I just read a thread concerning the .44 Special and various recommended guns for it. I remember, back in the day, that the Charter Arms Bulldog was looked down upon as a very cheap gun and not to be relied upon. Apparently, the new iteration of Charter's Bulldogs must be much higher quality, because folks say nice things about them.

So, Charter, Taurus, Rossi, S&W, some other brand?, the get the best bang for your buck, which one would you buy for self defense?

***GRJ***

I have several 44 specials, all Smiths.
If there is another brand of 44 out there that I would like, I am not aware of it.
Exception might be a Colt SA?

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I been thinking about a charter arms bull dog in 44 special shooting 44 Russian out of it for the women to shoot.

In the early days of Taurus, I believe they bought a plant in South America that was formerly owned by Smith & Wesson. This .44 Special is about the size and looks like a K-Frame. It works quite well. I wish Smith had made one like this with fixed sights:

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Loyalty Above All.. but Honor

I really enjoy my Ruger New Model Blackhawk Flattop .44 Special.
Built on the smaller old style .357 Mag frame with steel grip frame and ejector housing instead of aluminum. I had a Taurus 431 five shot, three inch DA revolver a while back. Darn nice gun, but they only made them a couple years.

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Virtue,Liberty & Independence

It depends on what you want. I love my CA .44 Bulldog Pug. Was $378 out the door , is very accurate, compact, light weight and packs a decent punch. It will safely fire all but the hottest SD loads. Don't expect it to be as fancy as guns costing 2-3 times as much. Nor will that $378 get you the S&W fit and finish we have all come to love. I was looking for an affordable, compact, .44 special that I could bum around town and in the woods with all day, concealed, while wearing shorts and Tee shirt. In my case, the little Bulldog fit my needs perfectly. Haven't owned a taurus or rossi snub. But have seen many folks post favorably about them. Like CA, both sometimes get bad raps.

Be well

The M69 has taken the place of the 44 Special in the S&W line.