[GerstnerUSA.com]

I have several questions about this:

A) Are Charter Arms firearms any good? They seem to be very inexpensive Some stores online are selling these under $400.

B) Is the .44 special cal. a good cartridge, I have shot mainly autos 9mm, .40 SW , 45ACP and so on. Is this an exotic load? Are the shells expensive and so on.... Is the .44 special considered a straight walled cartridge? Handgun deer hunting in OHIO has to be a straight walled cartridge..

any feedback on this would be great!!!

Thanks,

 

[jodum]

Charter Arms makes some excellent and reasonably priced handguns. The 44 special is one of my favorite rounds. The basic load is a 246 gr bullet at approx 780 fps. Much the same level as the 45 ACP by which all other guns are compared. If you handload, the 44 special even becomes much better.

 

[GerstnerUSA.com]

Charter Arms makes some excellent and reasonably priced handguns. The 44 special is one of my favorite rounds. The basic load is a 246 gr bullet at approx 780 fps. Much the same level as the 45 ACP by which all other guns are compared. If you handload, the 44 special even becomes much better.

I have done some handloading for .223 and .303 but that was some time ago. What are you paying for factory loads and what do you pay (est) for reloads? How many times can you use the brass on these on average?

 

[45-70 nut]

I have a bulldog and it is a rugged little snubby and fairly accurate for what it is. I use it for concealed carry only when it is hot and I dont feel like carrying a 1911. I use winchester .44 special cowboy loads 240gr fp at about 40 dollars a box they aint cheep but I dont target practice with it very often so I dont bother to load for it. Handloading would be conciderably less expensive.

 

[35Shooter]

Brass for the 44 Special lasts a very long time. I am not sure how many loadings I have on my brass. I have not even held a Charter Bulldog but I am seriously thinking about this one:

http://http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_44_Special_24420.html

I have a Smith 696-1 and think I should replace it as a carry gun because I would hate to have something happen where that gun ends up in an evidence locker somewhere with a number scratched in it.

The nice thing is that it's the same speedloader.

Also, in the 696 I have always used CCI Blazer with the 200 gr Gold Dot Hollowpoint as my carry load. I bought many boxes of it over the years and still have some what a stockpile, but I am getting low and see that it is running almost $50/box now

I have loaded a lot of 200 gr RN Cast and shot through the 696 and think I may load up 210 gr Sierra's when I run out of the Blazer ammo.

Let us know if you decide on the Charter and how you like it.

By the way, John Taffin the gunwriter, who wrote the book on 44's seems to like the Bulldog.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_4_53/ai_n27161894/

Sean

 

[aryfrosty]

CA Bulldogs

I carried one for a while and thoroughly enjoyed it. Get ready to get your hand stung when you fire it. It was well made and handy to carry, but there were an awful lot of sharp edges on it. I have a scandium framed 2.5" .44magnum that I carry stout special loads in and it is a joy to fire. Doesn't bite and has small apparent recoil. I certainly wouldn't be afraid to carry a Bulldog for self defense. There's a lot more ammo choice than when I carried mine on duty.

 

[Jack]

I've had a 3" Bulldog for a number of years now. I use mine like 45-70 Nut does- for carry when you don't want to carry a larger handgun.
I carry the Winchester Silvertip 200 grain load in mine. I've also shot many 240 grain lead bullet handloads through it, and quite a few shot loads, too.
The 44 Special is a straight wall cartridge, but, I wouldn't consider a light 3" barrel fixed sight revolver like the Bulldog a hunting gun.
In my experience, the Charter Arms Bulldog isn't a fancy firearm, but mine has been quite reliable - well worth the money.

 

[purpledragon]

The charter arms bulldog .44spl. is a nice pistol,my sister has one that I shoot from time to time. Thats the pistol thats also known as the son of sam pistol.............

 

[CowboyGunNut]

I've also thought about getting one of these. What's the accuracy like? Do they hit to point of aim for you guys? Last year one of my neighbor's dogs tangled with a groundhog and he had to dispatched it with his .40 cal Springfield XD. I walk my dogs daily in the same general vicinity that this happened so this got me thinking that I really need a handgun that I can hit a small critter with, not just a larger 2 legged varmint.

 

[Combat Diver]

I've got an older 3" Bulldog that I bought used in the mid 80s. Just got it back from my BIL after a ten year loan this summer (been down range most of the last decade). We never had a issue with it. I normally carry the first chamber loaded with a handloaded CCI shotcapsule followed by 240 LSWC when woods roaming. If using for SD then it will be loaded with either Federal 200 gr LSWCHP or Win 200 gr Silvertip. Cases last for a very long time.

My son just bought my DIL a CA Pink Lady in .38 SPL this summer also and I got a chance to handle and test fire it. They are put together like the old ones and not CharCo. Off hand I fired it DA at my dueling tree target at 20 yds and hit the 6" plates each time. We put about 150 rds through it that day without issues. I also got reacquited with my Bulldog.

CD

 

[45-70 nut]

I've also thought about getting one of these. What's the accuracy like? Do they hit to point of aim for you guys? Last year one of my neighbor's dogs tangled with a groundhog and he had to dispatched it with his .40 cal Springfield XD. I walk my dogs daily in the same general vicinity that this happened so this got me thinking that I really need a handgun that I can hit a small critter with, not just a larger 2 legged varmint.

