ltwguns.com

hey guys,

I have always been a big fan of the .44 special round.
I like the idea of a small .44 and was wondering if any of you have had
any experience with the new charter arms bull dog?
I had one of the olde ones cir 1980s and liked it but the quality was not what it should have been.
The new bull dog got a good write up in Combat Handguns and I thought I would revist the issue.

Please give me any feed back you can on it, but please spare me the witty remarks about getting a S&W .44 or the like.

thanks Rob

_________________
http://www.landsharkleather.com/
Building Hand Crafted Leather for the 1911 Platform

Hey Rob..one of my buddies had one for a brief while and I got a chance to fondle it quite a bit and shoot it on one occaision. Not an extensive test and maybe not a fair testament to Charter, but here was my impression of the BullDog....it was a nice size/weight package and excited me for a potential carry piece. Workmanship on this one was a little rough, with several minute tool marks visible and some rough edges that could pose a problem for gouging when in CCW mode. The action was quite "gritty" feeling, but trigger pull was ok and a little heavy. And finally, accuracy was about what you might expect, it was combat "acceptable" but not a target pistol by any means, we only had one type of ammo that day, but I do not remember manufacturer or weight of that load, sorry. Overall, it seemed like a decent gun, and in perspective I thought for the base price being so cheap, it may be a good candidate for some custom touches such as a meltdown, maybe a round-butt conversion, and a good finish and some trigger work, and the whole package would not break the bank......hmm..might be interesting to see what the smiths on here would say??-----John

_________________
"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

And who could I go to for a trigger job on a Bulldog who wouldn't laugh me out of their shop.

Seriously, I have owned several and have a great stainless one now. It just needs a good trigger, dehorning and some sort of front sight treatment. (don't ask me what's great about it -- it just is)

Does anyone know a smith that would do a luxury job on a soup kitchen gun?

ML

Mushinto....I e-mailed Dave Sams from Sams Custom here in Virginia to see what he said. He will do the work on the Charter as follows:
Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special

-Tune Action -- $125.00
-Trigger Adjustment -- $75.00 Double/Single Action
-Radius/ Bevel All Sharp Edges
- Gold Bead or Line Front Sight
-Is the revolver carbon or stainless steel?
*If carbon steel will need to be refinished.
*If stainless, I can either matte black finish or matte natural stainless finish it.

If you look elsewhere on this site (especially under Jim Keeney's name) you will find some of Dave's excellent work. Jim has several of his masterpieces, and I believe Al Shear is very familiar with him as well and can vouche for his work! I have seen and handled many of his pieces in the last few years, and can say for this price...I will probably be picking up a Charter for myself and shipping it off for a little belly-gun majic!--John

_________________
"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

Thank you very much John. I will contact Mr. Sams next week. The revolver is stainless, so I won't worry about refinishing. The sight and action work and the dehorn are all I need.

I think it's going to be a good new year.

ML

Mushinto,
Did you ever send out your Charter Arms BullDog?

I just ordered one today, will get it in a couple days.
Let me know how yours turned out.
Thanks!

_________________
"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, US Navy, 16 March 1945.

Bocephus...hope you will like your Charter, I hope to read about it in here someday! As I said above, Dave does fantastic work and already told me that he will work on the Charters. I do not have one yet, but he does currently have a nice Colt Agent that he is working up for me right now, should be finished in a week or so. I will post it when I get it back. If you want to see some of his revolver magic, look under the Custom Revolver section here for a post titled "Customer Revolver Picture thread anyone?" or something similar. In that post you will find a gorgeous Colt Agent that Lindermant has posted near the bottom of the first page. Mine will be very similar, but with a couple of additions that I wanted. Best of luck--John

_________________
"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

Jr Munsey,
Thanks for the reply.
The Charter Arms BullDog has always intrigued me for some strange reason. Small revolver, with the large .44 special seems like a good package. I know they are rough around the edges, but that all can be worked out.
What is Mr. Sams normal turn around time for a trigger job?
To bad Smith & Wesson doesn't come out with a Scadium "J" frame, hamerless in .44 special!!!
Thanks!

_________________
"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, US Navy, 16 March 1945.

Dave's turnaround is usually very reasonable...if it were just for a trigger job..I'm not sure. Give him a call and ask him....very easy to talk to. I too have been intrigued by the little Charters..just wish their quality was a little better and more consistant, but like you said...much of that can be worked out.
I thought S&W did have a lightweight small/medium framed .44 Special for a while several years ago?? I seem to remember one of the Lts. on my department had one he carried off duty (he specifically bought it because of the light weight for when he was riding his motorcycle)? Anybody else know?? Kurt..where are you??
Another big bore snubby that I have always liked was the Taurus .45 Colt in Titanium that was out a couple years ago, but they quit making it before I was able to grab one.--John

Here is Daves website with the phone nuber:
http://www.samscustomgunworksusa.com

_________________
"There is a true glory and a true honor, the glory of duty done, the honor of integrity and principle."--Gen. Robert Edward Lee

I found this artical while searching the web. Quite interesting.

http://www.thegunzone.com/bulldog-pug.html

_________________
"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, US Navy, 16 March 1945.

American Handgunner has one for their "Gun of the Month" contest that was worked over by Magnaport. Looks interesting

Here's a link:

http://www.americanhandgunner.com/GOM.html

Thanks for the link.
Was that this Months American Handgunner?
I live only a few miles from Magne-Port. Maybe I'll take my BullDog there for some work.

_________________
"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, US Navy, 16 March 1945.