Charter Arms Bulldog & .44 Spl

5 gr of bullseye and a 240 gr bullet is a mild load

I think it has more to do with what your hand will tolerate over what the gun will. I think the main issue with Charters is that the screws like to walk out under heavy recoil. It's just physics. You make a super light gun and expose it to numerous violent explosions. It will jar the screws loose over time. I have heard that just tightening them works wonders.

I'm guessing that several thousand hot Elmer Keith .44 special loads may warp the frame. However, if you keep your loads to something isn't completely painful to shoot, I would guess you will get more than your $400 out of the gun.

I don't like hot loads in my carry gun. I don't shoot as well with them. It's mainly due to the fact that they flash and report more. It also has to do with the fact that I can't afford to burn through enough premium ammo to get a true feel for how the gun will handle it. I don't have a .44 special, but I have carried several lightweight .38s like the 642, LCR, and just picked up a Charter Arms Undercover yesterday. I'm not interested in feeding any of these guns rip-snorters. I just want something that will put the bullet where I aim it and not beat the gun to death. I like the Ruger ARX poly/copper rounds. They don't twist a lightweight gun out of my hands and seem to do the job when it comes to handling encounters with a person. I like standard pressure Semi Wadcutters if want a clean hole or Semi Jacketed Hollow Points if I want expansion. Both in the 158gr variety.

Long story short, I think the Bulldog will stand up to any reasonable slow and heavy load. It's not likely you're going to put 30,000 rounds through the gun. It's may be carried often and shot little, but that doesn't make it fragile.

My 5 year old Bulldog had a "P+ safe" card on it. No idea what constitutes a safe P+ 44 special load!? LOL.

Stay within published load data specs and your dog will provides many years of realiable service. I'm averaging 1000 rounds per year with my Bulldog, primarily handloads without issue. I feel a CCW should be practiced with....a lot. ,

Mr. Mosin said:

I’ve heard people say that the CA Bulldog is a decent gun, but that it won’t tolerate hot loads. What exactly constitutes a ‘hot load’ in .44 Spl ? What’s a mild load ? Are you new production CA Bulldogs (both new style and the Classic) up to snuff for serious range time ?

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There was a fellow who post here that listed 200gr loads getting over 900fps from a newer 2.5" barreled Bulldog. I would consider that a hot load. The posters name was MachIVshooter if you care to do a search for his data. Maybe he will see this and repost some of his load data.

Ratshooter said:

There was a fellow who post here that listed 200gr loads getting over 900fps from a newer 2.5" barreled Bulldog. I would consider that a hot load. The posters name was MachIVshooter if you care to do a search for his data. Maybe he will see this and repost some of his load data.

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If you add a "@" in front of someone's user name it'll give them an alert.

@MachIVshooter

You heard people say it cause WE said it in the prior thread. No, it will not tolerate heavy loads for long before needing retiming, good thing about .44 spl is not dependent on needing to be heavy for SD/HD. I do not for a second subscribe the mantra of "Carry alot, shoot a little, a gun that you are relying on for yours and others lives must be practiced with regularly, FPS is not a totally accurate way of measuring whether the cartridge is "hot" you would want to look at pressure levels. Sad to say that .44 spl is under-appreciated and SD loads are not sitting on the shelf of the local academy sports or even bass pro, you most likely need to roll your own (handloads for defense are a different topic entirely and this is not the place to debate them) or order online. Several manufacturers list loads that are labled "too hot for the charter bulldog" and with good reason. No, the gun will not blow up but it will shoot loose alot sooner than needed. Underwood has some loads that look great for a bull dog and they wont rape you and your wallet on shipping, for a box of 20 shipping is a nominal 7.95 to my home in Texas.

https://www.underwoodammo.com/colle...-jacketed-hollow-point?variant=18785722138681

The hornady XTP load is also good but for the cost savings on factory ammo I personally would stick to the underwood. Also lucky gunner shipping was about as much as the ammo.

https://www.luckygunner.com/44-special-180-gr-xtp-hornady-20-rounds

Bottom line, I still stand by what I said on your two choices, I would have gone with the Taurus Tracker in the magnum so I wouldnt have to worry about ANY .44 spl load, but the Bulldog can and will serve you well if you stick within reasonable loadings and dont expect it to even shoot skeeter level loads.

