WOW! If it has never been abused that was a GREAT snag. The Charters from Stratford were (for the most part) very nice guns and much better than the current production. Congrats. Keep it on a diet of nice easy loads and you will probably want to look into some rubber Pachmayr grips if you plan to shoot it a lot. (I know, they're ugly compared to the wood but they are much better for taking the sting out of shooting a lightweight snub. Trust me. I still remember the first day I took my Bulldog to the range and shot it. First reaction was ' we gotta do soemthing about these grips" Your hand will tingle for a day or two if you shoot a couple boxes in one session. One more tip: that little screw in the cylinder release? NEVER remove that. You need at least 4 hands to reassemble that thing. Make sure it stays snugged down tight. DO check all of the screws on the gun and keep them sugged down. They will loosen when firing. If the cylinder becomes hard to open check the rear cylinder latch (looks like a screw in the center of the breechface). If it moves into the frame the cylinder will not want to open.
Thank you for the kind reply Mr. drail. Words of wisdom and I appreciate all you mentioned. I agree, the older revolvers are better made (at least they appear so).
The .44 Bulldog was/is one of the greatest carry revolver designs I have ever seen. I have carried one daily since 1988. It is not really a pleasant gun to shoot but it has been 100% reliable for me and packs about the same punch as a .45 ball round. Handloading can make it even better. Pretty hard combination to beat. For years I have wished that Ruger or S&W would take the design and refine it. If Charter can build these things imagine what Ruger could do with it. I also carry a S&W 696 sometimes but the Charter is so much lighter to wear all day sometimes you actually almost forget it's there. I wish I had bought a couple more back when I bought the first one. Your photos are very good and that looks like a new gun. Hope it serves you well. Keep a close watch on all of the screws. Charters are kind of like a Harley Davidson. If you don't stay on top of it a lot of pieces will start loosening and falling off.
