Charter Arms Bulldog

[stantheman86]

I almost bought a 5" .38 Police Bulldog 6-shot at a gun show but it just struck me as a gun that wouldn't stand up to a lot of shooting. The Charters have a reputation of being dependable, simple revolvers that do the job, but aren't made as high volume range guns.

If I wanted a moderately priced .38 snub I would just get an LCR, at least it's reasonably priced and I know the quality is there.

I have been burned by "budget" guns like the Armscor .38 revolver I bought that went out of time after 100 rounds.......I like to actually shoot what I carry, and I am not a fan of "carry a lot shoot a little" guns. It's the reason I won't own anything like a S&W Airweight or anything that sacrifices durability for weight. I have no problem carrying my 4" Service Six.

 

[gramps]

I had a Charter 2000 since 2001. I just sold it cause I got almost out of it what I had in it. I was hoping Ruger would see the light. They didn't, so I'll probably buy another one.
gramps

 

[jimbo1096]

Had one back in the 70's and it shot pretty good for a short barrelled carry gun. We hiked and rode alot out in the desert and it was a very good trail gun. Once had a horsefly bother us at a resting place, & that landed on a tree branch about 15 feet away. One somewhat lucky shot and he didn't survive the lead that puched him through the other side. I have wanted one for about 5 years now and one day I'll find the right one. Even have a speed loader in the parts box waiting for a gun to match up with.

 

[ftlupton]

Just a thought, I have had to send 2 Rugers back for service after buying new, so CH should equal that I would think. The last old Pathfinder I had was perfect after many years. Not knockin anything just saying!

 

[5of7]

Whether you like the Bulldog ot not depends on what you expect in a handgun. I had one for a while but I sold it because I thought that it was too light and fragile to stand up to very much +P shooting.

Perhaps that is because I am used to the 624 Smith, the Ruger Flat Top and the 696 that I have.

I also have a Rossi 720 that I keep in the bedside stand and I think it is somewhat more rugged than the Charter, but even that one it is strictly SAAMI pressure loads only.

If one uses the Charter like it was intended to be used, it is probably OK, but it is just not for me...... 8)

 

[FergusonTO35]

I have a 2008 Police Undercover, which is the Bulldog in six shot .38 Special format. I've put 300 or so rounds through it with no problems whatsoever. Mine has an awesome trigger pull in both DA and SA. The front sight was way too tall from the factory, after some careful filing it now shoots dead on with my 158 grain handloads. To me, its the perfect carry size revolver and I think its up to the task of a lifetime of .38 Specials.

Mine wears Pachmayr Compac grips which are way better than the rather bulky grips it came with. I do wish Pachmayr made a Compac Pro grip for it as the regular Compacs are still a bit thick for CCW. Nonetheless I'm very happy with this gun and like it much better than the SP101 it replaced.

 

[Hawgleg44]

I picked a carbon steel verson up two weeks ago NIB for $275. For that kind of money, being a huge .44 Special fan, I couldn't pass it up.

Yes, the trigger feels like there's gravel in it, but I can still hit very well with it. I'm going to send it to Karl Sokol at http://chestnutmountainsports.com/ to have him smooth the action out, chamfer the chambers and bob the hammer. I'm not going to have him to go the extent I have him go on my pre-lock S&W K-frames, but I do want him to smooth it out some.

I'm not interested in the least bit about hot rodding loads for it. It's just not meant for that. If you want a .44 mag, buy one. That's what ruined the S&W 696. People were trying to load up as close to .44mag specs at they could and they had a rash of cracked forcing cones. If you shoot a 696 at standard pressure, it will last a lifetime. But, since people wanted to make the .44 Special do something it's not designed to do, they ruined it for everyone else and S&W doesn't make it anymore.

Don't get discouraged about Ruger and the .44 Special GP100. I think you might see it as a production gun quicker than you think..............

 

[jn 41]

Shot my 1980's vintage BULLDOG on sunday. It has been in the family since new, never a problem with it. Accuracy is more than adequate at self defense distance and it carries easy.

 

[Lee Martin]

I always wanted to volume test a Bulldog. Nothing heavy, just a steady diet of Unique and/or Green Dot loads. While the guns ship a little loose and do loosen over time, I wonder if it's really an issue. Does accuracy fall off a cliff, do they start to spit lead? etc, etc

My dad has had his since 1980 and we've shot the piss out of it. Not sure the exact round count, but it has to be way over 3,000 rounds....and it's still a strong little piece.

