Charter Bulldog .44 Cast Load Observations

[Pentz]

I wanted a concealable .44 Special smaller than the S&W 696 (had one) and after much research decided on the Charter Bridgeport-Stratford series, and recently acquired a Bulldog made right at the end of Stratford production. Used, of course, in very good condition, that the previous owner had a good gunsmith alleviate sticky extraction and a rough double action.

It has a stock "pocket hammer" and came with large Pachmayr grips. Double action feels like 10-12 lbs, and the single action breaks at 3.5 lbs on my gauge. The first thing was to mic the cylinder throats and bore; as a competitive cast bullet rifle and revolver shooter one learns that bullet fit to throat is critical to accuracy.

The cylinder throats measured between .432 and .433; the 8-groove bore was .429. The bullets immediately at hand were some gun-show .429 210 HP and my stock Lasercast .431 240 SWC (the .429 bullets fell right through the throats, of course).

Loadings of the .429 HPs were 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0 Unique; I only loaded these to prove to myself that the .429s would come out of the throats off-centered and gas-cut. The .431 SWCs were loaded with 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 of Unique; 5.0 and 5.5 of 231; and 4.5 and 5.0 of Bullseye.

It was 28 degrees in the shaded handgun shelter and breezy; targets were shot over a sandbag rest at 7 yards. Not surprisingly, the undersized 210 grain bullets all showed signs of tip/yaw, although the 6.0 load of Unique shot well (#1). The .431 Unique loads shot well at 6.0 and above (#5 and 6). The .431 5.0 231 load shot well (7 and 8). The .431 Bulleye loads were OK, but I was cold and tired from concentrating.
The tip/yaw of the undersized bullets was validated; despite this the 6.0 Unique load under the .429 bullet yawed 4 into one hole, and I may have pulled one out (short barrel, cold weather). Under powered loads also shot poorly (target #4). Interestingly, as the powder charged increased, the POI moved from 3:00 more towards the center of the target; the torque of the recoil pulling the POI more to the left with increase of recoil.

Next, I need to find a 225 grain mold that will drop at .432-434 and work more with Unique, 231 and perhaps 4227 and Blue Dot. When it warms up a tad I'll move out to 15 yards; this is not a target piece, although Targets 1,5, 6 and 7 suggest a potential for accuracy. Work in progress and it's entertaining. I'll post more as progress continues.

 

[Wishoot]

Nice gun and nice shooting! Been thinking of picking up one of these CA revolvers in 44spl.

 

[Duster340]

I love my Bulldog. Nice shooting Pentz. I've gotten very good results in my newish 2 1/2" dog with Unique with .430 cast 214, 240 & 255 gr SWC as well as 208 & 240 full WC's. Also worked up some nice loads using RedDot, BlueDot and 800x. The good old 44 special seems to just be a great round for us reloaders. Looking forward to following your posts.

Be well

 

[forrest r]

Good eye for detail Pentz!!!
Most people look at a target and only see groups.

A like to the 2005 Brian Pearce article on reloading for the 44spl.
http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/44_Special_Articles/Brian Pearce on the 44 Special.pdf

You would be better off sticking with unique and testing some of Pearce's level 2 loads. I've tested them with 200gr to 220gr bullets instead of the 250gr Keith load he listed. They are actually pretty impressive. I would not use 4227 in a 44spl with light bullets. It's at it's best with heavy loads & bullets, but heavy bullets isn't the best thing for a snub nosed revolver. The unique loads will out preform the 4227 loads with light bullets in the 44spl. I'd stay away from using bluedot in the 44spl. It is 1 of the worst powders you could use, it has extreme short start pressure and gets squirrely in cold weather. Powders like unique and 2400 have more of a push to them than a crack/sharp jump like bluedot. Huge difference in recoil and follow up shots.

Yes sometimes the bullets/groups will move from the torque of the load. But they will also move from the lube. Lube can react differently in cold weather. The easiest way to tell is to lightly oil a bullet before you fire it with 3 in 1 oil or a 30wt motor oil. Put a little on a rag and oil the exposed bullet only (don't get any on the case itself), oil it just like you would the surface of a firearm after cleaning. Shoot a group with the normal bullet then shoot a group with the oiled bullets. If the groups stay in the same place then it's torque that moved the groups. If the groups moved then it's the pressure of the load and how the bullet lube reacted to that pressure. With fixed sighted firearms it's not uncommon to test different lubes along with using a standard lubed bullet + adding a coat of paste wax to the bullets body to move the bullet left/right.

Don't know if you powder coat bullets but with pc'ing any mold that throws a .429" bullet and up will work. Which is extremely nice if you cast your own hp's or use a tool like the forester hp tool to put hp's in bullets. A 7bhn/8bhn alloy is your friend. Tested some 44spl loads earlier this year in a 2 1/2" bbl'd bulldog. Used the forester hp tool on 2 of the bullets.


The bullets in the test were:
Top left, the lyman 429422 "keith" 235gr hb swc that I used a forster hp tool on to make a large cupped hp in it.
Top right, a custom 220gr hbwc turned backwards, used to be common with the snub nosed 38spl's. This is the 44spl version.
Bottom left, a h&g 200gr "thompson" design, these things are sweet!!!
Botto right, a raphine 205gr fn bh bullet that I put the same cupped hp init that I did in the 429422 bullet.

I was interested in a hollow based hollow pointed swc bullet for the 44spl. The old fbi bullet for the 38spl used to be a 158gr hb hp swc bullet. A picture of a ww fbi bullet that is 7bhn.


Buffalo bore has a 1000fps snub nosed 38spl load
The fbi has a 158gr hb hp swc load.
The bulldog has a 210gr hb hp swc load that does 1000fps+
I'll stick with the bulldog.

Enjoy you testing.

 

[mustachio]

my Bulldog is about 2 months old and shoots great, as well. I get similar groups and am very pleased with the performance
of this Charter Arms revolver. I also have an Undercover in 38 spl. I am shooting Highland Lakes and LAX 240 gr. FP FMJ and
Underwood 200 gr full wadcutters. the full wadcutters have some punch behind them.

 

[Drail]

I've been carrying and shooting a Charter Bulldog since '87. It was replaced for daily carry use by a 696 in '96. I love the Charter for its weight - you can literally forget it's on your belt. My best loads for this gun were all 200 gr. bullets (cast or JHP) and I think Unique is the absolute best powder to use just because it gives decent velocities with very low pressures. A Charter is a very lightly built gun and Jeff Cooper's old admonition about "carry it a lot - shoot it a little" is probably a good idea. Mine is still pretty tight and it has never failed to fire. I have seen a number of Charter Bulldogs that guys beat to death with heavy handloads. The Charter was just not built for that kind of use. I have never seen anyone blow one up but have seen them knocked out of time by abuse. My favorite factory load has always been the Speer 200 gr. Gold Dot hollow point. Tested in water jugs these would consistently penetrate 3 jugs and come to rest in the fourth - perfectly expanded every time. But I do think that a good hard cast SWC makes a very good round for CCW use.