Hypothetical question: What if someone made their own "Boomer"

[Monster Zero]

We've all noticed the new version of the Charter Bulldog that's all over the interwebs, called the "Boomer".

Bobbed hammer, barrel shortened to 1.875", magnaported.

That's the part that I question. The magnaporting. Seems kinda dicey for a personal defense revolver.

So, suppose that someone found an old Bulldog somewhere and took it to a gunsmith...

Questions: with a shortened and tapered barrel like the Boomer, but not magnaported, how much worse is recoil going to be than a standard Bulldog?

What's the absolute shortest barrel someone should ask the gunsmith to do? Just flush with the ejector? (which would be what?) or the 1.875 like the Boomer? The assumption is that the person isn't really concerned about any lost velocity with the short barrel, especially with it NOT being magnaported.

If it's only doing 750 fps or whatever... whatever. How about just BLAM and a big bullet coming out? But no magnaport gasses.

 

[Old Fuff]

Since Col. Colt started making C&B revolvers, folks have been cutting off perfectly good barrels to make them shorter and more "packable."

In no way is this practice limited to a particular manufacturer, and as it has always been, sometimes the difference between a long and short barrel is a hacksaw.

When S&W top-break revolvers were popular you could cut some of them down to 1 1/4" and not compromise the ejection system.

In later times Colt made barrels on hand ejector models (cylinder swings out to the left) with barrels as short as 1 1/4" and generally in that length without a front sight. This helped popularize the term, "belly gun."

And I believe that until recently Taurus was cataloging a .38 Special model with a 1 1/4" barrel.

So history is on you're side, but keep in mind that should you decide to sell the creation you've created you may have a little trouble finding a buyer...

But then maybe not.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Hypothetical question: What if someone made their own "Boomer"

Whew!

For a moment there, you had me worried about someone actually building their own "Boomer"!

For a retired submariner, a "Boomer" is an SSBN...a nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine.



Seems to me, though, that magnaporting an already ultra-short revolver barrel isn't going to be helping terminal ballistics any, whatever it may do for recoil.

 

[Archie]

You want SHORT barrel?

I remember the late Elmer Keith once discussing a revolver carried by one of his acquaintance (no, of course I can not find the reference now). It was a pair of Colt Single Action Army revolvers, in .45 Colt and the barrels had been removed. Completely gone, along with the extractor.

The gentleman carried them in the front pockets of his trousers (trousers being a bit looser in those days). Accuracy was good as far one could smell one's adversary's breathe.

So. How long will a gunsmith cut down the barrel of your Bulldog? As far as I know, there are no legal restrictions, in the same way a rifle has to be a minimum of sixteen inches under Federal law. (There may be some state or local restrictions to which I am not privy.) The answer really depends on the qualms of the gunsmith and how much money you wave.

Frankly, having carried hidden guns longer than most and many revolvers, the chamber and grip portion are more difficult to conceal than the length of the barrel. Plus, you may want a front sight for those really long shots, say eight feet or more.

 

[Sergei Mosin]

Whew!

For a moment there, you had me worried about someone actually building their own "Boomer"!

For a retired submariner, a "Boomer" is an SSBN...a nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine.



Seems to me, though, that magnaporting an already ultra-short revolver barrel isn't going to be helping terminal ballistics any, whatever it may do for recoil.

Building the boomer isn't the problem, it's getting your CLEO to sign off on the destructive devices...

(Had an uncle, now passed on, who served in DANIEL WEBSTER (SSBN-626) way back when.)

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I was able to fire a pair of S&W 66's a few years ago with the 2.5in barrels. One was Magna-Ported, the other not, with the same box of ammo. I could tell no difference in the two as to felt recoil. I have no evidence but it seems to work better on longer barrels guns, maybe due to the longer barrel being pushed down being more effective then the same energy pushing down a short barrel due to leverage.

So, while I really enjoy the porting on my .454 Casull I don't think I would want it on a short barreled gun. Also, I think the blast/flash may be worse with them.

 

[entropy]

Whew!

For a moment there, you had me worried about someone actually building their own "Boomer"!

For a retired submariner, a "Boomer" is an SSBN...a nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine.



Seems to me, though, that magnaporting an already ultra-short revolver barrel isn't going to be helping terminal ballistics any, whatever it may do for recoil.

You and me both... and I wasn't even Navy.

Maybe they could build an SSBN the same way Johnny Cash built his Cadillac.....

Nothing to add about the short revolver, except my BodyGuard 38 is 1 7/8", that's plenty short IMHO. You guys covered it pretty well.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Building the boomer isn't the problem, it's getting your CLEO to sign off on the destructive devices...

(Had an uncle, now passed on, who served in DANIEL WEBSTER (SSBN-626) way back when.)

I remember seeing the Daniel Webster tied up alongside the tender in Holy Loch, Scotland in 1987 when I was on the USS Henry Clay (SSBN-625).

Your uncle's ship was eventually converted to a moored training ship (MTS-626) and is currently at the Nuclear Power Training Unit, Charleston. I was an instructor on her back in the early 2000's, and that's where I made Chief. Since retiring and starting work at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, I've had several opportunities to work on her.

An interesting footnote: part of the forward hull of the 625 was used in the conversion process and is now part of the 626.

