Charter Arms Bulldog

L

Lonemoose

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I've been thinking about a Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Special with the black nitride finish. This would be my first Charter Arms. Anyone out there have any experience with Charter Arms, how about the new black nitride finish?
Any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks.
 
I have a 44 Bulldog. Its a fun little boomer. IF I were going to buy one now, I would get the Pitbull in 45 ACP. Its going to give the same performance, BUT 45 ammo is everywhere. 44 Special ammo is hard to find, and expensive. Consider the Pitbull in 45 ACP.
 
I like my .44 Special Bulldog for what I use it for.... That's CC/house gun. Therefore it doesn't get used much. I roll my own, so something to shoot in it is never a problem. If you are looking to shoot thousands of rounds through it per year, this isn't the revolver for you in my opinion. For the occasional,... yep, it shoots where I aim it session then you'll be fine. Anyway, that is how I treat it.

No experience with the black Nitrate. Mine is just dull gray.
 
They're cool and historic guns. They even make a Classic version, looks just like the SoS gun.

I found mine to be both a little too big and a little too small. It is simply not as concealable as a 5-shot .38 special. Some say it is, but it's just too wide to serve in the role IMHO. Also the design is inherently weak and not meant for expensive shooting, and anything over standard factory power levels should be avoided to reduce premature wear.

Still it is impressive at just 20 ounces that they were able to make a 5-shot .44 special. It does very, very well as a belt gun for using snake shot or when camping on the trail. One of the best snake guns around. I just don't think it's ideal for CCW purposes.
 
Taurus was able to make one the same size but it had a better cylinder lock up. unfortunately they charged over $400 for them so they fell out of favor and got discontinued.
 
Very happy with my Charter Bulldog DAO revolver. I was quite surprised with the kind of accuracy I get from it. Especially being double action only with the bobbed hammer.
I found that it fits perfectly in a Theis IWB hybrid holster for concealed carry use.
 
I have Charter Arms Pitbulls in 9mm, .40 and .45. I also have a Bulldog Pug in .44 Special. All of these guns have been trouble free except for the 9mm.

The 9mm had a defective hammer block. I contacted Charter Arms and they sent me a replacement hammer block. Their customer service has been first rate for me.

I have had no other problems with any of my Charter Arms guns.
 
I have one of the newer DAO Stainless bulldogs. I was hitting clay pigeons @ 50 yards with it. I use it as a yard work/BUG.
 
I like mine a lot. It's the shrouded hammer version. I've had it a few years. I don't shoot it a whole lot, since I have heavier-duty 44's for long practice sessions. But it has never malfunctioned and I trust it. It's a little large for CC in warm weather, imho, but it's my coat pocket carry gun for winter. I am very comfortable with 44 special for SD.
 
Speaking from personal experience I love shooting my CA Bulldog .44 Special 2.5" revolver.I have had it for almost a year now.
 
I had the SS 2.5" Bulldog that I bought new. It was out of time, and bore was very rough. The accuracy was very bad.
I sent it back to CA, they returned it and said it was with in their standards.
The LGS gave me refund towards another gun :)
If you reload I think the 44 spl is a great cartridge, I have a S&W 696 that is a joy to shoot.
 
I have the CA Bulldog .44 Special 2.5" but not in the new black nitride finish. I find it to be a nice revolver to carry,well it is my edc these days.
 
mine is a fun range gun but recoil can be quite stout. it fits in a J-frame holster so carrying it is pretty easy.

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I had one and loved it...but instead of firing 1000 rounds for everything to smooth & lighten up, I decided to have some work done to ease the trigger pull - BIG mistake. The revolver that had fired every factory & handload, now would misfire on about every 2nd or 3rd shot. Back to the shop that did the work, to no avail. They sent it back to the factory...it was restored to factory specs, but was still unreliable. I lost all confidence in it and ended up trading it to a guy for laptop for my daughter to use in school.

I’m sure mine was a fluke, because as stated, the factory restored everything, but it just was never the same. I am very tempted to purchase another one, but if I do, I will leave it the heck alone!

Sam
 
I have one for several years. Carry it in winter.The newer CA's - since the old owner bought it back - are VERY accurate and a better design...they shame my Smiths.
I like CCI Blazer jhp's for carry...great bullet, not as much recoil as heavier weight bullets...and 100% reliable.
 
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