I have a few 9mm, but I'm considering buying a 44 special (Charter Arms Bulldog)
What your opinion as a defensive round?
I'd like to say I have a love/hate relationship with the .44Spc, but that would be only half true. I have no love for it. I had a Charter Arms Bulldog back in the 80s, and once you begin shooting it, it's not long for this world. For carrying, it's not bad, but for stopping power, I'd go with the Ruger SP-101 with the shorter barrel. I'd buy the Ruger for a number of reasons. First, it will last for the rest of your life and the lives of your children and their children. Two, it's much more fun to shoot. It takes both .38Spc/.357, so it's
far more likely to be on your shelf than the .44Spc. Three, the .357 Magnum has far more stopping power than the .44Spc. But both will do the job, so not really an issue. The SP101 can take hot .357s day in and day out and there's no problem. But you have to baby the Bulldog and make sure it's not too hot for the gun. Finally, the SP101 will also take .38 Spc ammo and you can stoke it up to the +P with no problem, and I'd rather have some .38 +Ps in my chambers than .44Spc any day.
The .357 is
far superior to the .44Spc when it comes to stopping power, but you have to master both to be effective. Twenty years from now you'll still be shooting the Ruger, but if you still have the Charter Arms, you'll still have to watch the ammo you're putting through it. And I suspect you'll also be having some problems with it. With the Charter Arms, you'll be limited by the ammo
the gun will take. But with the SP101, you'll be limited by how much
you can take. And the SP101 will, in twenty years, still be as strong and beautiful as the day you bought it. The Bulldog will most likely need some work done along the way. It's a good gun to carry and it has its good points, but given the choice, I think most people will like the Ruger. It will shoot whatever ammo you can fit in the chambers because it's strong and resilient. The Charter Arms will not. It's a fairly tepid revolver when it comes to strength. No one will ever describe it as being like a bank vault or a brick outhouse as they do the Ruger. The Ruger is stronger than it needs to be, but the Charter Arms is only as strong as it needs to be and no more.
And that's worth considering.
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