 

[cruzerlou]

I had a buled 3" that i bought in 1988 and carried it foe quite some time and with the afore mentioned Blaser 200gr Gold dots was a great defencive gun .Wish I'd never sold it .If I ever find another one at a deceant price it's mine .
Lou

 

[FergusonTO35]

My standard .38 Special load is 5.6 grains of Accurate #5 under a 158 grain lead flat point. This load is standard pressure according my Accurate Arms data, in fact its the middle of the powder charge range. My chronograph shows it produces 850 fps out of my 4" barrel S&W 10-5 which duplicates the performance of the old lead bullet +P loads from Remington and Federal. I think my Charter Police Undercover is well up to the task of these loads. I have no desire to go above this, if I need more power I go with a .357 out of my GP-100.

My Police Undercover is no GP-100 but I think it has all the strength necessary for a .38 Special carry and range gun. The small frame Undercover is certainly not a high volume range gun, neither are most 5 shot .38 small frames. I think the Charter small frame really shines as a .32 Magnum, I'm planning to get a stainless Undercoverette soon.

 

[Lee Martin]

It'll take forever, but I may buy another stainless Bulldog and put 10,000 rounds of mild 44 Special through it (maybe my load of 5.5 of Green Dot with a 250 grain Keith). Be interesting to see how the gun and accuracy hold-up. Folks just assume because they're a little loose that they won't last. May be more myth than fact.

 

[mm6mm6]

I have to give Charter Arms credit. Their new Pitbull in .40 S&W doesn't use moon clips, but instead has a patented little spring loaded extractor in each of the five cylinders to retain the rimless semi-automatic rounds. .40s load and unload just like any other standard revolver round.

The gun is well finished on the outside and a bit rough on the inside areas that you can't see with the cylinder closed. It shoots really well with an excellent 3 pound single action trigger. Double action is much heavier, but smooth.

I've shot the .44 Special Bulldog and this .40 S&W Pitbull kicks just as much...which is to say a lot with factory loads. It's not fun to shoot 50 rounds through and is certainly not the kind of revolver you would ever hand to a new shooter. They'd swear off guns forever!

With lighter handloaded .40 S&W lead bullets, the gun is fine.

 

[5of7]

Now they just might have something with that new extractor.

I have been praying that one of the gun makers would come up with something like this for a while now.

The .40 S&W is a proven fight ender in it'd own right, and is a little better suited to a gun of this frame size than the .44 Special.

The only critique that I can think of is....what is really wrong with moon clips in a PD gun? Reloading is as fast or faster than speed loaders and the need to top off the cylinder in a PD situation is negligible.

This type of extractor is what I would want in a field gun though and, of course, in a GP or an L frame Smith, chambered for 10MM so that I could shoot either cartridge. 8)

 

[Sal1950]

I've also been eyeballing the new .40 Pitbull, it's a really cool new approach to using rimless in a revolver. Now how about that system in a GP100? Come on Ruger, just have to R&D the cylinder, rest of the gun would work fine.
You could do a 9mm and a .40. These have become the two most popular calibers on the market and a moonless system just might be a sales home run for the revolver market. Once the R&D on the cylinder is done, maybe even bring back the SP101 9mm with this system.
It's not like Ruger's above copying another manufacturers good idea. LOL
Sal

 

[Geezer]

Here is my old Bulldog.

I have no interest in anything in .40 S&W but I am waiting for Charter Arms to come out with the 9mm and .45 ACP revolver.

 

[5of7]

I think the pit bull is already available in 9MM.

 

[tacklebury]

Pitbull is currently only in .40 S&W, but they've stated that they will be adding 9mm and .45 ACP later this year. ;)

http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Pitbull_74020.html

 

[Lee Martin]

Ingenious little system for rimless cartridges. S&W was the first to do this on their 547 9mms back in the early 80's.

 

[DDubya]

Very interesting.

 

[tacklebury]

Ingenious little system for rimless cartridges. S&W was the first to do this on their 547 9mms back in the early 80's.

Must be a little different, I think this one is patent pending. ;)

 

[9x19]

Gratuitous pic of my old model Charter Arms Bull Dog:

 

[VonFatman]

I like the older Bulldogs. I have a couple. Neat revolvers.
Here's the first one I picked up this past summer: