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Charter Arms Bulldog. 44 Special revolver, a guard dog in your pocket.

Charter Arms Bulldog-1

With all the new fangled miniature auto loaders for concealed carry available today  it is tough to beat a snub nose revolver chambered in a cartridge that is loaded with a big heavy slow bullet.

Short barreled revolvers suffer from velocity loss more so than their larger counterparts. A .357 Magnum from a 2 1/4″ barrel is different than the same round from a 6″ barrel but a 6″ barrel is not conducive to concealed carry. That is not saying a .357 pill from a 2 1/4″ barrel is anemic. When velocity loss is unavoidable another option is to go with a large heavy slug. This is where the .44 Special shines.

Chambering the .44 Smith and Wesson Special in a small, lightweight revolver is a solid match as it is a lower pressure round that is not a barn burner. That keeps recoil down over such rounds as the .357 Magnum and allows manufactures to build the revolver lighter for ease in carrying day to day.

The Charter Arms Bulldog is a fine example of that recipe in an affordable revolver built in America.

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The muzzle of the large .44 Special

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The Charter Arms Bulldog rollmark

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The cylinder latch is serrated to help your finger keep traction during a reload

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The cylinder swung out showing the five shot capacity.

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The front sight is serrated to disrupt any glare.

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Fixed rear sight provides and excellent reference for the front sight

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The top strap is grooved for a clear sight picture.

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The trigger broke at a clean 4 1/2 pounds in single action with some take up and little overtravel. Double action was a long 12 pound pull, which is pretty standard for defensive revolvers.

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The star ejector positively ejected the spent cases and is spring loaded to offer a bit of resistance at the end of the throw.

Initial Range Trip

My mom and I were the first to try out the Bulldog test sample. She has helped me with several reviews over the years and is a proficient revolver shooter. She has carried a Ruger SP 101 in .357 Magnum for many years now so she is familiar with snub nose defensive revolvers. She and I ran a few cylinders through the small revolver. It was dead on at thirty feet and pretty soft shooting. My mom even commented on the single action trigger and minor recoil. My opinion so far is the same as hers and not because she can still whip my tail if I disagree with her.

Charter Arms Bulldog .44 special accuracy

Reload 1 was a 200gr Hornady XTP 10.3gr of Bluedot

Reload 2 was a 200gr Hornady XTP 8.5gr Power Pistol

Reload 3 was a 240gr Hornady XTP unknown propellent

Reload 4 was a 240gr lead semi-wad cutter unknown propellent.

Accuracy measured at twenty-five yards from a rest. Considering the distance, the role the revolver was designed for, and the fixed combat sights I was well pleased with the accuracy of the Bulldog.

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Barbara taking careful aim with the Bulldog

Second Range Trip

Me trying out some Hornady Critical Defense in .44 Special

Allison, with the Bulldog and 3 rounds.

At this point we were at around 100 rounds through the Bulldog without issue. With the Hornady Critical Duty, recoil was a bit sharp but manageable with some practice.

Third Range Trip

We took the Bulldog out to run a few reloads that were donated.  These reloads were pretty warm, they will be used for the upcoming ballistic test, but I wanted to get a few groups with them as well for the review.

By now we have run about 125 rounds through the Bulldog without any problems or signs of stress on the frame.

Fourth Range Trip

Roger Pettit of PC Shooting, who was instrumental in getting rangehot.com the Bulldog test sample from Charter Arms, teaches a concealed carry class on a regular basis. I am an assistant instructor in his class and since he was good enough to donate a box of his .44 Special reloads I though it would be a good idea to take the little revolver to his class and let him and any of the students that wanted to try it out. We passed it around and ran a few more cylinders through it bringing total round count to 150 and still the little bulldog was running like a champ. In this last range trip we shot at some defensive targets from about five yards away. Though some of the shooters were less experienced than others they were able to get solid hits with the Bulldog.

