My dad is 79 with failing health. I took All ammunition, powder and primers from my parents home. I felt bad, but know it is best. My mom and I discussed it.

He was not the same reloader as I am I was shooting the stuff to empty the brass when she went BANG. I know he didn't do it on purpose, but I have to pull down the rest.

I am going to ask Charter about it, I certainly will not hide what happened. Yes it could be worse. I am at work today. Maybe I will start a new thread.

I did like the gun, it shot a little low and right, but I was using unknown ammo.
David

David

Actually recoil is not bad with 200G speer gold dots

See my writeup... Bridegport ones are good but the modern ones are better IMHO

The Charter Arms Bulldog 44 Special | The Desert's Edge

Also these things are not I repeat not made to shoot the Keith loads. There is a good article on pressures and the 44 special in my writeup

Unfortunately that is the going rate for 44spl ammo. There is no cheap or plinking priced ammo for 44, unless you reload. That's why I don't own a 44spl

That is horrible. Sorry to hear that. Got to be real careful with the CA, not designed for hot loads. In retrospect the $40 box of ammo might have been the way to go.

May not have been a double charge, just a hot load is all it takes in a CA.

Really glad you are ok.

Sorry to hear about the blow up. I keep my loads fairly mild for my CA, but not because they won't handle factor type loadings
. I look at mine as a c c gun and want big bullets a small packageand llow recoil

David R,

A partial powder charge or light loaded round with fast burning powder like Bullseye can have the same result. When in the horizontal firing position, the powder spreads across the bottom side of the case with a large air space above.

The primer ignites the entire powder surface all at once. So you get a detonation instead of the normal controlled burn rate from back to front.

Can actually have more destructive power than a double charge depending on the load. That's why minimum loads are always listed in loading manuals in addition to maximum loads. I never load Bullseye.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

I shoot 180gr full WCs over 7gr of Unique in my Bulldogs. Medium recoil and the guns love them. The Bulldog is slightly bigger than a J-Frame but it carries well and has more punch.

Those WCs look pretty intimidating when you're looking at the business end, too.

To answer a point in the original thread, Taurus did make a 5-shot .44Spl in their K-frame equivalent revolver in the 90s. I know both 3" and 4" bbl SB models were made. The 431? Never saw one in the flesh. I mentioned these in an earlier .44 thread and one poster replied he had owned one.

Taurus has interesting ideas from time to time. However, there often seem to be difficulties in translating to actual guns. A K-frame .44Spl (in 2"!) would be high on my shopping list. That is, if KLYDE would not buy it before it was shipped out West.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

P.S. As to the original Bulldog, I don't know that CA would have anticipated use of anything other than the original 246gr factory load.

EB07, I read your article. Thank you. This gun shot small groups a little in the wrong place. I really liked it for 75 rounds. I already ordered a set of wood grips. I appreciate the load information. I was hoping to be able to shoot a 240 grain bullet at 950 fps for 480 fpe. I see its possible with out trashing the gun.

When I was looking at this, they had a Tarus 44 special short barrel revolver too. Same price. Lock up and trigger pull were terrible, the charter felt like a much better gun in my hands.

Now pulling the rest of those bullets. I am not even going to shoot them in my SRH 44 mag.

David

My Taurus 431 is about as S&W-like as you can get. I guess early on Taurus bought an old S&W plant in South America and this five-shot .44 Special is the spitting image of a S&W K-Frame. It is a nice shooter too.

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Loyalty Above All.. but Honor

I have a Rossi 720 "covert" model stainless, five shot, three inch full lugged barrel that has a factory bobbed hammer and is DAO with fixed sights. It is the only Rossi I have ever had and was made in the early 1990's...It's about the size of a K frame but the grip frame is around the same as a J frame square butt. The action is very smooth and accuracy it excellent with my moderate handloads using 240gr LSWC at around 750fps...The 720 is considered by many to have been the best revolver Rossi has made...I didn't like the large, soft rubber factory stocks. I discovered that Hip Grips for Rossi 88 revolvers combined with a J frame T-grip makes it into a super concealed carry revolver. I carry it loaded with Hornady Critical Defense .44Spl ammo for serious social encounters.

I NEVER trust anyone else's handloads. I have been present when a bad handload blew up another guy's revolver. That was early in my LEO career. That impressed me. I am very careful and focused when loading and constantly inspect the powder weights and levels in the cases...And even with that, I don't use my loads for carry.

