B. Revolvers
2. Models and Manufacturers
a. Charter Arms Bulldog
By Chris Luchini and Norman F. Johnson
The Charter Arms Bulldog is has the highest power to weight ratio of any snubbie revolver you can get. Chambered in 44 special, the gun weighs in at about 20 oz. Barrel lengths are 2.5″, 3″ and 4″. The versions were available with adjustable sights, and in both blue and stainless finish. The Bulldog is the only 5 shot revolver available in a major caliber (>35 cal) that can be considered a ‘pocket’ gun (for those of you with big pockets). Taurus does make a 5 shot 44 special on their version of the S&W; K-Frame sized revolver, however it is very large and very heavy for a carry gun.
I have extensively fired and handloaded for a 2.5″ Bulldog in the past. With rubber grips, and the hottest factory loads the recoil never got into the painful range, even after 200 rounds at a session. Since the Bulldog is as very strong design, many people have handloaded 44 Special ammunition for it that is considerably higher than SAMMI specifications, thus increasing muzzle ballistics at the expense of increased recoil and muzzle flip. Factory 44 Special ammunition (240 grain lead bullet) comes out of the 2.5″ barrel at about 800 fps. I have loaded 240 grain lead bullets to 1050fps and fired several hundred of these from my particular Bulldog without any observable ill effects to the gun. The ill effects on my hand required moleskin and bandages. The recoil, and particularly the muzzle flip, of the light weight gun with these loads are so violent that the rubber grips will stick to your skin and rip it off. As little as 5 rounds could raise blisters. As Norm relates below, by decreasing the bullet weight, and using a fast powder, this recoil can be substantially reduced. I settled on 180 grain bullets at a muzzle velocity of a little over 1000 fps.
The only reason I got away with these loads is the great strength of the Charter Arms Bulldog. I based the upper limit of my loads on the article “Powerplus” by Paco Kelly in the “Fouling Shot” # 59 (Jan-Feb 1986) (the publication of the Cast Bullet Association).
A note on quality control: I ended up selling my Bulldog due to it’s lack of accuracy. The cause was the barrel: some of the rifling was missing 1/2″ or so before the muzzle. At that time, Charter Arms had gone out of business, so replacement parts were not available. Others guns I have shot had acceptable accuracy, once properly sized bullets were used in reloading for the gun. Even factory ammo would group in at 6″ or less at 25 yards. With the advent of factory +p 44 Special defense ammunition available from CorBon, even non-handloaders can use good defense ammunition in the Bulldog.
Charter Arms went out of business a few years ago, and production has resumed under the name of Charco. The few Charco Bulldogs I’ve seen in the last year or so have been ‘a bit rough’. Translating, this means that the fit and finish left a whole lot to be desired. All of the specimens I’ve examined of Charco’s guns have visible ridges in the chambers, indicating that extraction of the fired brass would be difficult. This problem is relatively easy to fix, but it is indicative of the potential problems with these new guns. If you can deal with the ‘gunsmith special’ aspect of these revolvers, they can be a very powerful carry gun.
Norman F. Johnson has written extensively on the tricks-‘n-traps of the Bulldog. Some comments regarding this revolver and issues related it loading for it follow:
Loads that are actually painful when fired using the factory grips are more than acceptable when Pachmyer “Grippers” are used. The apparent recoil of a very light gun like the Bulldog (19 oz.) is noticeably more susceptible to total ejecta weight than one like the 39 oz. .45 Colt 1911A1. Factory .44 special loads are very pleasant and (to my hand) lighter than hardball in the 1911. If one loads a 200 grain .44 bullet to 900 fps with a fast powder the recoil is lighter yet because bullet weight has been reduced by 40 gr and velocity has not been increased a great deal.
I have been doing some experiments using ultra lightweight bullets moving at high velocities (high energy) in an attempt to develop very close range defense loads that will not “over penetrate” (a term that I have not satisfactorily defined for myself yet).
I swage 125, 140 and 158 grain .357 bullets (both cast and jacketed) to fit my .44 cylinder throats snuggly. As the Cast Bullet Association members have discovered, fitting the throats of the gun’s cylinder is probably the single most important step that one can take to improve a revolver’s accuracy. NOTE: Elmer Keith was wrong! This is particularly true for lead bullets because it virtually eliminates gas cutting, but often helps with jacketed bullets also. I relate the above because my Bulldog’s throat is oversize (.4340″) as are most of the revolvers of all makes that I have owned in the past few years.
My Bulldog shoots to the point of aim with 240 gr. bullets. Predictably, the lighter ones shooting dramatically lower. Bullets that I swage from 158 gr. 38s shoot a full 14″ low at 25 yards. I hate fixed sights.
As is always true, recoil is related directly to the ejecta (total weight that is expelled from the barrel). In a lightweight gun like the Bulldog, this is particularly noticeable. A load using a heavy bullet and slow powder can be a real bear, whereas lightweight bullets and maximum loads of Bullseye, W-W 231, 700X, Unique, etc. can give high energy and pleasant or at least manageable recoil.
Since bullet and gasses move at the same velocity, their recoil contributions are in proportion to their respective weights. Some argue that there is a small error here in that once the bullet has cleared the barrel, the gasses accelerate. What does matter is that one recognize that the powder gasses do contribute to the recoil, sometimes very substantially.
If, however one loads for maximum performance, a slower powder is needed and that increases total ejecta weight. Gun writers, other than the few who actually take the time to do real measurements, nearly always assume that fast powders work best in short barrel guns. I have proven to my own satisfaction that highest performance can usually be obtained from the use of slow powders like H-110, W-W296, etc. even with very light weight bullets, but often at the cost of a bellowing roar and punishing recoil.
For hunting loads, heavy recoil and lots of noise are perfectly acceptable to me but for home defense they are not. One can suffer great hearing loss from those boomers going off inside a building. Even the mild .45 ACP once had my ears ringing for days.
I find that the fastest powder that will give acceptable velocity at safe pressure levels is the best compromise to keep recoil and boom down to manageable levels.
The 3″ model does not completely clear the empties but it is close enough to be adequate. You may want to go to the four inch. This length seems to me to be the optimum length for the packability/velocity tradeoff. When I purchased mine I wanted the 4″ model with adjustable sights but it was not available in stainless so I opted for the three incher as I wanted the corrosion resistance inherent in stainless. In my opinion, non-adjustable sights are the pits.
My Bulldog is no great shakes for target accuracy but then it makes no claim to be. It is a worthy contender for general shooting and self defense and is a tough little hunk.