Here is Roger shooting the last nine rounds for the test.

Conclusions

Truth be known, I am a fan of the auto-loader for every day carry but after all was said and done, I like the Bulldog. It is soft shooting and easily controlled except with the hot stuff but that is also controllable with a bit of practice. The hammer was easily cocked and the single action trigger was nice. Even double action firing was easy on the finger. I like the .44 Smith and Wesson Special as a defensive round, especially out of a snub nose revolver. It seems like a solid combination.  I can see the Bulldog as a primary carry handgun when concealment is very important but without using a small cartridge. It could also serve well as a back up handgun or even one that could be left loaded in a vehicle, as long as that is done safely. I imagine this revolver with a speed strip reload would be right at home on your hip or glove box. Some women conceal carry in a purse and the benefit of a revolver is it could be fired while inside a purse without worry of a malfunction as with an autoloader in a similar situation. Being a stainless steel revolver, the maintenance would not be as important as on many auto loaders.  Don’t get me wrong, I am all about taking care of what takes care of you but a stainless steel revolver falls just before a rock on the low maintenance scale.

Specifications

Model: 74420
Finish: Stainless
Frame: Stainless steel
Grip: Full
Barrel length: 2.5″
Capacity: 5-shot
Caliber: .44 Special
Hammer: Standard
Weight: 21 oz.
Sugg Retail: $418

 

Acknowledgments

Charter Arms

Hornady

Roger Pettit of PC Shooting

Clinton Jamieson

 

 

By Hunter Elliott

I spent much of my youth involved with firearms and felt the call early on to the United States Marine Corps, following in my father's and his brother's footsteps. Just after high school I enlisted and felt most at home on the rifle range, where I qualified expert with several firearms and spent some time as a rifle coach to my fellow Marines. After being honorably discharged I continued teaching firearm safety, rifle and pistol marksmanship, and began teaching metallic cartridge reloading. In the late 1990s I became a life member to the National Rifle Association and worked with the Friends of the NRA. Around that time my father and I became involved with IDPA and competed together up until he passed away. I began reviewing firearms for publications in the mid 2000s and have been fortunate to make many friends in the industry. Continuing to improve my firearms skills and knowledge is a never ending journey in which we should all be committed. I am also credited as weapons master on a few independent films.

39 thoughts on “Charter Arms Bulldog, guard dog in your pocket.”
  1. Excellent review Hunter, I carried an identical revolver as a daily CCW while working on the Stampede Trail during the late summer of 2010. I started the season with a 5.5″ Raging Bull in .454 Casull carried crossdraw in a Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake, after a month with no Brown Bears I switched to the Bulldog strongside in a Sourdough Pancake. The only ammo I could find in Fairbanks was CCI Blazer 200 Grain Gold-Dot, turned out to be minute if squirrel ….. ;o) I let it go in a trade when I got back and have missed it ever since. After reading your review I think I need another one …..

    1. Thank you very much.
      I did not know exactly what to expect from the Bulldog, as this was my first experience with Charter Arms. I really began to like it as the review progressed and once it was all over I was pretty impressed with how it all turned out.

  2. Enjoyed. I bought mine five years ago and it has been not for sale ever since. I live in Texas and it goes every where I go except where firearms are prohibited of course. Good little revolver.

  3. Just picked up a new Bulldog yesterday. Some trepidation, due to mixed reviews on internet, magazines, etc. Chose the Bulldog over the S&W airweight due to airweight being so very light, would rather have 5×44 vs 5 x 38. etc. Brought it home and found out to my chagrin that the hammer will not consistently stay back after cocking, i.e., would fall forward after thumb release. Will be sending it back. Hope this turns out ok…….

