Dan-O
Member
Yeah the 296 humpback.
Charter Arms makes a few .44 special varietals.
Charter Arms makes a few .44 special varietals.
They also made a DAO "hammerless" model. Can't remember the model name.S&W made the 396ti Mountain Lite with a 3in barrel.
18oz, rare, and $alty when they come up for sale!
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The 396 Night Guards all had 2.5in barrels.
Yes, Charter Arms Bulldog 3" stainless steel .44spl with a pocket hammer and Herrett Shooting Ace grips.That's sharp looking and right in the weight and size range I was thinking of. Who makes it and what model is it? Is it an old school charter arms?
I completely agree that it is the surprise hit of the year for me as well. Everything else has performed at and has been of the quality I expected. The Bulldog is the only one that feels like it is trying to be better than it's price point.Nice write-up on the new Bulldog Classic. I am in complete agreement with you and my Bulldog (a few posts up) has been the surprise hit of the year as far as my new purchases go. I have handloads that consist of a 185 grain LSWCHP at 900 fps, a 200 grain wadcutter at 850 fps, and a 240 grain LSWC at 750 fps. I typically carry Hornady Critical Defense in it, however, if I am expecting social trouble. It’s so light I can literally slip it in the pocket of my bathrobe if I am out with the dogs in the middle of the night. For $400-something, it was an absolute bargain. And it’s a frickin’ .44!
TLDR: if Charter arms is putting any effort into any of their revolvers to be better than just a budget revolver, the .44 spc Bulldog Classic is where that effort is going.
I saw a Charter Arms .44 spc Bulldog Classic out in the wild while looking for the new S&W J frame Ultimate Carry in .32 h&r, and I was really impressed with the quality of the Bulldog. Especially in comparison to my three other CA revolvers (2 professionals in .32 h&r, one stainless, one black nitride, and one pitbull in .380)
Everything about it is just the best I have seen from Charter Arms.
-The bluing and on it is very nice, as is the barrel crowning.
-The color case hardened trigger and hammer look fantastic.
-The double action trigger is nice and smooth, the single action is very crisp and short. The double action pull transitions very smoothly to a staged single action, & manually cocking the hammer is smoothest I have experience from a Charter Arms revolver.
-The feel, fit, and finish of the wood grips are the best I have seen out of stock Charter Arms grips, and the medallion is nicely done.
-Lastly Charter Arms has finally figured out how to make the labeling of the firearm look attractive. The font, coloration and layout of all the wording and numbers on the revolver look fantastic.
As for how it handles while shooting, well color me very impressed yet again.
-The grips performed well when firming basic to light .44 spc loads(I dont have any hot, nor would I fire anything hot in a 20oz revolver).
-It was a pleasent and accurate shooter at self defense distances which was not what I was expecting at all. I was expecting to only want to shoot one or two cylinders, but found myself easily shooting a box of Magtech 240 cowboy loads, and a box of PMC Bronze 180 gr JHP.
-Recoil felt just a tad hotter than 38 special on the Magtechs, and significantly less than .45 acp out of the Governor, or .327 out of my sp 101 with the PMC Bronze loads.
-I do not feel the need to change the grips to some ugly but very functional rubber grips like I thought I would.
Only downside I can see is that you are not going to be able to use a speed loader with the stock grips without modifying them.
All in all if a light revolver that shot slow and heavy bullets was what you wanted from pocket carry, this seems like it would be an excellent choice. Out the door it ran $431which is just about $60 less than MSRP.
Please excuse the poor pictures they were taken in haste on my way out the door, on my work bench which has very yellow lighting.
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Lastly a picture comparing the black nitride finish of my Charter Arms Professional to the Bulldog Classic.
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Oh I have it as well. It is a very nice revolver, probably in the top 3 that I own. Surprisingly pocketable considering the weight and extra thickness. It was exactly what I was expecting to get. I can't shoot .44 mag out of it worth a damn yet, but .44 spc is very smooth.So, what ever happened to the 629 you ordered?
My Rossi 720c weighs empty at 27.5ozHey everybody
I have concluded that 3" revolvers that weigh between 20-29oz are my jam, and have started building my collection to focus around them.
It has been easy to find most catridges in that package(.22s,.32s,380,38spc/357, 9mm) but I am struggling a little to find some in .44 spc.
Does anyone know if there are any .44 spc only revolvers that meet those requirements that I should be keeping an eye out for?