My bulldog did not shoot to POA with the fp cowboy loads I use so I filed down the front sight so now it does, at 10-15yds I would not have much trouble hitting a groundhog it probably could do further but its not an easy pistol to master.

 

[Ole1830]

If you handload, Speer makes a really nice HP bullet for SD carry in a CA sized gun.

Here's mine loaded with that bullet:

And here's the bullet after being fired into water jugs:

I used 8 grains of Unique and the load runs around 800fps. Expansion is muy bueno.

Speer fact sheet on their 200 grain Gold dot: http://www.speer-bullets.com/pdf/ReloadingSupplementalDATA/44_200GD.pdf

Here's my CA44 next to my other carry gun, a Colt Mustang pocketlite.

It's a great pistol that's fun to shoot. My plinking load is a 200gr RNFP with 6.5 grains of Unique. Those pachmyr grips make a big difference in how comfortable the gun is to shoot.

One last thing. www.Centerfiresystems.com has this gun right now on sale for $339.99. Look on page 16 of their flier. I paid around $400 new for mine, so I'm pretty sure this is a good price.

 

[Ole1830]

Forgot to mention my CA44 is pretty accurate for what it is.

I fired this @ 12 yards offhand with my defense load. I have .44 special cases with 6 firings on them and they don't show any signs of giving up. Heck with a 15psi max, I'd expect these cases to last 20 firings as long as you don't flare the cases too much, causing split case mouths.

If you haven't guessed by now, I'm saying you should BUY THIS PISTOL!

 

[wallerus]

I don't own a Bulldog. I have owned Charter arms guns before and they are very reliable. I do however have several 44 Mag's. My Keep in the house gun is a Redhawk 44 Mag hand loaded with 44 spl 240 Lead semi wadcutters. I do this for two reasons #1 It will stop anyone entering my home (may not kill them, but they won't be eager to rejoin the fight). #2 It is a common target load and no lawyer can say "oh, you used those bullets cause they maim and kill". In my ammo safe you will find handloads with hollow points but, most of the rounds are for practice with this load.

I have only one box of 44 spl cases that I have been reloading for years. My 44 mags are good for 3 -4 loads depending on how I load them up.

 

[Fred]

I debated before buying my .44 snubbie. From the many comments I have read it seems that when the Bulldog is made well, the owner loves it. When it is a lemon the owner has nothing but trouble. From the postings I have seen I believe that at certain times (maybe under certain ownerships) Charter didn't do very well. I hope Charter has gotten their act together under the most recent management team because it's apparent that when correctly made the Bulldog is a very reliable weapon. When I bought my gun I opted for a Taurus 445 (no longer available) which I find to be quite accurate but which I have to admit I have had a few problems with. Short of shelling out big bucks for a S&W or getting lucky and picking up a known quality used gun from a shooting buddy, what else can you do?

I like the .44 spl cartridge and find it very easy to load.

 

[TOG]

Last year one of my neighbor's dogs tangled with a groundhog and he had to dispatched it with his .40 cal Springfield XD.

Sorry to derail this topic with an unrelated question, but I just gotta ask -- your neighbor's dog lost a fight with a GROUNDHOG???

The only thing I can think of that's vaguely similar is the exotic snake at the Boston Museum of Science that was killed when the rat it was trying to eat bit it in the head and the rat's long incisors penetrated the snakes skull. Is that what happened with the groundhog, with its similar front teeth?

The Old Guy

 

[CowboyGunNut]

Sorry to derail this topic with an unrelated question, but I just gotta ask -- your neighbor's dog lost a fight with a GROUNDHOG???

The only thing I can think of that's vaguely similar is the exotic snake at the Boston Museum of Science that was killed when the rat it was trying to eat bit it in the head and the rat's long incisors penetrated the snakes skull. Is that what happened with the groundhog, with its similar front teeth?

The Old Guy

Sorry, maybe I didn't write that clearly. He shot the groundhog, not the dog! Unfortunately the dog wasn't up to date with it's rabies vaccine and the groundhog drew blood. A kid was also bitten by a groundhog a few days before only a couple hundred yards away from where this happened, so he thought it best to shoot the animal. It was tested and came back negative.

 

[Jack]

I took a look at the Charter Arms website. They now sell a Bulldog version with a 4" barrel and an adjustable rear sight. If concealed carry was not a priority, I think that version of the Bulldog would be great for general woods wandering, camping, and plinking.

 

[GerstnerUSA.com]

Many Thanks!

Thanks for the info guys.. And the pics! Those darn pics make me want one even more Yea I know about the deal at center fire systems... seemed like too good of deal and needed more info. $50/ box for ammo seems a bit steep Im used to 9mm stuff, but I guess you have to pay to play

 

[baddad457]

Here's my .02 : You might also want to look for a Rossi M720. I've had one of these now for 15 years or so.Better gun than the Charter Bulldog IMO .Accurate enough at 50 yards to hit clay pigeons on a backstop. Strong enough to handle a 350 grain handload (not intentionally though) As for reloading 44's, the case last almost indefinately. I've got 44 brass that I've been loading for 20+ years now. When they do split, you can trim em back to 44 Russian, depending on the length of the split.