Opinions on Charter Arms Bulldog?

[Woody_in_MN]

Any comments - good - bad - indifferent on the Bulldog 44 mag?

- w

 

[BillinNH]

I didn't know the Bulldog came in a 44 mag. Do you mean 44spl?

I have a "first generation" 44 spl Bulldog with a three inch barrel and exposed ejector. It is fun to shoot, recoil is very acceptable, has always been reliable. I think the three inch makes a good range gun but for concealed carry I recommend the 2 1/2 inch model..

The Charters are not as robust as the Smiths in this caliber but they are also not as big and heavy. It's a nice alternative.

The exposed ejector models and the Charter 2000 models are gnerally the most reliable. The Charcos should be examined closely to see if they have any problems.

Bill

 

[Woody_in_MN]

I stand corrected - it is not 44 mag. It is 44 special. 2 1/2 inch barrel. That is the one I am considering anyway.

Thanks,

- w

 

[Jackal]

Here's a link to a good review. http://www.gunblast.com/Bulldog_Pug.htm

 

[Lou22]

From what I've read in these boards, people seem split on the Bulldog's quality. I don't own one, but have a Charter 2000 .38 Undercover that I think is a great little gun. Light recoil, accurate for a snubbie, and reliable. I do also own a S&W 296 snubbie .44 special. It is also a fine gun, but because it weighs only 18oz, the recoil will hurt the web of my hand after about 20 rounds.

Lou

 

[Woody_in_MN]

Lou,

One reason I'm interested in Charter, is that they were acquired by hi point. At least in terms of reliability - the guys at HP seem to know what they are doing.

- w

 

[HSMITH]

The Charter guns are good guns to carry a lot and shoot a little. They won't hold up long term like a Smith or a Ruger, but that doesn't mean they are bad guns. If they were to cost what a Smith or a Ruger does I would be down on them, but they cost about what they are worth and make a decent gun for the money.

The Bulldog is my favorite Charter gun, great carry gun.

 

[Lou22]

I've heard the same thing about Charter, that you shoot 'em a lot and they'll eventually come loose. I shoot the Undercover with regular 158gr ammo enough on the range to be accurate, then carry +P 158gr SWCHP's

I read on the company website that +P's are OK for occasional use.

Woody, I thought the same thing about Hi-Point, that they should help the quality of the Charter line.

Lou

 

[1 old 0311]

Son Of Sam liked his

 

[Woody_in_MN]

Guys,

Thanks for the replies. Honestly I'm starting to steer away from the 44 special as a caliber - less punch than a 357 mag, and the 44's tend to cost more. I'm leaning more toward a Charter or other in a 357 mag. I already have a Taurus 66 satin finish w/ 6" barrel - I love that gun, so I will probably look at what Taurus has to offer in a short barrel 357.

- w

 

[KINGMAX]

Charter Arms undercover .38 spl

I have an old Charter Arms undercover .38 spl w/ a 2 inch barrel. I put just a touch of very bright orange fingernail polish on the front sight. My wife uses it for her carry. Yes she can shoot it, YES she can hit something vital from point blank, out to about 25 feet consistently. We shoot only standard .38 spl through it, no +P's. Out of all the stuff I have, that is her favorite choice to carry. Now if I could get her to carry as an everyday habit, :banghead: not just on special trips, or occasions.

 

[KINGMAX]

Ammo stockpiled

I am glad to see that someone else has a stock pile of more than 7,000 - 10,000 rounds of various ammo. (jackal) I am trying to get up to about 20,000 rds this year. I would like to get at least 5-7 thousand rounds of 7.62 x 39 stock-up. Once I get to three thousand rounds of 7.62x39, I want to go shoot my AK's and SKS a bit.

Since I have four Mosin-Nagant's, I usually purchase 440 - 880 rounds at each gun show. Last gun show I got 880 rds of Olympic 7.62x54R. Very happy w/ the performance of Olympic ammo. Plenty of power, recoil not so bad, and plenty of fire coming out the barrel of the M-38 carbine.

???? QUESTION ???? = How many rounds can I have and still be legal ????

 

[HMMurdock]

First hand experience with a Charter Arms .44psl:

A good friend of mine bought one and loved it. That is, until we took it to the range and it blew up on him. It was defective and nearly took his hand off. The round went off and literally blew the cylinder out and destroyed the frame. He contacted the company to get another one and they seemed entirely indifferent about it. Not only did they not seem to care that their product almost killed him, but it took them a year (give or take a month) to replace it. Did they kiss his @$$? No. Did they give him a nicer product or any "goodies"? No. Did they even send a letter of apology for having made such an awful firearm? Nope.

I will NEVER purchase a Charter Arms product as long as I live. I have not heard of this happening too much, but I have not known enough too many people that have them, either. And juding by their lack of concern after almost making him a cripple, I'd suggest to stay away.

