New Bulldog Pug Owner....

[Drgong]

I got around to getting my gun off of layaway, and picked up a Charter Arms Bulldog Pug in 44. special.

It is a 3rd generation gun, as it has the Shelton, Conn. on the barrel, with rubber grips, and it is stainless. I put 10 rounds of ammo though it (Ok, I am poor, and ammo costs 2 bucks a shot with his gun.)

First Impressions

Not a bad gun. Is it as finely finished as my Model 10 or Model 36? No it is not, but it not horrid. the trigger is not bad, better then Ruger out of the box, but not as good as a smith. (it is a long, steady pull.)

the Recoil I was expecting more, it is much less then a .357. I would find it close to shooting .38 specials out of a steel J-frame. the two times it took me a little while to get used to it as it has a odd kick, (and I was being a pansy and pulling it as i was tensing up) but once I steeled myself up, it was not bad. it was accurate, in fact, bad shooter me on my last shot was able to get it on the little centermeter wide X in the middle of the silhouette at 5 yards. except for my first two I was able to get decent results. Not a target pistol, but I don't think it was designed for that.

Overall, not a bad gun, its not the end-all be-all, but it is affordable and gives me a much bigger bullet for my needs. I live in the country so sometimes I have to worry about big four legged bad guys, and not just the two legged type, so this .44 special gives me a good 'car gun" and hiking gun. I like the size/weight of it as well.

 

[bestseller92]

I had a Rossi Model 720 .44 Special back in the early 90s and loved it. Hated to get rid of it, but at the time I got in a bind and had to sell it.

Let us know how the durability of the Charter is, if you would. I'd love to have another small frame .44 Special.

 

[Drail]

Here's some free advice from someone who has carried a Pug for twenty some years. Keep a very close eye on every screw and pin. If you shoot it very much (not recommended) pins will walk out and screws will loosen. If it becomes difficult to open or close the cylinder check the screw on the breechface where the cylinder pin drops into. Make sure it is flush with the breechface. If it backs out it can tie up the gun. It is my absolute favorite carry gun but it was not built for steady range use. Loc-tite will help. Avoid all of the hot loads such as Corbon etc. If you can find the Speer Gold Dot 200 gr. loads you have the best factory carry load available. Enjoy. .44 Spl. is one of the greatest rounds we have come up with. If you can handload (or know someone who does) a 200 gr. bullet @ 850 to 900 f.p.s. will do anything you need. (Hollow point or cast SWC) 240 gr. bullets are a little much for a Pug. Occasional use is OK but steady use will beat up a PUG over time.

 

[Drgong]

Speer Gold dot is what I carry anyways, and I do not see it as a heavy range gun use.

 

[Drail]

You is all set.

 

[Walkalong]

Keep a very close eye on every screw and pin.

I really like mine, but oh yea, keep an eye on the screws.

 

[Dollar An Hour]

I bought a Bulldog Pug new back in '87-'88. It was actually a pretty nice snubby, but then Charters were better then. Recoil was stout but not really worse than a .38 Airweight.

I do think .44 Spl is an underappreciated caliber.

 

[rockstar.esq]

Out of curiosity have you seen the Black Hills "Thunder Ranch" load? It's a 250g Keith type wadcutter. It's neither plus P nor "hot" but it prints perfectly to point of aim with my Taurus .44spl snubbie. Sadly it's not cheap either.

One thing that's not mentioned to awful much about fixed sight snubbies is that if you want to raise your point of impact you should go with a HEAVIER bullet weight. That's counter to typical guns because the snubbie's going to have the bullet free of the bore whilst the gun is tipping back from recoil moreso than a longer barrel. I once read an article about an attempt to assassinate a president (don't remember which one) and the secret service agents kept missing mostly due to the fact they practiced shooting their snubbie .38's with lighter bullets. When they shot their service load the heavier projectiles were hitting so much higher than one agent took an assassins hat off rather than hitting lower.

Finally, I recently order some "Tuff products" strips in .44 which makes packing a reload for this gun a TON easier. They are nearly identical to the Bianchi speed strips but they're available in calibers other than the .38!