As with other contemporary Bulldog revolvers, this one was chambered in.44 Special and had a 2.5” barrel. The hammer is exposed, allowing for double action or single action fire. The double action trigger pull was somewhat heavy, averaging 11 pounds 8 ounces.
Although not as smooth as a Colt Python, the trigger was not bad, and certainly acceptable for a defensive handgun. The single action trigger pull ran a touch over 3.5 pounds, and was very nice. There was just a slight amount of take up in single action mode and then a clean break. The ejector rod is shrouded, which is a nice extra. The unloaded weight of this gun was 21 ounces, though it felt lighter. When held, the weight was clearly distributed forward toward the barrel.
A 4” model of the Bulldog is available. That gun has adjustable sights and a stainless steel finish, with an unloaded weight of 23 ounces.
MSRP on the Bulldog Tiger is $466. Proof is in the Shootin’ I won’t lie: I was pretty stoked to carry this out to the range. I’ve shot other.44 Specials & Magnums, but never the Bulldog. I took along a variety of practice loads plus two Hornady hollowpoints: the 165 grain Critical Defense FTX and the Custom 180 grain XTP loads.
All of the loads were 100% reliable with the Bulldog. As you might expect with the.44 Special, none of the loads could be described as punishing, and all were more than accurate enough for self defense work. At 15 yards, none of the loads escaped a 4” circle. The best load out of the revolver, for pure accuracy, was the Magtech Cowboy Action ammo. This load features a 240 grain flat point lead bullet rated at 761 fps.
As recounted in a recent review on the Charter Arms Off Duty, my chronograph appears to be possessed by demons from the Brady Campaign, and is out of commission. So, I do not have any velocity numbers for you. The only gripe I had about the Bulldog was the black front sight. I know some people like having sights that are completely blacked out, but I’m not one of them. I like big, bright front sights.
Shooting and Showing the Charter Arms Bulldog.44 Special. ----- ----- Please visit the Hickok45.com website and check out what the great folks who support us have to offer: BUD’s GUN SHOP, THE. For more on this gun: I shoot the Charter Arms Bulldog Revolver chambered in.44 Special. I am using Doubletap 200.
The front sight on the Charter Arms revolver was large enough, but with it being black, I had trouble finding it quickly. I’d prefer a bright orange insert on that ramp, but that’s just me. Ever Meet a Star? I don’t know if you’ve ever met one of your childhood heroes, but I have. For some people the meeting is an utter disappointment, while other people find their hero is even better in person. I had high hopes when I got the Charter Arms Bulldog, but was worried it might not live up to my expectations. Fortunately for me, it did.
I found the Bulldog to be a solid, well-built handgun for a very reasonable price. The Tiger paint style just added to the cool factor. For fans of the big bore revolver, the Charter Arms Bulldog is well worth consideration.
contextlyslbutton contextlypersonalizationbutton contextlymainmodule. I have some Buffalo Bore ammo in other calibers and it is maufactured to high pressures. I only use it in 4 inch barrel or longer. I would not even think of using it in any snub.
The recoil would be a bit much. BB makes ammo for short barrel revolvers in.38 special standard pressure. I am going to try it in my wifes Charter Cougar. I use Corbon 165 gr.
JHP in my Charter Tiger and my 4″ Smith 29 Classic for standard carry and Hornady.44 mag 240 gr. XTP in my Smith for special carry situations. When I decide what Buffalo Bore to buy for the Smith I will most likely change from the Hornady, maybe. I have one as well and I couldn’t be happier. I picked one up (SS, DAO) about a year and a half go and have put about 600 rounds through it so far. I didn’t like some of the off brand ammo, as it’s a tad fussy when it comes to primers. The trigger smoothed out after the first 50 rounds or so and became even more pleasant to shoot.
It also shoots POA/POI with 200 gr ammo and my choice of carry ammo is the Federal 200 gr SWC HP. I feel the barrel is too short to effectively utilize a 240gr JHP round. Recoil is not as bad as expected and one can keep a 4-6 in group at 25 yards. I recently fitted my Bull Dog with a beautiful set of Eagle Grips, which helps when it comes to pocket carry. Also, Charter Arms customer service is A+.