Standard pressure loads are all a person needs or would want in a 2.5 barreled 22oz revolver

Check out Underwood offerings on standard pressure 44spl offerings

Buckeye63 said:

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Standard pressure loads are all a person needs or would want in a 2.5 barreled 22oz revolver

Check out Underwood offerings on standard pressure 44spl offerings

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He wants the target 4 inch version but same thing your right.

I shoot 215 gr swc at 850 FPS and have had no problems with my 3” Classic. It has taken a few deers in my fields. That is not a heavy load but about what I am comfortable with. The gun is not a Ruger but it did not cost as much and is easy to carry.

They are not heavy-duty revolvers. My FiL describes his preferred 44 special handloads as medium/light, and my Bulldog has been shooting them regularly for five years or so with no problems at all... although I am now remembering that early on one pin worked itself a little bit loose. Some clear nail polish kept it in place and it hasn't worked loose since.

I could be wrong, but I suspect if I'd been shooting his "stout" loads that we use in our SBH's and N-frames, things might not have gone so smoothly.

Mine is a great coat-pocket revolver for cold weather.
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In Handloader #236, Brian Pearce places the Charter Ars Bulldog in the 22,000 psi category. When I first got my Bulldog, the first load I tried was a 258 gr. cast SWC over 6.5 grs. of Unique, a load I use for practice that yields 825-850 fps in my other .44 Specials. Recoil with this load was HEAVY, too heavy for an practical use. I switched to a 185 gr. SWC running 850 fps and am very pleased.

35W

I've owned/shot ca bulldogs for decades & have had no issues putting countless 1000's of standard pressured 44spl loads down range with them. The bulldogs tend to do better with bullets in the 200gr/220gr range, better for the shooter & they tend to hit the poa with the bulldogs with the low profile front sights.


A lot of people like and use wc bullets in their snubnosed 38spl's. The snubnosed 44spl's are no different.


Any standard "cowboy action" load will work in the bulldogs for plinking loads/blammo ammo/range fodder. When it comes to the hotter/heavier loads careful bullet & powder selections will make huge differences in performance.

I put some wood on my CA .44 Spl.,i'm going back to the grips that came with the revolver.I have the same one as Buckeye63 & Tallball are sharing.

My classic came with nice wood grips, but I put rubber grips on for recoil moderation. The rubber grips do help but the wood look better.

Walkalong said:

I bought it for a snake gun wading around in creeks and swamps, which it worked great for

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Walkalong, when you're carrying it as a "snake gun," do you have loaded with shot-shells? If so, are they your own, or are they factory?
That's a really good looking little gun BTW. I'm envious!

As stated, standard 44 Specials are all you really want in the gun.

It is very light

This 44spl has all but taken over as my pocket gun @ 17oz its a dream to carry ... Has a bit of a punch when fired !!!!

farm23 said:

My classic came with nice wood grips, but I put rubber grips on for recoil moderation. The rubber grips do help but the wood look better.

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I will second all you said.

6.0 grains of Unique and 240 grain SWC's are my favorite load. A couple of hand loaded shot shells with Speer Shot Cups and #7 1/2 shot added to the cylinder for the warm weather pit vipers.

Cocked: I like your load out combo. the "dog" would be superb in the anti viper mode. I have two "dogs" - one a standard model vintage late '70s and a 4" Target model - same vintage. Love the 3" but hate the 4" (a lousy execution of a great idea). If I were "required" to carry a revolver it would be the 3". I like that gun!