Chartered Arms Bulldog - A review

[gunman79]

Hi all,

Found the below article on the web and thought it would be interesting to the esteemed members of this forum...
No idea, whether Chartered Arms products would be available in India though... Inputs welcome!

Chartered Arms - Bulldog - .44 Spl and .357 Magnum


The Bulldog is a 5-shot double action revolver designed by Doug McClenahan and produced by Charter Arms. It was introduced in 1973. The Bulldog has been available for the .44 Special and .357 Magnum cartridges with a length of 7.2 inches (184 mm) and 6.7 inches (171 mm) and barrel lengths of either 2.5 inches (64 mm) or 2.2 inches (56 mm). It was a top-selling gun during the 1980s and it is considered as Charter Arms' trademark weapon.It has been produced by four different companies since it was released.

Designed by the founder of the first version of Charter Arms (now defunct),Doug McClenahan,the Bulldog was released in 1973. It was one of the best-selling weapons of the 1970s and the 1980s in the United States.Its design and execution, which were quite modern at the time, caught the attention of the gun press and combat shooters.By the mid-1980s, more than half a million units had been produced and nearly 37,000 were being manufactured every year. Bulldog production has been stopped a few times since 1992, when Charter Arms (the original manufacturer) went bankrupt.

Some time later, manufacturing began again under the Charco (descendant company of Charter Arms) trademark, but this company also filed bankruptcy; the models produced during this period showed obvious production flaws.It was produced again by Charter 2000; this company, which failed also, improved the weapon with a one-piece barrel, front sight, ejector-shroud assembly.[2] The original model had no ejector-shroud and the aluminium front sight was soldered to the barrel.

In June 2007, a version of the Bulldog with new features began to be produced by another company named Charter Arms,[7] but this time was distributed by MKS Supply.

Description:

Like most Charter Arms weapons, the Bulldog is a relatively inexpensive yet serviceable, no-frills,snubnosed revolver. It can be concealed easily because of its small size, and has no sharp edges to contend with when carrying the weapon in a holster or a pocket.The Bulldog is a solid framed double action revolver with a five-round cylinder which can be opened by pushing a release slide on the left of the gun, or in the original model by pulling the ejector rod. It features a concave sight.Its triggerpull, in both single and double-action modes, is quite light. If a large quantity of residue piles up inside the revolver because of heavy usage, the cylinder cranes axle screw can be removed and the cylinder pulled out from the gun for cleaning.Most critics believe the best way to employ the Bulldog is self-defense.

Performance:

The accuracy of the Bulldog is aided by its trigger pull. According to reviews, it is more accurate than expected for a revolver of its size and type but probably not enough to be called an "accurate" weapon.

When the gun is fired, the hammer does not actually strike the firing pin. Under normal firing circumstances a small steel bar (called a transfer bar) is raised when the hammer is cocked, placing it into a position between the firing pin and the hammer itself. The falling hammer strikes the transfer bar, which in turn strikes the firing pin, discharging the weapon.

Ammunition:

The Bulldog is apparently intended for light, fast bullets, as with heavier and slower bullets it is less accurate.With most ammunition types the muzzle velocity tends to be between 705 and 1000 feet per second (215 and 305 meters per second, respectively).

Models:

Five models of the Bulldog have been produced, allowing customers to choose between: .44 Special and .357 Magnum cartridges, gun lengths of 7.2 inches (184 mm) and 6.7 inches (171 mm) and barrel lengths of either 2.5 inches (64 mm) or 2.2 inches (56 mm). All Bulldog models have a cylinder of 5 shots. Currently, Charter Arms only offers its 14420, 74420 and 74421 versions. Charter's Police Undercover could also be considered as a Bulldog variant because it's produced with the same frame model but its caliber is different and it was built to resemble the Undercover by Charter.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_Arms_Bulldog
http://www.charterfirearms.com

[rsuresh]

Hmm ,

As I recall, the charter arms revolver was the first weapon my dad imported (when import was legal in the 80's).It was a .32 model. Now sold a couple of years back.

Good one.

Chartered Arms - Bulldog - .44 Spl and .357 Magnum

AFAIK its not Chartered Arms, its Charter Arms!


-Suresh.R