Quote:
Originally Posted by SA1911
Hi eb07,
Firstly, let me wish you a complete recovery of your hand.
The Charter Arms Bulldog is an excellent self-defense handgun. The .44 Special is an extremely effective cartridge.
If S&W could make a .44 Special on a K Frame, it'd have a certain winner.
I'd be in a heck of a quandary choosing between a Bulldog and a P239 .40 as a self-defense handgun.
|
Thank you. The hand is fully recovered with limited function of my ring finger. It is as good as it is going to get and my wrist and grip are full strength. Just the second joint on the finger is fused and the first joint gets 70% bend.
I will be honest. I LOVE my 442.... . But I find myself carrying the bulldog year round now. It has lower recoil with the 200gr Speer gold dots than the 135gr +P in 38, I am more accurate with it, and it is ALMOST as light.
I try to get a few rounds a month out of it
PLUS as an added bonus, I carry it in the desert as my desert gun and as a backup to my model 29 when I am in the mountains as it is very accurate out to 25 yards.
I am a huge fan of 44 special. I am not interested in Taurus or Ruger offerings. If I find the right 44 special snub I may purchase it and ship it off to Nelson Ford for action work but unless it is a shooter the prices just do not justify the use as the Charter does do a good job. But if Smith did come out with a NO LOCK version that is sub 23 ounces and I would be on it. It is my #1 smith and wesson wish list item. The light, concealable 5-6 shot 44 special sub 2.5" barrel.A man can dream.
My EDC is more simple and traditional these days but that is just me
The charter is not as bad as some say. I suggest a 250 round reliability break in and then carry with confidence
The trigger isn't all that bad. Mine worked out well with use. The only problem, speaking with Nelson is the parts are case hardened cast steel. So you really can't polish them and make the trigger better action job wise without breaking through the case layer and or weakening and cracking the layer.
Simply check your screws after each range session for proper torque and do not shoot anything over 16,000 PSI and it will last you a long time. This Brian Pearcd handloader article really goes over pressures and weights of the 44 and it is a GREAT article and worthy of a download:
http://www.goodrichfamilyassoc.org/4...%20Special.pdf
I estimate over 1500 rounds through her now. Mostly 200gr hand loads pushing between 900-1000 fps to mimic my defense loads.
The 200gr Speer JHP perform very well between 850-900 FPS in all gel tests out of charters I have seen. They are flat shooting, easy on the recoil and therefore follow up shots, and actually work well against wild hogs ( ask me how I know
) from the 2.5" barrel:
44 Spl, Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point, Bare Gel (PC HP Test) - YouTube