  4. Excellent review. I love my bulldog, and the fixed sights are dead on at 10 yards. Sweet gun for woods carry too!

  5. Seems to shoot low with 180 gr lead. Shoots closer to poa with 240gr, but seems to key hole. Suggestions/solutions?

    1. The defensive snub nose revolver is not going to be as precision accurate as a range pistol. How low with the 180gr and at what distance? Key hole is due to the bullet not stabilizing enough due to rifling twist vs bullet length, bearing surface.

    2. I shoot 240 gr LSWCs over 6.5 grains of Unique. Dead on at 10 yards, and leaves a nice, clean, big, round hole.

  6. I have been using 180 gr and it is 4 inches low at 25 ft. 240 gr os closer to poa. How much of a crip do you use on your
    240 gr under 6.5 gr unique? I dont expect range gun accuracy, but I want the best possible. , have

    1. Not sure how to measure crimp. All I can say is, it’s enough crimp that I never have had a bullet back out under recoil, and have used as much as 7.0 grains of Unique.

  7. Great review. I was influenced by your article and I picked up two Bulldogs- the stainless and the classic model with the retro 1970’s look- and love them both. Great guns especially for the money.

  8. Would it be good to use your left hand to cock the gun? In slow motion you can really see how much time it takes to reset your grip after each shot.

    1. It would be fine to cock the hammer with your support hand but once I got used to the Bulldog I did not have to adjust my grip after each shot. Either way you like is very feasible.

  9. Great article ,would have liked to have seen The cci included in the group at 25 yds chart . Have carried the CCI 200 gr for years in my Rossi 720 ,my Charter 2000 Bulldog and now in my Boomer .The aluminum cases are just a little lighter for carry . The 165 critical defense is the first round that has made me think about giving up the 200 gr . Would like to get your input on a few things
    .
    Felt recoil CCI vs Critical defense

    Compare the two in the boomer

    how hollow points perform in boomer? Some are saying wadcutters are a better choice for it

    How do the safety slugs work ? I just can’t wrap my head around how they function

    Thank You
    Keep up the good work

    1. Here is the ballistic test for the .44 Special https://rangehot.com/44-smith-wesson-special-ballistic-test/
      I can only include ammunition I can find in my area and afford. Recoil was similar in all ammunition, the main increase in recoil would be as bullet weight increases. I had to send the Boomer test gun back, since I have limited resources there is only so much I can do.
      Ammunition in the Bulldog would preform very similar in the Boomer, due to similar barrel lengths.
      Thank you for the input.

  10. Hmmmmm……I like the look of the boomer especially for pocket carry but I don’t like the porting for shooting from retention. This one looks nice butt I need a hammer shroud for it and it’s a little heavier and bulkier than the Boomer wondering what to do

    1. All great points you bring up. I talk about canting the revolver in the video for retention. Good for you to think of that as I had to learn the hard way.
      Take a look at some of the other Charter Arms revolvers as they have a plenty of options. Let me know if that helps please.

    2. Well I was dickering around with my two bulldogs one new one classic taking them to the range feeding them 200 grain Georgia arms reloads etc.

      Found out that they do indeed shoot low even at 15 feet. I did my plantation pass requalification in the last year I used the new model bulldog and cranked out 40 very well-placed shots. One of the ROs was a jerk so he gave me the bare minimum qualification passing score because you couldn’t see the distinct holes due to overlap. The course instructor however bumped my score up a bit.

      I had to crank the front sight all the way up however into the rear notch the elevation was ridiculous with the 200 grain Georgia arms reloads. That doesn’t sit well with me as I like to be surgical in my shots and have my tools well engineered for the job.

      However given past warnings I guess on QC for Charter arms and the super lightweight of the gun versus the potential power of the cartridge most of the manufactured defensive bullet weights for the gun at least are way too low you get reduce dwell time in the barrel do the fast exit of the bullet and way low shots like 4 to 6 in low.

      All of this to say as an anal-retentive surgeon of the gun this makes me very sads.