I have the Taurus 431 and 441 and neither will fit some K-frame holsters. They have an easy fit in a Ruger Security Six or Police Service Six holster though. The L-frame holsters are generally too big. I believe the nominal holster fit is Colt Python.

Why wouldn't they? The .44 SPL had been out for quite a while before CA introduced the Bulldog, and there were a LOT of factory loadings for the cartridge.

I'd be willing to bet that anything within SAAMI pressure limits for .44 SPL would be fine in the Bulldogs.

Hi, Happy holidays to you! IIRC, the original Bulldog came out in 1973. At that time, there were NO other commercial loads in 44Spl available than the 246gr RNL, these from R-P and W-W.

Now, there are several factory loads, including the excellent Federal LHP and the CCI Blazer JHP, and some SWC loadings from smallers mfgrs. R-P did once produce a SWC; I'm not sure if it is currently mfg'd. But not in 1973. If you can show me any other factory loads in 44Spl from 1973, would love to hear about them.

Best wishes and good shooting!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

So you're saying that CA wouldn't have anticipated anyone handloading the .44 SPL, even though it had been loaded all the years prior to 1973? And that they weren't aware of any factory loads during those intervening years? I think they were a little smarter than that, don't you?

No sir, what I'm saying is that there was only the 246gr RNL by R-P and W-W when the Bulldog first appeared. I know the .44Spl had been reloaded for decades. I've seen your posts in the Reloading forum: you're a very knowledgeable and careful handloader. Compliments where they are due, sir!

When this light, 19oz gun appeared, people immediately asked: "Will it take the Keith load?" They were speaking of the 17.5gr/2400 charge, not the reasonable 7.5gr/Unique version. Frankly, I don't understand how anyone could think of a heavy N-frame load in this small gun.

I do think there may be a chicken/egg here: that the mfgrs produced the above (Fed. & CCI) 200gr factory .44Spl loads due to the appearance of this light, short bbl gun. I also believe mfgrs prefer that only factory loads be shot in their products and produce their guns for those factory loads commercially available. For the Bulldog, those were the 246gr RNL.

I'm outta breath. Gotta go help a teenager with his homework (Thought I was retired!). All good wishes!

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

Do you have pictures of that grip setup? I bought a pair of grips from some guy in the Phillipines that work, but I'd like to see yours.

Thanks,
Brian

Please see post #87:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/firearm...uestion-2.html

I found that little gem in the used rack at Cabelas this past summer. From the Taurus experts I've spoken with, it was produced before the QC issues began to escalate. The trigger cannot be staged like a S&W, but it's a great medium frame .44 Special, and shoots extremely well with various factory loads.

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I'm with the banned ...

"I am going to ask Charter about it, I certainly will not hide what happened"

An honest man, proud to be a member of the same forum as you.

I see way too many posts here and elsewhere that state the problem could only be with the firearm, not the loads, amateur gunsmithing, etc.

I bought a Charter Arms Bulldog in 1974. The literature that came with the gun from the factory emphasized that only factory ammo be used. At that time Federal, Remington and CCI weren't making a round for the CA. Winchester with their Silvertip and Remington and Federal began producing rounds for the gun.

The Taurus, I had a 441 4" bbl with adjustable sights, had a very thin forcing cone and a coil mainspring. It shot well and it was a nice gun to pack but I never handloaded heavy loads in it. I had a mould that threw a 212grain SWC and I used a moderate load lighter than the Skeeter load of Unique but it shot well and everything remained tight.

Gave it to a non-shooter friend of mine, who did a lot of Steelhead fishing on riverbanks. He loaded it with shotshells for rattlers.

I now have a Model 69 and it is an excellent shooter with all types of Magnum and Special loads. L Frame 44 Mag with 4.25" bbl. Love this gun for it's handling and accuracy. It's the only frame size 44 below N that I will carry.

I suppose if someone had the financial resources for an interesting project, a new Model 69 could be sent off to MagnaPort for a barrel chop and some fine tuning. It would make for a heck of a CCW snub.

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I'm with the banned ...

Except when you had to fire it.

New .44 Bulldogs are easy to come by. I do not wish to start reloading another caliber. I searched & searched for a 74020 (40 S&W Pitbull) Ordered it yesterday. Might as well have another 40. Charter guns have a lifetime warranty. Good luck finding the 9, or 40. It took around 20 dealers to find 1. Got the last 1 they had. Will it measure up??? Bob

How many different calibers did the S&W night guards come in?

Why a 44 special isnt a 357 Magnum good enough?

Now a 40cal, no desire for a 10mm?