Charter Arms Bulldog 45 Colt

Hello,

Just wanted to give a first impressions of the Charter Arms Bulldog 45 Colt. Is a 5 shot with a 2.5" barrel.

All measurements are using Hornady calipers.

Sku: 74530

Cylinder diameter: 1.600"
Cylinder throats are all .455
The thickness between the chamber and cylinder wall is .058"
The cylinder length is 1.640

I have not shot it yet, but it feels good in the hand. The overall finish is good, but it does have some really sharp edges and the crane isn't blended well to the frame. Can't wait to shoot it though!

20180620_191109 by yamahawarrior89 posted Jun 20, 2018 at 7:28 PM

20180620_191125 by yamahawarrior89 posted Jun 20, 2018 at 7:28 PM

20180620_191134 by yamahawarrior89 posted Jun 20, 2018 at 7:28 PM

20180620_192029 by yamahawarrior89 posted Jun 20, 2018 at 7:28 PM

 

Nice! Congrats.... I'm jealous LOL. Looking forward to the range report.

 

Those throats are way too big. Modern .45 Colt bullet diameter is .452 for both lead and jacketed, so the largest that those throats should be is .452", but they really should be .450 or .451". That means if you're shooting lead, you're not going to get a good seal and it'll cause leading and not optimal accuracy.

 

Congrats on a great new gun. I also bought one of these new Charter Arms offerings, one chambered in .41 Magnum. I'm pleased with the smoothness of action, the solid feel and the tight cylinder lockup. It actually looks a little better in person than I thought it would, but there is some fairly crude looking machining on the inside of the recoil shield. No big deal - it can't look like a S&W at the low price Charter Arms is asking. I haven't shot mine either.

I think of these new .45 LC's and .41 mags as kind of a variation on a similar theme, but mine is actual called a "Mag Pug" where I believe the .45 LC is a "Bulldog." Any real difference between the two? This is the first CA I've bought in decades.

 

I do have a few boxes of .454 255 gr Keith style boolits. I will mostly shoot jackets out of it though. Can't complain until I shoot it though! Also need to measure the barrel and see where that is. It might shoot the .454 size good. I am getting ready to move in the next couple weeks so I won't have any chance to tinker.

 

I saw they had one in 41 magnum as well, I am already set up for reloading 45 colt so I stuck with that. I've been wanting a good carry gun in that caliber and it looks like Charter Arms fits the bill. This is my first Charter Arms, overall it is pretty smooth, just has a few sharp edges. The barrel seems nice and straight and not chanted which is good.

 

Yamaha, did u purchase from online source or local?
Thanks

 

If the cylinder throats really are .455 they are too big, bout that is still vastly better than being .450 or .451.

I haave a Blackhawk with .454 throats and it is very accurate. Have another one with .450/.449, and I reamed them to .4525. It now also shoots accurately with lead and jacketed. You dont want you bullet to be swaged down so it rattles in the barrel.

 

I purchased it from tss warehouse, they had 2 left. Looks out of stock now.

https://tsswarehouse.com/shop/charter-arms-bulldog-45lc-2-5-s-s-charter-arms-74530/

Price was good and they shipped it in a few days.

 

That'd be a hell of a back up gun, they're filling up a void in the niche market that taurus made when they ceased making similar guns. I for one would love to have one.

 

The Evangelist Cowboy

I would agree with that. I still kick myself for not picking up a Taurus Model 431 in .44 Special while they were still being made.

 

Many years ago, back in the Dark Ages, I bought a Charter Bulldog in .44 Special. I learned to use .44 Russian brass to provide more positive extraction with its short extractor throw. Maybe use .45 S&W brass for the same purpose?

I had a Jim Dandy load, by the way, using the old 225 gr. Speer Half Jacketed bullets and Unique powder. Holding the front sight up, I could usually put three or four bullets, out of the five, through a paper plate at 100 yards.

The old Charter revolvers were really well made guns, but not up to heavy shooting.

Bob Wright

 

I an anxious to hear how it shoots. The crane to frame profile difference bothers me though. I'm gonna have to see if they're all that way.
Edit looked online, they all seem random. I'm not OCD per se, but that bothers me.

