Landric
Member
I recently picked up a Charter Arms Bulldog Pug .44 Special. Its new production (the date on the fired case envelope was 2-26-2009), 2 1/2" barrel, stainless, and DAO.
I went to the range on Friday just to test fire it. I shot about 25 rounds through it, some Georgia Arms 200 grain Gold Dot, PMC 180 grain JHP, and my own handloads, 6.5 grains of HS-6 under a 240 grain RNFP. It functioned fine, shot point of aim at 7 to 10 yards with all three bullet weights, and was reasonably accurate. Recoil was stiff but not awful, of the three my rather light handloads were the easiest to control. The only thing I didn't care for was the rather sharp cylinder latch, which cut my thumb during recoil.
Obviously 25 rounds is not a serious test, I just wanted to function check it. Since it worked fine, I decided to try carrying it around the house and yard while I was working on some projects on Saturday. I used a DeSantis Pocket Holster for a Ruger SP101 and the Bulldog fit perfectly. It slipped right into my front pocket, and while it was obvious something was there, it wasn't obvious it was a gun. The factory grips on the Bulldog enclose the backstrap and are a little long, so the very top of the grip stuck out of the top of my pocket. Charter offers a compact exposed backstrap grip similar to a boot grip, and I placed an order for one on Charter's website. I think that will solve the problem there. The Bulldog is quite light for its size, and didn't seem to drag my pants down at all, much like my usual pocket gun, a S&W 37-2 DAO, and unlike my DAO SP101.
The reason for my Friday range trip was a IDPA BUG match at The Range in Oxford, NC on Sunday. Those of you who are familiar with IDPA in Central NC know Frank Glover puts on an exceptional match, and this one was no exception. It consisted of twelve 5-round stages. Two stages were set up in each of the six bays used for the match and scored as string one and string two, but in reality it was 12 separate stages. I'm looking forward to the Carolina Cup this year, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some expanded versions of a stage or two we shot yesterday.
So, I brought along the Bulldog, 50 rounds of my handloads (again the 240 grain RNFP with 6.5 grains of HS-6) and 50 rounds of Longhorn Ammunition 240 grain LSWC. I shot 35 of my handloads and 25 of the Longhorn rounds. The Bulldog performed well, with one exception. I had two light strikes on the second string of the first stage I shot. That was with my handloads, and I'm willing to accept it was possibly due to high primers or some other error on my part. All my other handloads and the 25 factory rounds fired without a problem. Both of the light stikes fired on the second time around the cylinder, but that cost me some seconds on a stage that should have been much faster (and would have been without the misfires). As I said, those occured on the 7th and 9th times I pulled the trigger, and there were no problems after that.
I did notice that the factory 240 LSWCs were keyholing at longer ranges, and problem I didn't experience with my handloads or the factory ammo I shot on Friday of last week. Perhaps the Bulldog just doesn't like that bullet.
Overall, I'm impressed. I wish the cylinder latch wasn't so sharp, and the cylinder turns the "wrong" way, but it seems like a good deal overall. Time will tell how it holds up. Charter basically has the market cornered on a small frame .44 Special. I wish there were more options out there, but the Charter seems like a good deal so far.
I went to the range on Friday just to test fire it. I shot about 25 rounds through it, some Georgia Arms 200 grain Gold Dot, PMC 180 grain JHP, and my own handloads, 6.5 grains of HS-6 under a 240 grain RNFP. It functioned fine, shot point of aim at 7 to 10 yards with all three bullet weights, and was reasonably accurate. Recoil was stiff but not awful, of the three my rather light handloads were the easiest to control. The only thing I didn't care for was the rather sharp cylinder latch, which cut my thumb during recoil.
Obviously 25 rounds is not a serious test, I just wanted to function check it. Since it worked fine, I decided to try carrying it around the house and yard while I was working on some projects on Saturday. I used a DeSantis Pocket Holster for a Ruger SP101 and the Bulldog fit perfectly. It slipped right into my front pocket, and while it was obvious something was there, it wasn't obvious it was a gun. The factory grips on the Bulldog enclose the backstrap and are a little long, so the very top of the grip stuck out of the top of my pocket. Charter offers a compact exposed backstrap grip similar to a boot grip, and I placed an order for one on Charter's website. I think that will solve the problem there. The Bulldog is quite light for its size, and didn't seem to drag my pants down at all, much like my usual pocket gun, a S&W 37-2 DAO, and unlike my DAO SP101.
The reason for my Friday range trip was a IDPA BUG match at The Range in Oxford, NC on Sunday. Those of you who are familiar with IDPA in Central NC know Frank Glover puts on an exceptional match, and this one was no exception. It consisted of twelve 5-round stages. Two stages were set up in each of the six bays used for the match and scored as string one and string two, but in reality it was 12 separate stages. I'm looking forward to the Carolina Cup this year, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some expanded versions of a stage or two we shot yesterday.
So, I brought along the Bulldog, 50 rounds of my handloads (again the 240 grain RNFP with 6.5 grains of HS-6) and 50 rounds of Longhorn Ammunition 240 grain LSWC. I shot 35 of my handloads and 25 of the Longhorn rounds. The Bulldog performed well, with one exception. I had two light strikes on the second string of the first stage I shot. That was with my handloads, and I'm willing to accept it was possibly due to high primers or some other error on my part. All my other handloads and the 25 factory rounds fired without a problem. Both of the light stikes fired on the second time around the cylinder, but that cost me some seconds on a stage that should have been much faster (and would have been without the misfires). As I said, those occured on the 7th and 9th times I pulled the trigger, and there were no problems after that.
I did notice that the factory 240 LSWCs were keyholing at longer ranges, and problem I didn't experience with my handloads or the factory ammo I shot on Friday of last week. Perhaps the Bulldog just doesn't like that bullet.
Overall, I'm impressed. I wish the cylinder latch wasn't so sharp, and the cylinder turns the "wrong" way, but it seems like a good deal overall. Time will tell how it holds up. Charter basically has the market cornered on a small frame .44 Special. I wish there were more options out there, but the Charter seems like a good deal so far.
