There seems to be a lot of opinion and disinformation regarding the Charter Arms Bulldog, it also appears that a great deal of that information is from heresay or inuendo by people that may have never owned a Bulldog or had a 1970’s model way back when. The following information is from ACTUAL reliable sources, the real experts on the topic.
I spoke with Charter’s Engineer;
The Charter Arms engineering department has stated “the most recently re-designed Bulldog is much tougher than previous models” and “with the new machining processes we have now, the tolerances are much tighter than the original design allowed for” also stated “we took one (a 44 Bulldog) right off the line as a test gun for the lab and basically tried to break it, it’s been holding up very well”.
I have had numerous conversations via email with Tim Sundles, owner of Buffalo Bore Ammunition and Wayne Brown also from Buffalo Bore. Tim Sundles has stated the following regarding the use of their .44 Special “heavy” ammunition in a Charter Arms Bulldog: “There are so many older and low quality Bulldogs floating around out there that were made over 30-40 years ago, that we blanket state not to use the ammo in Bulldogs, but honestly, the modern Bulldog is well built and capable of shooting any of our 44 SPL loads safely.” Buffalo Bore uses non-canister propellants to achieve the velocity and performance they Are known for. With regard to being over-pressure Tim has stated the following: “All of our 44 spl loads are operating around 15,000 to 16,000 CUP, MAP.” Wayne Brown Of B.B. has stated the following “Felt Recoil is very subjective, With that said, the 255 grain will deliver about 14% more recoil (versus the 190 B.B’s in was using) will you feel that? … Probably but that is a hard one for us to call”. In summary; a Bulldog will digest anything Buffalo Bore has to offer in the .44 Special caliber but you are going to feel it, how much recoil an individual is willing to tolerate is entirely subjective and a personal choice for the shooter.
On the subject of handloads; Brian Pearce had written an article for Handloader Magazine, #236, August-September 2005. In that artical he breaks down the handloads by category: (categories 1,2 and 3) with category 1 being strictly a SAAMI specification load (15500 psi or less) category 2 being 22,000 psi or less and category 3 being 25,000 psi or less. He categorizes which revolvers can handle what pressure and offers the following information: “The second category (22,000 psi) includes the Colt Single Action Army, New Frontier SAA, Charter Arms Bull Dog and United States Firearms SAA-pattern revolvers that are U.S. manufactured.” He expands on this by stating, “The Charter Arms Bulldog has proven strong enough to handle these loads, but to prevent premature loosening, they should be used somewhat sparingly. There are 3 detailed loading charts for each category which you can use to get you where you want to be load-wise. Obviously anything that will handle category 3 will handle anything less and a 44 magnum of any make will handle any .44 Special load.
Hopefully this information will assist Bulldog owners to get want theyre looking for from their firearm. This response was for information purposes only and not an advisement to overload your Bulldog and hurt your hand. Be safe, be smart, shoot only what is comfortable for YOU. Don’t go crazy with the powder just because....