TRL

 

[Woody_in_MN]

Kind of off the subject - but I held a Taurus 605 today. That gun is tiny! At least for my hands. I also held a tracker 357. That has their pattended grip. Very comfy, and nice - but more that I can to spend. They both had nice triggers.

- w

 

[Ronnie]

Taurus 605

I've got one of these in stainless and like it very much. I purchased it for a concealed carry weapon. 5 shots of .357 and you can't even tell it's there in an IWB holster.
I've shot about 100 rounds through it so-far[only had it a month] and it's as accurate as I am. Recoil isn't anywhere as near as rough as I thought it would be, very manageable.

I just need to find a smithy to put a polish on it.

 

[BluesBear]

Woody, personally, for a snub revolver, for CCW, I'll take the .44 Special over the .357 any day.
Plenty of power with less recoil and muzzle blast.

I used to carry a late 1970s vintage Charter Arms 3" .44 until I switched to a 2" Taurus .44. Unfortunately when I broke my back and was in the nursing home it had to go bye-bye to pay some bills.
Now I'm carrying a .357 but I really, really want another .44 special.
Now don't get me wrong, I love my Colt Lawman, I'll never sell it. But I'd much rather have another Taurus .44 for everyday carry.

 

[Woody_in_MN]

BluesBear,

Thanks. Hope you are recovering OK. I'm not strictly thinking of a CCW. I do want something I can go out and plunk with once in awhile. I REALLY like the idea of a 3" barrel. The Taurus 605 comes in a 3" - but that 605 is just too small for my hands and my purposes. I agree with you about the Taurus brand. When I was a kid - some thirty years ago - the Taurus was cheap, and looked it. Not any more. The Taurus's are a great value I think. I know I can get a NEW Taurus M65 SS (brushed finish) 4" barrel for about $300 plus shipping. That option has been on my mind too. But maybe too close a gun to the M66 SS 6" barrel I have?

Still stewing...

- W

 

[BluesBear]

IF you can ever find one of the Charter Arms Police Bulldogs in .44 Special grab it. They were great guns. They had a 4" barrel, shrouded ejector and adjustable sights.

Also I have seen several of the older adjustable sight 3" Taurus revolvers on Gunbroker lately. I handled one at a show recently and it felt nice.

 

[Diomed]

They look good to me. Fits my hand better than any other pistol I've come across, and will be my next purchase (thank you again, Governor Doug, for the wait). My 'smith carries one. A nice package at a good price; I'm getting the stainless.

HMMurdock - when did that happen? Was it bought new or used? My understanding is that some of the earlier iterations of the company were less than totally committed to their product, but that this is no longer the case. I certainly hope so!

 

[Woody_in_MN]

They look good to me.

I assume the "they" is Charter Arms?

HMMurdock - when did that happen? Was it bought new or used? My understanding is that some of the earlier iterations of the company were less than totally committed to their product...

I was wondering about this too. Counting backwards the self-destruct Charter must have been bought at least a year ago - maybe manufactured two, three, more years ago? I think HP bought Charter about a year and a half ago (?) there abouts (?)

- w

 

[Diomed]

I assume the "they" is Charter Arms?

Yes.

 

[Woody_in_MN]

Can anyone compare the size/feel of the grip on the Bull Dog to a Taurus 605 or M65/66 ?

- w

 

[fastbolt]

A Search among various forums can come up with some variable owner reports.

I knew a fellow who had one, and he liked it a lot. Of course, he only shot it every couple of years or so, and not much when he did ...

I owned 2 of them. One blued & one stainless. Both 3" barrels. The blued one was so-so, and did not like some factory loads. Erratic groupings at times. Nasty trigger. Mostly fired, though.

After I'd fired several boxes of standard pressure .44 Spl loads through the stainless Bulldog, however, the trigger/cylinder began locking up fairly frequently, even during dry-fire. I think I returned it to the factory either 2 or 3 times for repair. The last time it came back from the factory I removed it from the box and dry-fired it. The cylinder didn't make it all the way around before it locked up.

Personally, I wouldn't be interested in ever owning one again ...

Of course, it might've just been the 2 of them I bought at different times that were less-then-terrific.

I've seen, and heard, of better functioning with the .38 Spl models.

Luck to you.

 

[Woody_in_MN]

fastbolt,

Thanks. There was an interesting article - linked to on page one of this thread from gunblast.com. We probably need to seperate the "old" Bulldog from the "new" Bulldog. According to gunblast - the new Bulldog has some improvements over the original design. At least the one that gunblast got to test, had a nice trigger, and outstanding accuracy for a 2 1/2 inch barrel.

- w

 

[fastbolt]

You're right.

The 'new' CH Bulldog may be a much better revolver (for its cost) than the original one. Especially if they changed and improved the design.

The proof will be in seeing how the 'new' ones fair in the hands of owners during the next few years, I suppose.