Who has bought a Bulldog .44 recently?

I have been intrigued by the CA 44 bulldogs, but of the 4or 5 that I have handled they all seemed loose gritty and sloppy. I was unpleasantly overwhelmed by the lack of quality, and the fit and finnish of the newer CA revolvers :(
 
jibjab: Have you compared the PRICE of the Charter Arms guns to the S&W and other nicley fitted guns? The two I have are more than tight enough and the finish and trigger pull are quite nice. The bottom line IS the bottom line...and you get what you pay for. Plus there aren't any .44 Special snub revolvers available from anyone else at the present time. If you have deep pockets and want a high quality snubbie that shoots .44 Special, then you can always of for one of these:

170135_01_lg.jpg


It will only set you back $1,049 dollars. It's a S&W Model 629 .44 magnum (also shoots .44 special) with a 2.6 inch barrel in all-stainless.
 
Captain H, I was going to disagree with you on the weight but after looking, your right they are within an ounce. Didn’t know that Taurus was making a light weight version of the 445.
I would still go with the Charter. I have one of the early stainless 445 and it’s not been a very reliable gun. I picked it up from a gun store owner that had to buy it back from a customer. 10 rounds and it would lock up tight. Being a 44 special nut I picked it up for cost since he didn’t want to mess with Taurus’s customer service.
The gap between the barrel and cylinder was too tight and the barrel was not cut flush. That fixed that problem then it had a problem with the spring in the extractor. That was fixed. I keep wondering what’s next.
Mine is much heavier than a Bulldog, how much I don’t know but being heavier it’s easier to shoot. After working on the trigger and cleaning and polishing all the machining the triggers not bad but being shorter than the charter and with more weight in the palm it does lift the barrel when firing.
I’m afraid that before I would buy another Taurus since I have had problems with the two I have owned that I would have to make a deal with the dealer. Pay for the gun with the understanding that after 100 rounds if the gun had any problems ether get a new one or 90% money back. Don’t mean to bash Taurus, I actually like the little 445, it shoots better than my Charter. But I trust my Bulldog and carry it, I wouldn’t trust my 445 as far as I could throw it.
With my luck with Charter’s, (I own 2) take it home and shoot it.
 
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I had a CA Bulldog that I used for off duty and backup in the late 70's when working at my first LE organization. It was light and compact enough but the ammo that was available back then was the old 246 gr LRN factory stuff that was so slow you could practically see it flying downrange. The ammo was pretty expensive and I sold it after a few years. Not too long ago, I came across a S&W 296. That is a 5 shot .44 spl built on an L Frame and is DAO with an enclosed hammer. It has an alloy frame and a titanium cylinder. The back of it has a rather peculiar looking hump resembling the back of the Bodyguard models...Its a pretty strange looking revolver and wasn't a successful design for S&W but I like it and it shoots well enough for serious social purposes at reasonable ranges. With the current ammo offerings, .44spl is a decent cartridge. I don't really think it has much advantage over a small or medium .38 spl and is probably less effective than a good .357 load except for the lower level of blast from the shorter barrel.
 
Taurus is currently making the model 445 .44spl in blue or stainless:
Click to expand...
I had a Taurus mod 431 w/a 2.5" barrel and a round butt grip frame, nice gun. I sold it to fund the purchase of a S&W 696, very nice gun.
jibjab: Have you compared the PRICE of the Charter Arms guns to the S&W and other nicley fitted guns?
Click to expand...
I would seek out a Taurus or Rossi before a new CA.
 
I would go with the US-made Charter gun first. I've heard way too much bad stuff about bad customer service from Taurus and it seems to be a toss of the dice wheher you get a good one or not. :(
 
I have a nice one I bought new in 1988. Shoots well. Never a problem.

The main issue with the gun, particularly for a female shooter, is that it really kicks and torques, hard. It's very unpleasant to shoot more than a few rounds. This inhibits the ability to train properly.

Second, .44Spl. ammo is expensive and hard to find, adding to the training problem. If you're a reloader that helps.

I do think she would be better served with one of their Undercover models in .38 Spl. +P.
 
For decent prices and plenty of choices on .44 Special ammo, go here:

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/index.php/cName/44-special-hollow-point

If you are having comfort problems with the Charter Arms guns, I highly recommend the Pachmayr gripper grips. They are made of softer rubber than the factory grips and are a lot more comfortable to shoot with.

.38 +P is going to be just as uncomfortable to shoot as .44 Special. Especailly in a gun as light weight as the Charter arms guns. Note that their frames-trigger guards are made out of aluminum.
 
CA trigger guards and the frame under the grips are actually polymer. It is textured and colored to look like aluminum, though. That's part of how they're so light weight.
 
Sorry to be the one to have to tell you this. I first read it in a review, and then contacted CA. They do such a good job making it look like metal that it is hard to believe.

http://www.handgunsmag.com/2011/09/30/charter-arms-undercover/


The main frame is metal, but the frame under the grip and the trigger guard are one part. And it IS plastic. This applies to current production. Can't speak to the past.

Note (added on 7/8/2012): The previously posted email is in reference to the Undercover (.38 special) and similar size revolvers only. This information does not appear to apply to the Bulldog and larger revolvers. This note was added due to the discussions and conclusions below. The previously posted email has been removed on 7/10/2012. It does not refer to Charter Arms .44 Special "Bulldog" and so is not relevant to this discussion.
 
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Well, the article is talking about the Undercover, not the Bulldog.

My Bulldog was produced ballpark 3 years ago, and the trigger guard is metal.

Current production?... I don't know.
 
I've fired hundreds if not thousands of rounds through my "Southpaw" and never noticed the trigger guard wasn't metal. The gun works just as it should and the action has actually smoothed a bit with all the firing.
 
The gripframes on my Charters - the newest now 2 years old - are all magnetic, so no plastic on BD or Pathfinders, AFAIK.

.
 
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