I was able to fire a pair of S&W 66's a few years ago with the 2.5in barrels. One was Magna-Ported, the other not, with the same box of ammo. I could tell no difference in the two as to felt recoil. I have no evidence but it seems to work better on longer barrels guns, maybe due to the longer barrel being pushed down being more effective then the same energy pushing down a short barrel due to leverage.

So, while I really enjoy the porting on my .454 Casull I don't think I would want it on a short barreled gun. Also, I think the blast/flash may be worse with them.

I think you bring up a good point. Lack of barrel length with which to apply leverage from the ported force would seriously impair and efforts at recoil control.

I suppose it could also be argued that a much shorter barrel itself might reduce the recoil by developing a lower imparted velocity on the bullet. But then again, there's the lower mass to contend with, and it's inertial effect.

 

[rswartsell]

Say someone DID build their own SSBN, would they then show up here for ammo reloading advice? Thats when I would start to sweat. (i.e. Are you looking at the manual under Plutonium or enriched Uranium columns?)

 

[Old Fuff]

The usual purpose of these cut-down revolvers is to make them more practical for concealed carry - in particular in a pocket or on an ankle. So far as ammunition is concerned trying to use exceptionally hot handloads will buy nothing more then additional recoil and muzzle flash that is counterproductive. Anyone that "roll's their own" should keep this in mind.

 

[MICHAEL T]

I have a old Charter Bulldog with a 3" barrel No need to cut back I can carry it as easy as I carry my J frame smith and its 44 spl . I find no worst to fire than the 38+P out of a J frame. Bob the hammer if you want but don't cut the barrel.

 

[entropy]

AFAIK, and RetiredUSNChief would be able to verify this, Rounds for SSBNs (Both tube and silo launched) are self-contained and non-reloadable.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Please don't go cutting one of the 1970's era Bulldogs. Those are collectable.

I frankly don't see any appeal to such a gun. What almost nobody seems to know is that the Bulldogs struggle with getting enough velocity to make a hollow point expand reliably. Cutting off more of the barrel, THEN porting it, reduces velocity even further. I understand that "it's a .44, which is as big as a .38 expanded" (which is wrong BTW) and all that jazz. Some guys carry wadcutters and those should work well. The Buffalo Bore standard pressure .44 special wadcutter is what I'd choose to carry in a Boomer if I had to carry that gun, because you just aren't going to expand a hollow point and have it penetrate well unless it's a really hot load (which you should avoid in a Bulldog, trust me I can vouch for that personally).

I just don't see the appeal in a Bulldog with the front sight gone and 1/2"-3/4" less barrel. It's not like those two things make the gun much harder to conceal or much heavier. The biggest struggle for me when concealing a Bulldog is the 1.5" thick cylinder. Cutting off a big more barrel is not the issue with hiding those guns.

And for the front sight... I don't understand NOT wanting one. When I had my Bulldog, I could get about 4-5" groups out to 20 yards or so on a good day. I highly doubt I could do that without a front sight. Okay, I get it, "most encounters are at 3 yards and all you have to do is stick it in their belly!".... okay... but what about when you need to reach out farther? I'm not talking about somebody 100 yards away, of course just run at that point, but even at 10-30 yards that front sight might make all the difference in the world. Also I never had any problems with snagging of the front sight when drawing from a pocket holster or IWB when I had mine.

So frankly, for anything other than a dedicated snake/tackle box gun loaded with CCI shotshells, the Boomer just doesn't do anything for me.

To each his own, for sure and for certain.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

AFAIK, and RetiredUSNChief would be able to verify this, Rounds for SSBNs (Both tube and silo launched) are self-contained and non-reloadable.

Nope...they're "reloadable"!

They pull the missiles out and reload them all the time for various reasons. Maintenance/repairs to missiles and missile launching equipment, when entering drydock, after a missile launch (for testing, obviously), etc.

Please don't go cutting one of the 1970's era Bulldogs. Those are collectable.

I second this! And what a beautiful gun to be hacking up, too!

 

[fireman 9731]

Personally, I think handgun porting is a gimmick.

A handgun without sights is pretty useless too... Sure, you can point it and hit something within certain distances, but try explaining why you have a handgun with no sights to the jury after you accidentally shot an innocent bystander instead of the bad guy.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

My experience is that you gain nothing by shortening a revolver barrel beyond about 3". If I had a .44 Special revolver with a 4" barrel or less, I'd leave it alone.

 

[Old Fuff]

Other then the possibility (maybe probability ) that the creator doesn't have the skill or tools to mount a blade - the fact is it would so low it was impractical.

Just for grins, stretch a string from the top of a fixed-rear sight to the top of the current front sight, and notice how high the string is about 3/4-inch in front of the frame.

This sort of revolver is very much a special purpose weapon, and intended to be pointed, not aimed. In most hands the effective range is about 5 to 7 yards on a silhouette target. To say it's uncommon is an understatement, but you might be surprised at the background of some who have carried - and successfully - used them.

And no, I wouldn't especially want to explain exactly what is was to a jury, unless the circumstances of the shooting were unquestionably justified. But that is true of any weapon that might attract negative vibes.

 

[revolvergeek]

" So frankly, for anything other than a dedicated snake/tackle box gun loaded with CCI shotshells, the Boomer just doesn't do anything for me. "

Exactly what I thought. Probably would make a decent enough point blank snake blaster to carry when mowing grass or walking around ponds.

 

[ilbob]

I have a bulldog made 30+ years ago that a gunsmith cut down to 2".

with normal 44 special loads it is downright unpleasant to shoot and every round keyholes.