Bulldog .44 Sp. cylinder assessment

[Buck13]

I made the rounds of a couple of used LGS last weekend. Saw a stainless Bulldog .44 Spl that was pretty tempting, but it has a bit of endshake and rotational looseness at lock-up.

I know a little rotation is OK in these, but I'm not sure this was just "a little." The barrel and cylinder alignment looked good when untouched, but could be turned enough by hand to see the throat. Is there a standard for how much is too much?

I'm thinking of going back with a feeler guage in my pocket to check the endshake. What gap between the cylinder and forcing cone would be acceptable?

I would not be shooting it a great deal (probably two to four boxes a year, assuming I can buy ammo), but I do want a shooter, not a POS.

 

[Remllez]

Unless you want to send it back for repair....I'd walk on this one. If you can rotate the cylinder that far at lockup I'd say it's too loose to mess with unless it was a bargain basement price. The B/C gap should be under .007 or so.

 

[Buck13]

IIRC, they were asking $315. I'd call that not expensive, but hardly free.

 

[lowercase]

For $315, definitely get one without rotational play and endshake.

Was this gun a vintage model, or current production?

I have both, and they both lock up solid at lockup. My current production Bulldog was $365 brand new, and my really nice vintage model was $269. I would pass on the one you're looking at.