Reflections on the Charter Arms .44 Special

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ST1959

ST1959

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Today at my favorite gun range, I surpassed 1300 total rounds of ammo through my CA Bulldog. It seems to like Ultramaxx 200gr for practice -- not one glitch with that ammo throughout several hundred rounds. I run Hornady 185gr in it when carrying.

I bought this gun a year ago with a lot of trepidation and hesitation, as I'm fully aware of CA's spotty reputation. But at just over 1300 rounds, with additional extensive dry-firing (w snap caps), the gun has not given me any problems.

I'm an RN who works on a hospital orthopedic unit, and have seen all kinds of bullet holes from different calibers. Although 9mm, .38 special, and even the tiny 22 LR wounds are no day at the beach, once you get into the .40 + club, the amount of tissue/bone damage goes up exponentially.

Gotta say, CA made a very good gun, in the case of mine. Your mileage may vary. Remains to be seen whether longevity will be on my side with this gun, or not. But so far, so good.
 
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I've got 4 Charters, and I like them all. I have two Bulldogs, and one of them got the royal treatment at Magnaport.

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Still have an original 44 Bulldog. Probably less than 500 rounds through it. Mostly Lyman 429421 hollow point over 6.5 Unique. 100% reliable, shoots to the sights at 15 yards, and feels as light as my 60-15. Usually one round of shot up first with four of the hps next.
Pachmayrs for grips.
 
Hey st1959, I eclipsed the 2000 round mark in my 2 year old stainless 2-1/2" Bulldog without a single hiccup. I have complete confidence in it will perform admirably every time I pull the trigger. Is it as refined as my 4" 629? Nope, but it's accurate, reliable, a joy to carry and packs a wallop.....at less than 1/2 the price. I wouldn't hesitate to get another CA. Maybe a 40 cal Pitbull to accompany the M&P 40...Hmmmm. Don't tell my wife lol:)
 
I had one of the original Bulldogs. I should have kept it, and if I find another at a good price, I'll wind up having to pay someone to make an inverted shoulder holster for it, like I have for my J-frame .38.
 
"...the amount of tissue/bone damage goes up exponentially..." Big and relatively slow bullets, especially cast, tend to do that.
My boss at the gun shop I worked in long ago(over 30 years so it wasn't a current model), had a Bulldog under the counter. At some point he had tried a 260 grain load, I think it was. So hot it actually cracked the factory grips. Normal load was with a 240. Tame enough that his son, 7 at the time, had no problem shooting it.
 
Putting wood grips on a .44 Charter will crack any that have the grain lines in the wrong place. This is one gun that really needs Pachmayrs. That 6.5 Unique is a very good load. Plenty of cowbell without beating up your wrist or the gun. I have an old Galco Miami shoulder rig and it is a joy to carry all day.
 
I have an original .44 Bulldog in blue which stays in the safe, mostly. I have a Shelton Conn. era Bulldog Pug (stainless) which goes with me, as a carry piece. 6-7 grains of Unique behind a 429421 cast bullet and you are good to go. Shoots where you point and has never failed.
 
My Bulldog was made in 2014. It makes me smile every time I shoot it. If your only going to carry 5 shots, make sure they are big ones...
 
I like mine very much. I like to have it in my coat pocket. I have heard that 9mm and etc is supposed to be just as good, but those fat 44's sure do put big holes in things. But what do I know? I am old and I carry around a revolver like people did 150 years ago. The young smart people have plastic Star Wars guns with lasers and stuff on them.

(Please forgive the satire if it hurt your feelings. Older folk get insomnia and type crazy things when their slippers don't fit right and there is no more warm milk.)
 
I think I am about to pull the trigger on a Bulldog purchase myself. Was gonna get one for the wife but happened across a great deal on a Taurus 445 so I got her it. Taurus dropped that model so I have been looking at the Bulldog again. If it shots anywhere close to the Taurus it will be money well spent.
 
I dig mine!

It's been all over the country with and even overseas a couple of times.

I got it in a trade back when I had more crap than money - this one was for a soft top for an International Scout.

Few firearms which I have owned have benefitted so greatly from such a simple thing as putting Pachmayr grips on one of these.

That, and keep an eye on screw tightness in the early year or so of shooting... Is that still "a thing" with these?

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Todd.
 
I got rid of mine a while back. Had it for about 6 mos, a new one.

