Charter Arms 44

[farm23]

I want a lighter 44 and am thinking of the Charter Arms. Does anyone have real world experience with this one. I know the history and know Carter Arms is not a Ruger or S&W but they are made here and I believe the only under 24oz 44 available made in the US.

 

[Dframe]

Mine is one of the old ones. Excellent buy in terms of what you get for what you pay. Definately not a Colt or S&W but costs a LOT less and is actually small and light enough to carry. S&W made a superb L frame a few years back but they're out of production and brutally expensive IF you can find one. My Bulldog isn't particularly fancy but goes bang EVERY time and works perfectly. I consider it an excellent buy for people on a budget or for those who need something light and carryable. Be aware though it has a well deserved reputation for recoil, especially if you insist on using the heavier bullets. Mr. Newtons laws still apply.

 

[Beach Nut]

I have a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special and I love it! My Bulldog has given me no
problems at all, is light enough for comfortable concealed carry and the trigger pull is
surprisingly smooth. During the early part of the last decade, Charter Arms had some
issues with some of the revolvers they were manufacturing but the newer ones are
good to go.

 

[farm23]

I like the old S&W 44 L frame but they are as heavy as my 3" N frame, so I am looking for something lighter to carry when I have to be in town.

 

[FM12]

Had a recent stainless model. Sold it due to kept short stroking the trigger in DA mode. Not the gun's fault: operator error, just couldn't break the habit. An excellent carry gun in a "real" sd caliber. I think you'll be pleased.

 

[moxie]

Nice gun. Load with 200 gr. Speer/Blazer GDHPs.

 

[bigger hammer]

I carried one as a back-up in a Renegade Ankle Holster, for many years. Only needed it once. It worked perfectly.

 

[BaltimoreBoy]

I have an older ('70s) charter bulldog as my regular carry.

Works fine.
Mild recoil with Silvertips, very controllable.
Relatively harsh with Black Hills' Keith loads - I wouldn't put a lot of those through it.

Only minor issue: Sometimes the screw that sits on the bottom of the well in which the rod from the cylinder rotates (I'm talking about the end nearer the trigger) can work itself out or in a bit which can lead to difficulty in opening the cylinder. If that happens, adjust it to a point where the operation is easy and set it with some loctite.

 

[CajunBass]

I don't know about the 44's first hand, but I've had several of their 38's both "old" and "new". I've always found them to be a servicable. I'd like to find one of the 44's myself.

 

[[email protected]]

Mine is from the early 1970's. Carry it with Buffalo Bore 200 gr. wadcutters
At 950 fps and 200 gr Blazer Gold Dots for reload.

 

[Gottahaveone]

I have had a Bulldog Pug in .44spl for 25+ years. It's one of my "won't trade or sell" guns. There is something comforting about a small snubbie with a hole that size in the end of it. It has had ~1000 rounds thru it (mostly lighter handloads) and is still as tight as one could ever expect a revolver to be.
YMMV........

 

[silicosys4]

I have an older .44 bulldog pug... was pretty much shot out by a previous owner, unfortunately...Bought it more as a cheap DIY reblue project than a shooter....thanks to the aluminum barrel shroud and hammer guard, rebluing it darn more hurt the cosmetics more than they helped...
Wish it didn't have enough endshake to hear the cylinder go "clack-clack" when tested..
Nice gun, very light and concealable, wish mine was engineered and built better though

 

[Jaymo]

I think EVERY LEO should carry a Charter Bulldog .44 for his/her backup gun.
I like Pachmayr Compac grips. More concealable than the Grippers, and do a great job of handling recoil

 

[lowercase]

I have both an older one (blued w/3" barrel) and a new one (stainless w/2.5" barrel).

Love them both, and CCW the stainless one. Great little CCW revolver that packs a wallop.

Here's the new one:

Here's my older one:

 

[MICHAEL T]

I have the old one from early days . its carried more than shot gun but very accurate with Blazer 200 gr gold dots or Winchester silver tips. Don't try to make a 44 mag out of it and will last you a long time. Recoil isn't all that bad. I rather carry than a 38 snhb.

 

[Jaymo]

I love the look and feel of the original walnut Bulldog grips.
They're great for CC.
Not much fun at the range.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I want to get one.

 

[Fireforger]

I have the older model, stainless, 3" with Charter Arms rubber grips. Have used the thicker walnut grips and like them, too, but prefer the rubber grips, at least on the Bulldog. Try .44 Russian loads (I reload 190 or 214 gr. SWC). Those are fun and friendly to shoot (but my home/carry load is still the special).

 

[eastbank]

my factory bobbed hammer SS charter arms is one of my CCW in a inside the pants holster. at 45 feet it shoots to POI with 225gr JHP,s at 800-900 fps, its not pleasant to shoot but sure packs a wallop. eastbank

 

[rodinal220]

I have a newer one and has been accurate and reliable.The DA/SA are very smooth and quite usable. 200gr GoldDots work well.I have no complaints and would like to buy a 74410 Bulldog on Duty.

http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Bulldog_74410.asp

 

[farm23]

Rodinal I don't see it called out on Charter's web site but the 74410 seems to be a DA/SA. Do you know if that is the case?

 

[Gordon]

When I carry recently I started to eschew the Colt Agent and carry the old 70s Bulldog with Silvertips. It works very well, , reloads pretty quick with an HKS and I can just hide the Pachmeyer Compacs with the front pocket in a Mika in Carhart HD canvas pants. If I can't wear those I drop down to an S&W 37 in a Mika and feel somewhat under strapped especially in bear country.

 

[rodinal220]

farm23:"Rodinal I don't see it called out on Charter's web site but the 74410 seems to be a DA/SA. Do you know if that is the case?"

Yes,it is a DA/SA platform. Its patterned just like a Model 38,638 649 etc. I handled one a couple of years ago at SHOT and have been waiting for them to actually start making them. Charter is a little slow at updating their web page.

 

[Working Man]

I have a Charter 2000 Bulldog Pug that I bought about 10 years ago from Acad for under $200. Put around 25 or so rnds of 200 Grn JHP CCI Blazer 44 sp through it with no complaints. As a belly gun of that caliber I figured I did not need anything too fancy for the ammo.

 

[Dan-O]

I sure like mine.