Charter Bulldog 44

[magpouch]

Well I've seen lots and lots of folks claiming the .44 Bulldog was a sweet little shooter so I finally got around to GunBrokering an older Stratford blue gun with a little finish wear and a bent ejector rod and missing spring I was not informed about.  Got a new ejector rod and spring from Numrich, got it all together and this afternoon I tried it out.

I like it!  

It went bang every single time and was accurate enough even in the downpour I was shooting in.  Just tried 50 or so rounds of  various loads I have kicking around.  It shot very well.  I have to say, I'm a Charter fan now!  This one locks up tight and sure appears to have good cylinder alignment too.

I wonder if anyone might suggest a grip that might be more comfortable?  I have the rubber grip, not sure who makes it, and it's not bad, but maybe there is something a little better?

[jeffh]

The factory rubber grip is a torture device.

MOST people prefer the Pachmyer Compact grip. I'd prefer it they made a "Professional" version, with the exposed back strap, like they do for Smiths and did for the Ruger Speed Six.

Next time you need parts try Charter. Most of the internal parts interchange between all models since their inception. They can be had NEW and sometimes, the nice lady at Charter will send a small part and refuse to take your money. If you e-mail or call them, don't be surprised if Nick Ecker, President answers. He seems like a really down to earth guy and very nice.

Hang onto that Stratford Bulldog. They don't make 'em like that any more.

[jeffh]

By the way, if any screws or pins start to back out, a little blue Loctite will do the trick. People often make a bigger deal of that than it is. If you ever decide to drive any of the pins out, FIRST inspect both sides of the pin to determine which end is SPLINED, so you can drive it out from the opposite side. I do believe that this is likely the reason some pins back out - because someone has driven the splines all the way through. You can see them in good light. A magnifying glass helps if you have oldish eyes.

[goodtime]

I put these Pachmayr grips on a Charter Arms Professional 357 and love them. Great feel and mitigation of recoil. If you look around, you can find them a bit cheaper:

charterfirearms.com/products/charter-arms-bulldog-grips-by-pachmayr

[sixguntech]

Apr 12, 2024 17:15:46 GMT -5 goodtime said:

I put these Pachmayr grips on a Charter Arms Professional 357 and love them. Great feel and mitigation of recoil. If you look around, you can find them a bit cheaper:

charterfirearms.com/products/charter-arms-bulldog-grips-by-pachmayr

These are the grips I have for mine. Comfy, but I put the factory wood back on mine, only for aesthetic reasons.

[bula]

My 80's S.S. has the Pachy Compacts on. A larger set of the Presentations if I want for longer strings of fire, which doesn't happen anymore. The original wood I gifted to FrankV some time back. JeffH correct on giving C.A. first call about parts. A couple small parts have come here, no charge, before. A Biaachi slide holster is about to fall apart, and a new Cleveland Kydex will carry it from now on. Often enough doing yard work in Carhart canvas shorts, it will just go in a back pocket. 

[shorty500]

Personally always preferred the factory wrap around wood in round ish butt configuration.
My dad packed stainless 3” from 70’s era for 40 plus years. The awful polished stainless front
sight sucked for me but it was amazing sometimes how well that liteweight handful shot for him
using old WW 246g LRN or my earliest Special hand loads pushing a 255g Lee cast I cast to similar
speeds.
I suffered with his due to glare on front sight but in more recent years landed a “retro” late model in blue steel
with early lite tapered 3” tube. The grips weren’t quite as good but I scored an original set from the 70s
and serrated my front sight and touched up the blue. Fortunately it had a very crisp trigger from factory.
It’s almost the equal to his old gun.
And honestly despite mine and other various items I’ve picked up over the years, with his recent passing away
I’ll probably tote his old gun as my day to day primary carry piece

[jeffh]

Apr 13, 2024 21:44:12 GMT -5 shorty500 said:

Personally always preferred the factory wrap around wood in round ish butt configuration....

It's funny,...  That grip, when viewed off the gun, resembles a potato from several feet away.

YET, it actually has the perfect aesthetic "fit" to those 3" guns - they do look "right" and, I think, look GOOD.  For as much trouble as I usually have finding grips that please me, they work.  I'd loved to have gotten a few sets of some of the slightly different-shaped ones to try, but always ended up with the same configuration, but they fit and made the guns not-uncomfortable to shoot.

I've always found the old "pencil barrels" very attractive and handier.  The new ones seem to work just fine, but I'm not a fan of the "full-underlug," which is really just a cheaper way to make the barrel.  Given that Charter has kept their guns affordable, I can't really knock the concept.

On the stainless, 3" 357 Mag Pug I got a few years ago (current production), using the Bulldog frame, I struggled to find a set of grips that I liked.  The Pachmyers are a mainstay, but too bulky and "sticky" for concealed carry (for me) and too large in diameter to shoot DA comfortably (for me).  I bought a set of the "backpacker" grips, same as on the Professional series as seconds for a reasonable price and then removed about a third of their bulk and refinished them.  PERFECT!  If I were shooting a 3" 44 still, I'd make a new set just like these.

[reflex264]

I like the old factory Walnut grips and have changed the grips on several of mine to that grip. Here is one of the 5" Target Bulldogs with the factory Target grips.

[tentcamper]

Keeping the Charter Arms thread going... I picked up this very recently. 1986 vintage. Tight little gun, not much evidence it has been shot much. Sold with original box and paperwork as well.

[magpouch]

THAT right there is a sweet roller...

[bula]

The parts I needed were the knurled end cap of the ejector rod and the sliding sleeve just above it. An open bottom holster meant I had no idea of where on the 218 acres at camp, they were. This was mentioned on one of the Bulldog past threads. A drop of lock tite recommended.

[jeffh]

May 15, 2024 8:20:14 GMT -5 bula said:

...A drop of lock tite recommended.

BLUE Loctite!

When it's time to remove that little knurled nub, place five empty cases which had been fired in that gun - snugger is better.  Heat the ejector button enough to loosen the Loctite and wrap the button with a strip of aluminum pop can (or similar) and get a grip on it with some small Vise-Grips.

[needsmostuff]

Like reflex264 I am now giving a Target Bulldog a whirl.



Seems to shoot fine but like so many Charter Arms in my past it has a demon lurking.
Every now and then the fired primer holds the firing pin forward locking up the gun ?
Heinous double action also so the gun may just be way over sprung because it really hits the primer hard. I'm gonna work on that a little but if the firing pin turns out to be too long it's going to mean a trip back to the mothership.

For the OP, these rubber wraparound grips work well enough. They are an older version and contoured a little different than the new ones.
Sadly for CA's there really is not alot of options. Anything that helps recoil is bigger than the gun.

[jeffh]

A return trip to the mothership for a Charter is not a big deal. You may have already "been there and don that" before, but a polite e-mail describing the problem and asking for help usually nets a quick and friendly response.

Funny about aftermarket grips for the Charters, because every Charter revolver since 1964 takes the same grips and they have sold, and are still selling a LOT of these guns. I've come up with the hypothesis that MOST Charter buyers buy them, shoot a few cylinders-full and then stuff them in the sock-drawer or glove-box and pretty much forget about them. I expect most of them would laugh at the idea of paying $40 to $100 for a set of grips for one.