I liked the gun, but it did have to go back to the factory twice. These guns really just aren't meant to shoot very much, and in my opinion, don't conceal as well as a J-frame.

I see that Charter Arms has a version out now called the "classic" bulldog. Blued, 3" bbl with no lug, and wood grips. Just like Son of Sam's gun. I have to admit, I kind of want one. Would be good as a car gun.
 
Cooldill, do you mind sharing why it had to go back to the factory twice? I've been tempted by them many times and have even thought to sell my SP101 for one, but the longevity question always makes me think twice.
 
I have an older (read vintage) 3" stainless Bulldog. Had the big wood grips on it and I had to epoxy for reinforcement when I noticed some cracks. Switched to rubber, like everyone else here did.

Several hundred rounds through it without a problem. I've also tried .44 Russian using 214 grain cast bullets and 5-ish grains of Unique. One of my favorite loads for it. But the 240 grain cast SWC in the special case still gets the nod for carry, and it goes with me everywhere.
 
I rather like the original BullDog wood grips actually. I even put them on some Undercover .38s over the years. Large enough to hold onto yet small and smooth enough for easy concealment

When I was working on an AA in Law Enforcement I was in a class taught by the local assistant state's attourny and also had a policeman and emt in it that were all heavily involved in a case involving a CA Bull Dog shooting. It was a good shooting against a bad man......but......the bad guy eventually walked away after a spell in a state hospital (the nutty one). The guy that saved the day was very close to Mr. Bad Guy and opted for a single head shot. RNL Factory load entered just above left eye brow near the nose. Unfortunately it failed to penetrate the brow ridge and turned downward ending up in the Bad Guy's mouth with a good bit of damage in between. It was a one shot, fight stopping hit though with instant incapacitation. The EMT that sat next to me thought him dead at the scene initially and went to the aid of those he thought he could help. Same same of the policeman first on the scene. Imagine their shock when bad guy sat up five minutes after the shooting and groaned before falling back down!

-kBob
 
kBob said:
I rather like the original BullDog wood grips actually. I even put them on some Undercover .38s over the years. Large enough to hold onto yet small and smooth enough for easy concealment

When I was working on an AA in Law Enforcement I was in a class taught by the local assistant state's attourny and also had a policeman and emt in it that were all heavily involved in a case involving a CA Bull Dog shooting. It was a good shooting against a bad man......but......the bad guy eventually walked away after a spell in a state hospital (the nutty one). The guy that saved the day was very close to Mr. Bad Guy and opted for a single head shot. RNL Factory load entered just above left eye brow near the nose. Unfortunately it failed to penetrate the brow ridge and turned downward ending up in the Bad Guy's mouth with a good bit of damage in between. It was a one shot, fight stopping hit though with instant incapacitation. The EMT that sat next to me thought him dead at the scene initially and went to the aid of those he thought he could help. Same same of the policeman first on the scene. Imagine their shock when bad guy sat up five minutes after the shooting and groaned before falling back down!

-kBob
Click to expand...
Yes, RNL & FMJ are noted for following bone UNLESS it hits close to perpendicular. Doesn't matter what the caliber is. It even happens with RN rifle bullets that hit skulls at a shallow angle.
 
eldon519 said:
Cooldill, do you mind sharing why it had to go back to the factory twice? I've been tempted by them many times and have even thought to sell my SP101 for one, but the longevity question always makes me think twice.
Click to expand...
Do not sell your SP101 for a Bulldog.

You won't be able to wear out an SP101. You'll be able to wear out a Bulldog in a few months of even semi-regular shooting.

Mine had to go back twice because it came new in the box badly out of time. The other time was when the cylinder release locked up on me. Customer service is very good... but these things just aren't for shooting, the longevity just isn't their. If you don't plan on shooting it much, it will probably be fine though.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I do a pretty good amount of shooting since I'm equally fond of both reloading and shooting, so the Charter may not be for me. It's a shame as the package is just so appealing.
 
Cooldill said:
Do not sell your SP101 for a Bulldog.

You won't be able to wear out an SP101. You'll be able to wear out a Bulldog in a few months of even semi-regular shooting.

Mine had to go back twice because it came new in the box badly out of time. The other time was when the cylinder release locked up on me. Customer service is very good... but these things just aren't for shooting, the longevity just isn't their. If you don't plan on shooting it much, it will probably be fine though.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't go that far. I've had a target bulldog since1978 & it's still going strong.
 
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