 

The way it looks, to me, looks like somebody didn't have the part loaded in the machine properly and that's why it's off. IDK why they would ship that, it looks Bush League and that's not something a professional gun manufacturing company should be shipping on what is a brand new product line.

It could have been just this one revolver, but likelihood is it's going to be on a few as I can see somebody probably ran an entire shift of that part of the crane.

Give it a couple months and the inventory of that part will be used up and replaced with correct parts. Still, Charter shouldn't be shipping guns that look like that.

OP, given the mismatch between the crane and the frame, the sharp edges, and the throats being WAY too big, call Charter and tell them you want it fixed. If I bought that gun and it had all those issues, I wouldn't accept it. Tell them what you paid for is in unacceptable condition.

 

If there's something wrong with it, contact them. I've heard over and over how good their customer service is. Put it to good use.

 

I have had a 'Classic Bulldog' for about a year and carry if often around the farm. When it was new it shot high with even 240 gr loads and I wanted to use 200 to 215 gr loads. I called Charter and Nick answered the phone. Charter sent a return label and the gun was back in a week with a target and the gun sight lowered for 200 gr loads at 25 yards. Probably the reason for the fast response was Charter would prefer for us to not use 240 gr loads but they did respond.

 

Their revolvers of the past 20 years? Yeah, I can see why you'd say that. I don't like the matte finish, it looks cheap, but looking cheap and being cheaply made are two different things. Cylinder throats and having parts that match the profile of the frame isn't rocket science, but given that Charter pays their employees as much as Walmart likely does, it probably is to them. For $300 tho, you should at least get something that looks good.

I say this as a person who likes Charter Arms, but I only own a .357 that was made in the 1980s, back when guys knew how to make good guns and were paid very well.

 

Picked mine up two weeks ago. Haven't shot it yet. I ordered some Underwood for everyday and woods carry.
https://www.underwoodammo.com/colle...p-jacketed-hollow-point?variant=7865921634361

 

Taurus made revolvers configured the same as the Charter Arms Bulldog too, but chambered in .41 Magnum; in a light-weight, all titanium variant (Model 415T) and an all s/s steel version (Model 415). Mine is the Model 415 and, with its 2 1/2", ported barrel, has been a pleasurable and reliable revolver to shoot.

 

I agree. I called S&W before 1989 and asked them why they had cut their chamber throats to 0.455" and was told that was SAAMI specs. I had a S&W M25 in 45 LC and the thing leaded and was not that accurate with 0.452" bullets. I found some 0.454" bullets and leading reduced and accuracy improved. I traded that S&W, plus another pistol, and some boot for this:




That year someone at S&W wised up and S&W started chambering their 45LC cylinder throats 0.452" . This model of 1989 45 LC is one of my favorites, it is accurate all the way out to 50 yards, which is the limit at which I shoot a pistol offhand.

Charter Arms probably does not know better, they are probably just copying SAAMI specs because they either don't understand their customer base, or the guy who does, was shouted down by multitude who don't, and demanded they had to go with SAAMI specs!

I have shot thousands of 0.454" lead bullets down my 0.452" chambered 45LC's, and I can't tell a loss of accuracy compared to 0.452". But, shoot 0.452" bullets down a 45LC with 0.455" chamber throats, and you will see the inaccuracy.

 

The Bulldog is a short range, point and shoot revolver. The specs will be fine for what it's made for.

 

Shot it for the 1st time finally. Put about 100 rounds through it, most were my old 250gr handload that were a bit spicy for the pitbull. Could feel it in the web of my hand pretty good.

Also shot 20 of the Winchester PDX1 225gr loads, these felt much better and are what I plan on leaving in it.

This is my 1st 10 shots of the PDX1's. The one way low was making sure it didn't shoot way high (over my backstop). The black circle is 6", all in single action and standing. Shoots point of aim at 10 yards, no need to compensate or hold over/under. Looks like I need to work on my grip a bit. Consistent though.





Overall I am happy with it. Feels good and shoots good.

 

That little Bulldog kicks, doesn't it?. With standard loads, my 44 Special Bulldog has all the recoil I want.