Who has bought a Bulldog .44 recently?

A

azmark

New member
My wife likes them and I'd like to know what you think of it. Is it well made? Accurate? I understand the new ones are made better than they were a few years ago.
 
I picked one up in a pawn shop last year, and it's my daily carry. It's accuracy seems to depend on how long it's been since my last trip to the range. :o It's definitely accurate enough for self-defense at spitting distance. Fit and finish reflect the price point they sell at. But lock-up is tight and the trigger is fair.

Mine had to take a trip back to the factory to have the cylinder gap adjusted a bit. Because I got it used I can't say for sure how much abuse it took to warrant that repair. But Charter fixed it for free and had it back to me in two weeks flat.

Overall, if you're looking for a good mix of power and size the Bulldog is hard to beat and I do recommend it.
 
I had one of the Charter 2000 Bulldogs a couple of years back. It got alittle loose after heavy use for my liking. I fired pretty much exclusively Hornady and Winchester Silver Tip ammo which is decently hot for a .44 Special in such a small light weight gun. Recoil was no problem and I mean for a snubbie that thing was ACCURATE. It shot the Hornadys real well. I bought a box of flat nose Cowboy action shells for it and they were definately the most accurate. The cost of the ammunition is what got to me about it so I traded it to my friend for a 870 Express Mag and he to this day keeps it in his truck while at work. If you dont shoot it alot like me it is a pretty good big bore snubby. I could see it taking alot of the cowboy action flatnose lead which I think would do well for SD but the hotter stuff was just wearing mine down. The Silver Tip was a nasty slug though. I finished a 300 pound hog with one and it went through the skull and stopped just short of coming out on the other side. When we slaughtered the hog out and recovered the slug it was .82 at its widest point. I would buy one again if the price was right.
 
I bought mine new about a year and a half ago. They're not intended to be range guns. They're intended to be carried a lot, shot a little.

Mine had a couple slight surface imperfections when I bought it. That's how they are. But for the price, it's been a good buy for me. I love the .44 Special round and feel VERY confident carrying the Bulldog. It has functioned fine and is plenty accurate. I had wanted one for decades and am very glad I finally bought one.

It's nice that there are some relatively soft-shooting cowboy target loads readily available but also some plenty-strong HP SD loads.

Here's a couple photos... Notice the big fat .44's compared with the .357 Magnum HP's next to them (by my Ruger SP101)... And my (homemade) Bocotewood grips:

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Although my experience is only with the early Charters ( 70s and 80s) I believe they are a great idea as long as the owner understands that it IS a carry a lot - shoot only enough to be proficient type proposition and they are to be used with medium power ammo only. Sure you can feed one heavy handloads without blowing it up but it will seriously shorten the service life of the gun. There's plenty of used ones out there that were abused by handloaders. Another thing I have noticed is most problems can (and will) be repaired by the factory. This is important because there are not too many smiths who will even consider working on one. The new ones are better than the Charco and Charter 2000 generations and currently the factory seems to be making a concious effort to keep the owners happy. I still carry one made in 1985 and it has held up better than I expected it to. It has never jammed or broken any parts. It has been shot only enough to make sure it functions and hits where it is aimed. I just wish someone like S&W or Ruger would develop the concept and build a slightly/stouter heavier Bulldog that would withstand lots of range time. Carrying a small light revolver in .44 Spl. ( a truly great cartridge especially if you handload) was and is a great idea. At 19 oz. it won't drag you down packing it all day and recoil, while noticeable can be dealt with by most people. A 200 gr. bullet moving at 850 to 900 fps. is easy to shoot and won't beat up you or the gun. Do not even consider using +P+ heavy weight Buffalo Bore or Corbon ammo or Elmer Keith handloads in one. Your wife will like carrying one but she may not like shooting one.
 
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I'll echo what's been said they are good little guns for carrying a lot. they won't take heavy use either hot loads or high round count. mine has been very acurate and the trigger is very good (Old S&W K frame smooth). the only issue with mine is the chambers are a little rough and cause hard extraction with very little fouling 4 or 5 cylinders full. however given my intended use this is easy to live with.
 