      I was doing some browsing of the interwebs and saw that Mr Ecker told one poster I believe it was on the high road message board that in the newer bulldogs one could use practically any heavier load in moderation. That at once gives me hope but also concern that too much recoil is not conducive to accurate shooting especially since even in the 200 grain configurations you’re talkin about 9 + foot pounds of recoil i e 44 magnum levels

      After a couple of rain sessions I added power tool vibration reduction tape to the OEM combat rubber stocks and it really makes the gun shootable. Basically were talking about a workers Smith & Wesson ultralite 44 Magnum.

      However then the downside becomes hiding that fat grip in the waistband because it ain’t fittin in my pocket. About the only place I can effectively hide this thing is down in front appendix area. I’ll have to test it out again to see what works but as I recall in the summertime it doesn’t hide very well under a t-shirt. Perhaps if I added a wedge to my DeSantis hideaway holster it might work.

      Anyway as Jeff Cooper said it’s a great idea and it could be made to work but I would want the grips a little more built up 4 recoil cushion while keeping about the same reach to the trigger in my case and if one of the ammo manufacturers would make a standard pressure 246 grain hard cast semi wadcutter and a Speer type hollow point flying ashtray in quantities large enough to bring the price of 44 special down to 45 ACP well I know dream on.

      Anyway was chatting with a buddy about the Smiths shield the safety they put on there originally then looking at the Browning 1908 vest Pocket gun with its frame and grip safety and started thinking again about my CCO or officers 1911’s.. mine are lightweight at about 28 Oz so it’s carriable bud what one gains in the waistband one loses in modularity. Oh well I’m probably not going to carry in the pocket in summertime and if I did I’d probably carry my little Kel-Tec 32 ACP as even the Smith 638 bulges a bit too much in the pocket.

      I’ll take a 32 over nothing and it was Winston Churchill’s bodyguards gun along with a set of brass knuckles and a Tommy gun in the car plus I’m sure a squad of soldiers not too far away. However since it’s only me myself and I since I like single stack guns for concealment and hand fit and since I like big bullets and carrying in the waistband I guess I’ll have to settle for one of my 1911’s. Sad, but…..

      1. I have heard that all you need to do is file down that front sight a little at a time until your preferred load no longer shoots low. Lots of bulldog owners do this.

      2. Alex, if you talk to longtime bulldog owners in their forums, they will tell you that you pick the load you want to shoot in the Bulldog first, based on whatever your criteria happen to be.

        Then you gradually FILE DOWN the top of that tall pointy front slight on the newer bulldog, little by little, until the point of impact for your preferred load matches point of aim at your preferred distance, and no longer shoots low. Problem solved.

        The lighter bullet weights offered in .44 spec defensive ammo today provide better velocity out of a snubby like the Bulldog, thus increasing the odds of reliable hollowpoint expansion, thereby reducing over-penetration. But you will likely have to so some front sight filing so they don’t shoot low.

        Big heavy bullets that are too slow to expand will carry a lot of wasted foot-lbs of energy right out the back side of the bad guy as they pass cleanly through. Who knows what those bullets will hit when they keep going downrange.

  11. Very nice review, thanks! Hits many helpful points, and highlights a lightweight, hard-hitting snubnose option for SD.

    My stainless .44 Bulldog Pug is an integral part of my day-to-day defensive readiness. It stays in my truck in an inexpensive Soft Armor nylon holster, with a 2-pack of speedloaders and a Speed Strip. Everything is a handload, using Speer 200g GDHP and a max charge of PowerPistol, using Speer’s published data. Milk jug/water tests show beautiful expansion and penetration.

    The whole shebang is atop my console, by my right hand, camouflaged under an intentionally unimpressive hand towel. In the blazing summers here in Louisiana, I use a white one to reflect sunshine and it does a good job of keeping the gun and ammo cool to the touch, thus avoiding the velocity spikes caused by exposure to high temps, sunshine, etc. When things cool down slightly, I use a light blue-gray dish towel that blends in better with my truck’s upholstery.

