Charter Arms .44 Special ?

Here's the new Ruger .44 special GP100.............

http://www.ruger.com/products/gp100/specSheets/1761.html

 

Nice looking piece. Love my Rugers....though I could add two more Bulldogs to my dog pound for that price LOL.

Love my little bitty, lightweight Bulldog too!



And they shoot pretty good too.

 

I had an older bulldog pug



I liked it because it was light for a steel revolver, carried extremely well, packed a punch, and had a big hole in the end of the barrel.

I didn't like it and got rid of it because it was had a normal amount of end shake to begin with, but it shot much looser within a few hundred rounds 240gr. SWC's at 800-850fps, to the point you could shake the gun and hear the cylinder go "clack-clack" back and forth in the frame. So I'll definitely second others who have said a 200gr. bullet at under 850fps will prolong the life of your gun. If you plan on shooting it any amount, keep your range loads down to powderpuffs. I also had it apart to give it a cold blue because the finish was just trashed on one side, and wasn't impressed with the internals compared to other revolvers I've had apart. That diminutive size comes with some tradeoffs.

Still, I miss that ugly little gun more as time goes on, its a great carry gun that just needs to be shot with moderate loads
If I still had it I'd just send it back to Charter to have it fixed, or shim it, rather than sell it off

 

Good points Silicosys4. I think some folks hammer their Dogs loose with excessive use of "hot" loads. I keep to published data, typically below max level loads in my Bulldog. Passed the 3,500 round count without any problems. Still tight and barks every time. ;-)

 

I bought one new about a year ago. It was out of time and the barrel was badly leaded. I checked with Charter their proof loads are lead.
After I got the barrel clean the riflings looked like a wash broad. This gun was very inaccurate with a variety of loads. I slugged the cylinder mouths at .432" the bore diameter was .426" and the groove diameter was .430" ***?
I sent it back to CA and waited two months, they sent it back with a leaded barrel and said the gun is fine?
Fool me once, I'm done with CA.

 

Thanks for the replies, lots of good information.

 

I traded my Bulldog for a Boomer and here it is. I put on the Crimson trace laser grips and at 10 yards, it shoots POA. Recoil is less than the Bulldog, the result of the porting. I keep it loaded with Critical Defense 165 grain for carry. DAO is not bad at all.
Bulldog:

Boomer:

 

i just picked up a new bulldog from a dealer and had a problem with it. out of the 5 chambers, i couldn't fit rounds into 3 of them. there was a problem with the star where the little triangle tabs were misshaped and had burrs, and prevented the rounds from seating. charter wanted me to send in the gun, apparently at my expense for them to inspect. i decided to have a local gunsmith fix it and he did charging $35. after taking it to the range and firing 30 rounds through it, both factory and reloads, i do find the cases stick a little during extraction.

 

edw,

I believe that there must have been a mis-communication between Charter and you. They have a well deserved reputation for good customer service. Very difficult for me to imagine them not sending you a shipping label for a new gun.

I had to pay $49 to have them repair an '80s Bulldog, and that included a new cylinder.

I would try them again.


Cat