 6 shot 38 special turned into a 5 shot 44 special. It shouldn't be used past STANDARD 44 special levels due to the fact that, you can get away with it once, but how many times do you want to try holding onto that hand grenade?

Sure I have read a few articles that stated people back in the 1970s and even 1980s would hit a 44 bulldog with a 44 mag chamber reamer and load "44 magnum" in it. NO idea of what loads were used, considering hodgdon loading data shows SOME SPECIFIC BULLET AND POWDER combinations have the start load for magnum, the same as the max load for special.

The Rossi 44 special would be far better to have. Even the Taurus Tracker in 44 magnum would be better to have.

[winelover]

Here is a article in Handloader magazine written by Brian Pierce. He comments on the strength of CA Bulldogs on page 40......stating they will handle 22,000 psi load levels.

http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/4...%20Special.pdf


Winelover

[ioon44]

The Hornady 180 XTP at 1000' is hardly anemic

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/h...-180-gr-xtp#!/

That is the ammo I carry in my Bulldog, it is pretty close to a .45 ACP 185 gr +P load.

[sagamore-one]

I found it near impossible to blow up a 3 inch 44 bulldog. Yes, I tried. I fed the first one a steady diet of plus P loads with jacketed and with cast bullets. It handled everything I put in it. Never a failure to fire. I literally wore it out after thousands of rounds. The second one I shot so much that the Sand Burr Gun Ranch (Denny) advised me to retire it and replace it with a 329 Smith, which I did. I still own two Charter Bulldog 44's and plan to keep them.

[rfd]

it sounds like a CA BD might be dependent on exactly when it was made and who made it = a cr@p shoot of sorts ... ?

[Elkins45]

it sounds like a CA BD might be dependent on exactly when it was made and who made it = a cr@p shoot of sorts ... ?

If I buy one it will be current production.

[FergusonTO35]

All the current versions I have owned and examined were quite nice. They don't seem to be any more of a crop shoot than Ruger, at least.

[Rick Hodges]

My only experience with one is from the late 70's/early 80's. My partner had a short barreled one for an off duty/backup gun. It was not very accurate beyond across the room ranges with any factory ammo he could find. Then, for his purposes, it didn't need to be.

[FergusonTO35]

My only experience with one is from the late 70's/early 80's. My partner had a short barreled one for an off duty/backup gun. It was not very accurate beyond across the room ranges with any factory ammo he could find. Then, for his purposes, it didn't need to be.

Was his a .38 or .44? My 1970's Undercover is deadly accurate with 3.1 grains Bullseye and a Lyman or Lee wadcutter. Short barrels tend to be picky about ammo, but when you find something that works they can shoot very well indeed!

[Beagle333]

I've got the Charter Arms Bulldog Pug in .44 special and I love mine. It's a great carry gun. I've never tried target shooting to see how it groups, but I can bang the 8" gong at 10 yards all the time and that's good enough for my pocket gun.

[MT Gianni]

I had a Target Patriot 327 Federal built on the Bulldog frame. Instructions were included for a Bulldog. I no longer own it but fired many rounds of factory ammo rated at 42,000 PSI through it, It isn't a weak gun.