The New Charter-Arms Bulldog 44 spl

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BulletArc47

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So how durable and reliable is the new Bulldog in 44spl? I went to the Charter-Arms website and the seem to have increased the weight from the older models and added a bottom lug to the barrel. Have they thickened the side-walls?

Thanks. :cool:
 
I have one of the new ones. It is a stainless model with the 2.5" barrel and is my main carry piece.

The walls of the cylinders aren't any thicker than the older ones. The barrel isn't tapered like the older 3" model and the ejector rod is shrouded. That is probably where the extra weight comes from. BTW, the gun is only 21-ounces, so it is pretty light.

Mine runs like a champ. The things to know with this Bulldog are the same as with the older ones. DO NOT try to "hotrod" the gun with stout loadings, or you will beat it to death in short order. Also, this design still uses a lot of screws. Just think of it like a Harley Davidson and be prepared to check screw tightness after using. If you find screws loosening up, use locktite.

FWIW, I love my Bulldog. It has a decent trigger, balances well, and feels great in the hand. It also occupies a unique niche of small, lightweight DA revolver chambered for .44 special.

I've swapped out the stock rubber grips for some vintage Bulldog wood grips which I like better for CCW. I also like Pachmayr Compac™ grips. They feel and look better than the stock grips. I carry the gun in a small belt slide OWB holster. It works very well for me.

Here are a couple pics:

pc180920.jpg


bulldog5q.jpg


bulldog4.jpg
 
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Pachmayr Compac grips are fantastic grips for this gun. Pachmayr Grippers are better for long range sessions, but they don't conceal as well as the Compacs. Plus, the Grippers look funny on it.
My personal carry Bulldog is an original 3" version that I bought in like new condition. I got it for a ridiculously low price because someone had traded it in on a Glock and they got screwed on the trade in.
It came from the LGS with Compacs. I have a spare set of wood Bulldog grips, but don't know if I'll put them on it. It's more comfortable to shoot with the rubber than with the wood.
Also have a newer Bulldog Pug with factory rubbers. Probably will put Compacs on it.
 
Ditto everything lowercase said except that my pockets are big enough to pocket carry in a DeSantis Nemesis.

Awesome carry piece...and equivalent stopping power to a .45 ACP.

Would not be without mine.
 
That's a sweet piece lowercase, especially with the wood grips :cool: There're few revolvers chambered only for 44 special, and the Bulldog sounds nice for CC at reasonable price.

If anyone else has any experiences with them please share them.
 
I bought a Bulldog Pug in 1987 and am still carrying (and shooting) it. It is still as tight as the day it was made (not very) and has been 100% reliable and had no parts failures of any kind. I have handloaded for it since it was new and it has never been subjected to any of the absurd Buffalo Bore/Corbon level loads. My normal handload is a 200 to 215 gr. hard cast bullet @ 850 fps. For carry use I load a 200 gr. Gold Dot bullet @ 900 fps. While these guns are an excellent design they are lightly built and can be beat to an early death with heavy +P loads. There is absolutely no reason to do this. Nothing is really gained from the short barrel and it will loosen up the gun. The older guns like mine had an aluminum barrel shroud over a steel barrel. Newer guns use a one piece steel barrel ( a much better idea as the shroud tends to walk off of the barrel after a few hundred rounds. A light tap with a wood mallet will reseat it) The majority of the used ones I have seen on the market have been abused with heavy loads. Occasionally you will find one like mine that is still in serviceable condition. While I have heard of problems with the current guns I have also read that in almost every case Charter fixed them under warranty. They appear to be standing behind their products. Unless you are really into recoil these guns are not pleasant to shoot at the range for more than say, 20 rounds. For self defense CCW use they are very usable. The man who designed the Charter revolver was a Ruger employee who left when Ruger showed no interest in the design. Personally I think Ruger should have refined and produced this gun. Ruger did use the solid frame - no sideplate concept on all of their DA revolvers.
 
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Lowercase and or Drail:
Both of you talk about the Bulldog not standing up to 'heavy loads'. My question is: How does one get a 'heavy load' with a SAAMI limitation of 15500 psi? That just seems like such a low level.