Yup. All of them could use a little smoothing and polishing work on the internals. But you can't complain too much considering the price.:rolleyes:
 
Mine was just purchased and I really like it. 21 ounces unloaded and a decent trigger. Using the Hornady Critical Defense and Buffalo Bore standard pressure 200 grain wadcutter. I plan on shooting a couple hundred rounds a year so it should work fine for me.
 
Mine was purchased early 2010. I try to shoot a few rounds (25-50) through it every month. Still holding up well. It sight shoots better with 200g bullets. I load my own, but it only gets standard pressure loads (on the high side)..... No skeeter loads go into this revolver. I like it for what it is intended for.
 
I haven't bought one in a while. My old one worked to perfection. They're VERY light and can be punishing in extended trips to the range. They aren't nearly as nicely fitted and finished as a colt or S&W but they cost a LOT less and they function exactly as they should. All in all I'd call them a good value for the money. I would avoid hot loading for the gun simply because little is gained, but recoil and diminished service life.
Be aware that Sir Issacs' laws still apply. ANY very light 44 is going to get your attention when you fire it. The lighter the gun, the greater the recoil!
 
I have... but then I didn't buy it new... in fact mines close to 100 years old...

I do like the Modern 44 special cartridge though, & have a Smith 396
 
Charter Bulldog .44

I hand load and have used 165g, tcfp (good plinker), 180g rnfp (good all around), 185g wc (Penn bullets, nice carry or target load…impressive holes in targets), 200g rnfp, (best all around) and 240g swc’s (not user friendly in short barrels) in a variety of loads in S&W 21, S&W 24, S&W 624, S&W 2.5" 396 Night Guard, Ruger Redhawk, and Charter 44 Bulldog.

FWIW: I bought the Charter .44spl. Bulldog new in Jan 2012 - sold it March 2012.
First trip to factory, Shaved lead and locked up three times in first 15 rounds - new cylinder, adjusted. Second trip to factory - new cylinder accepted 44 MAGNUM rounds…loaded and fired by mistake but were hand loads downloaded to 44 special specs (fortunately) - new cylinder.. Third trip to factory - locked up after 2 rounds of Winchester Super X 200g Silvertip factory ammo - new cylinder. Got gun back with third new cylinder, dry fired it out of box, locked up on third pull. Fourth trip was to dealer who refunded my money and sent gun to factory. Factory sent dealer new gun (still for sale in his shop).
 
I have... but then I didn't buy it new... in fact mines close to 100 years old...

I do like the Modern 44 special cartridge though, & have a Smith 396
Click to expand...
Only if 1964 was a hundred years ago.
 
I’m happy to hear the positive comments on the newer Bulldogs. There were a lot of “stories” about how bad the 2000’s were but working in a gun store at the time we never saw any go back.
Mine is from the early 80’s with the bobbed hammer and I carried it for over 15 years with Win Silvertips.
I shot the 5 in the gun and 5 in the speed loader that I carried every 3 months to get new in the gun. That’s over 600 rounds and give take a couple of times I forgot it’s over 500 and with the light hand loads it has to have over 1000 through it total. It’s still tight and I trust it.
Good to hear the new ones are holding up.
 
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You can read more about Charters here:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=444935

I have both the Bulldog Pug in .44 Special and the new Pitbull in .40 S&W. For the life of me I don't know why people would want to shoot "hot loads" through these guns. The .44 Special is a slow and big round and was never meant to be hot-rodded. it gets the job done on bad guys loafing along at 800-900FPS. Best defensive load to use in the Bulldogs is the Speer Gold Dot 200 grain JHP. You can shoot them all day and they aren't punishing and can get the job done quite nicely. In the Pitbull best load is the 180 grain Speer Gold Dot HP load. The only change I made on both guns was to install Pachmayr Gripper grips on them. The factory grips are a very hard rubber and, while concealable, are pretty uncomfortable to shoot with.
 
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