If you’re looking for a reliable fighting / combat / self defense big bore handgun at a reasonable price, this is the gun for you. If one production firearm would put a company under, other manufacturers might as well stop production immediately! That must be one super gun! I am going to sell all of my firearms and get one.
But I guess they won’t sell because nobody will want them because of the SP101! Darn, I’m stuck with a bunch of paper weights!
At the very least I will own the SP101, the perfect gun that fits everybody and slew the others like dragons in the night. The firearm that changed the world as we know it. To sum it up the SP101 is a good but not that good.
I can’t think of a single anything out there that is that good. Vince, The grip on the Bulldog is nice but not compact. If your hands are small you can change the Bulldog grip to the grip that is used on the Charter Arms “Cougar”. The Cougar is a.38 Special and uses a smaller grip.
It fits my wifes hands very nicely and I find it very comfortable as well. This grip is available on the Charter Arms website. I think you will find this grip the ticket for small hands, it also conceals well.
The Cougar grip is a nice rubber grip and fits hands of various sizes from small to large. Bring up the Charter site and look at the Cougar to see what it looks like. The grip is also used on some of their.32 H&R Magnum models also. Happy New Year Bro.
I have a factory replacenent.44 spl. The first one cylinder blew apart after about 60 rds.
Of Wnchester Silver Tip HP. Top strap pushed up far enough to crack at the rear of cylinder.
3 cylinders let go. The one that fired was just gone. I didn’t even find the shell. Don’t know where it went. The tops of the two cylinders on either side blew apart with one shell casing left jammed flat on bottom part of cylinder. Charter replaced gun at no charge, but I am hesitant to shoot this one as I may not be so lucky if this one blows up.
The guy that had one blow up was unllucky. I have put alot of heavy handlods through 2 Bulldogs that I have had with know problems. Factory shells are made wrong sometimes as I have seen heavy crimps on auto pistol cartridges for example. My heavy load is from an old Hodgdon manual it is 250gr. And produces 960fps from my 3″ barreled Bulldog. It is a real handfull and kicks more than a 44 magnum.
The same load ran through my 5 1/2″ Super Blackhawk goes 1200fps and still recoils like factory 44 mag loads. The preasure is no more than the fast powder loads usualy recomended for this gun but the recoil is very stout. The muzzle jump is more than a heavy handloaded 44 mag. The penetration this load has is realy unbelieveable. I am sure it would make a believer out of a black bear and maybe even discorage a grizzly. I have owned a stainless, bobbed hammer Charter.44 for 15yrs.
(also several undercover.38s) Love them all. My is quite accurate with 205 gr SWC handloads even with the short barrell. I load them to standard pressures for economy, accuracy and consistency for all purposes. Paper targets, plinking AND self-defense. I have carried the gun for years and love it. I prefer it to my glock or other autos actually.
You can tell if it is loaded from accross the room by simply looking for yellow brass against the stainless background. (I have kids so safety is very important in the house. I cannot risk leaving “one in the tube” regardless of training, years of experience etc.) It fits my medium hand well, cycles flawlessly and punches big holes in the target. IMHO, if you want to carry very potent rounds, carry something else. Common sense folks, this is a very small gun so think before you feed it higher pressure rounds. Regardless of advertising or any other “assurances” from anyone, pressure is pressure, metal is metal. I have had three of the older blued 3″.44 Bulldogs and still have one with the hammer bobbed down to basically double action only.
Loaded with hard cast flat point 240gr a middle power load they were all first class within the normal “gunfight” range, 180gr Gold Dots for carry in town. Since the problems in the 70’s and changes of ownership I have not had as good an experience with more modern the build guns. I have found the newer guns a real crap shoot for quality and staying power. I would not trust those built since the late 70’s and if I find an older one at a gun show I try to pick it up.