I'm not trying to be frivolous. With a fixed case capacity and such a very low pressure, how do you shoot the gun loose? Is it just a matter of a big slug and a loading at the SAAMI limit?

Surely the ammo manufacturers wouldn't make a loading in excess of the specification - that would appear to be lawsuit bait.
 
i tried out a few ay Gander Mnt recently, the timing was off on all that I tried....they almost had me again.
 
oh no....their prices are too high, but they had some in the case for me to inspect is why i was there.....

the two times i got burned were in the 80s with the two different bulldogs.
 
The crane is the weak point...at some stores, people are allowed to handle them any way they want to, including snapping the cylinder open and shut just like they see on TV.

Smiths won't stand up to this either...but they will stand up longer than the Charters.

They come in good shape from the factory and given proper handling, will remain that way.

Usually, GM has a backstock, not just the display gun. Ask to see a new one next time and don't hold the careless handling against Charter.
 
I had a mid-70's vintage .44 Bulldog, and it performed well for me.

Only knock was not against the revolver, but the price of .44Spl ammo...more than twice the price of .44Mag
 
Bulldog

Own an original Bulldog.....bought it after Skeeter Skelton wrote an article abt it. Have carried it on and off, trimmed off the hammer spur, load it with SWC hp's or Glasers. Light, compact, easy to carry and shoots big bullets.
 
The SAAMI pressure was set long ago to protect owners of .44 Spl. guns built back in the beginning of the 20th Century. A number of those guns were damaged or blown by handloading ammo for them (read Elmer Keith's early experiments) And there are still plenty of handloaders who believe they can "improve" on factory loadings. And they can, but there are still physical limits, especially on a lightly built gun like a Charter. While I have never seen a cylinder let go on a Charter I have seen forcing cones cracked from ultra light bullets pushed at very high speeds into a forcing cone when the cylinder was slightly misaligned with the barrel (same problem S&W had with the 696). Buffalo Bore and Corbon used to warn against using their high performance loads in any Charter (I don't know if that is still true) The point is, there is simply no reason to push these guns that hard. A 200 gr. bullet @ 850 to 900 fps. is plenty powerful enough to stop most human attackers. The original design spec for the .45 ACP was to be a 200 gr. bullet @ 900 fps. More than enough if placed correctly. If not placed correctly then caliber or load level isn't going to matter that much. Jeff Cooper used to say the Charter is a gun that should be carried a lot and shot a little. My experience has been that he knew what he was talking about. Shoot it enough to become proficient with it and then just keep it handy. It is not a gun to take to the range and shoot box after box of ammo through. (Unless you own 2 or 3 and really enjoy sharp recoil) The recoil on a Charter Bulldog is enough to ensure that every screw on the gun will need to be checked and tightened pretty regularly. It will stand up to sensible .44 SSpl. loads but any attempt to make a "Magnum" out of a Charter will seriously shorten its service life. If someone feels that a moderate .44 Spl. load isn't enough then they should just buy a .44 Magnum.
 
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Thanks Drail.

I have an old Bulldog, and carry 200gr Silvertips in it - really a pleasant load that I don't mind shooting at all. 250gr Kieth style bullets from Black Hills Ammo are not bad, but not as much fun.
 
Yup, those 250 gr. Black Hills loads are precisely what Elmer was pushing. I would much rather shoot those from a Blackhawk or a S&W 24/624. I have found some 215 gr. hard cast SWC bullets that are pleasant to shoot from a Bulldog or a 696. Black Hills makes really good stuff.
 
I'm back

I've purchased one of these recently, primarily for camping/hiking (we don't have concealed carry in Illinois yet), and I too have been intrigued with the load question. Now...since this is a hypothetical question....please refrain from the usual - "why would you want to"....."thats a fooilsh idea"...... "get a bigger gun" sort of response, and tell me, what would be THE ultimate heaviest load that could be fired from a new version .44 Bulldog without turning it into a handgrenade, assuming you did not fire more than necessary for famiiariization purposes?
 
standard pressure 200gr. hollow point, namely Gold Dot by cci/speer.
 
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