    I liked the stock rubber grips just fine, experimented with Pachmayrs which are a joy to shoot with, but are much heavier and bulkier. (Great pick for HD use.) Wound up mounting a nice pair of original slim Charter wood stocks obtained on eBay, because it reduces bulk very significantly, provides adequate controllability, and avoids the tendency for shirts to stick to the rubber grips.

    Finally, I dropped in a spurless hammer purchased online from Charter, which sacrifices the single-action option in favor of a snag-free configuration. Drift one pin, remove hammer, drop in replacement hammer, re-install pin. 2 minutes or less, and I have a “factory” smooth, hammerless profile that’s perfect for shooting up close and fast. Five round burst easily on torso-sized target at 10-15 feet, hip-level point shooting, in about 1.5 secs. from low ready position. And I’m a lifelong shooter, but no match competitor or “expert” (except with M16A1, M1911A1, and M9, which dates me as an Army officer 1981-2005).

    Have tried and liked cast bullet handloads of 200g RNFP, 225g WC, and 240g SWC (smushed nose to .36″ sharp-edged meplat), and would feel confident with any of them, but just can’t beat the “flying ashtray” Gold Dots! Must load the cast bullets to 725-800 fps (or more) to avoid keyholing caused by inadequate velocity & stabilization. Also successful with 180g and 200g XTP max loads (c. 880 and 840 fps), which expand and penetrate, just not as massively as the GD’s. Nonetheless, fine substitute and the 180 gives a lower recoil option. Have yet to try some 183g cast WC’s that would be yet another fine solution for either lowest recoil or max velocity. Critical Defense 165g works fine, but penetration is slightly shallow.

    Had one mechanical problem with the gun early on, in which the hammer and trigger would function with the cylinder open. Gun worked fine otherwise, only noticed that by accident. Sent it in for quick, free repair from Charter, which sent back the gun with a short list of other adjustments or repairs they made. Easy, fast, everything works great. Owned a .38 SPL Charter Undercover for many years and never had any problems with it.

    Typically I carry some combination of one or two S&W .38’s, usually I frames, sometimes the larger J frame. These are .38 S&W (NOT .38 Special), loaded with 200g LSWC. But the Charter Bulldog Pug .44 remains always ready on the truck console, under my hand, not trapped by the seat belt like the IWB .38’s.

    If for some reason I find myself unexpectedly jumping in the truck without first donning a .38 or two, I simply tuck in the Bulldog as my carry rig before I get out of the truck, along with two speedloaders and/or a Speed Strip for reloading. Just untuck my shirt in hot weather, or “blouse” it out carefully and it conceals the gun beautifully. Paid local shoe repair shop $6 to move the belt clip up to the top edge of the holster, slowing the draw but providing absolutely max concealment.

    Sorry for the wordy contribution, but wanted to show what a wonderful, versatile job this gun can do. From a practical standpoint, I could skip all my .38’s and simply use the .44 Pug. If necessary, wear two for a “New York reload,” or carry one + one in truck, or Pachmayrs for HD and another with stock rubber or wood grips for carry. Endless combinations of stocks and ammo to fit any need. Think of it this way: 5 shots of .45 ACP performance for roughly half the weight and size, reloading at revolver speed if needed. Works VERY well for me.

  12. Had a Charter .44 in the 1970s but was stolen. I plan to buy a new one soon and use .240 gr. handloads. Nice review, however, it would have been interesting to have seen the targets of the first three shooters.

  13. Luv your reviews Mr.Elliott!
    CA is now making a 380 revolver.
    Hope you can get one and put it through the wringer!It would be a good senior citizen gun.
    Thanks you are truly a blessing to this country for your past and present service.!
    Gerald

    1. Would you believe I just started a review of the new Charter Arms .380 Auto revolver? It is turning out to be a soft shooting reliable revolver. I should have the complete review done in a couple of months at the most.

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