Both of these are .44 Magnums. Designed by the founder of the first version of Charter Arms,[5] Doug McClenahan,[6] the Bulldog was released in 1973. [13] If the Bulldog is used to hunt, the most effective ammo is, reportedly, the 240- or 250-grain (16 g) SWC. I recently came across a pair of unmatched, but nonetheless beautiful Belgian-made Bulldogs, which made me wonder why I knew relatively nothing about them. John believes the Freedom Arms five-shot Model 97 is the finest .44 Special “sixgun” ever to come from a factory. Its appeal was so great that the “British” Bulldog was adopted and copied by gun manufacturers in Belgium, Spain, France and the U.S.

[10] The Bulldog has no sharp edges to contend with when carrying the weapon in a holster or a pocket. All rights reserved. Then disaster struck! Famous ties. This in my opinion is the true difference between modern smokeless powders and the black powder cartridges of old. It is unclear whether the gun disappeared during its stay with the museum or sometime later. Taurus G3C Review After 4 Months, 1K Rounds. A British Bulldog may also have fallen into the hands of William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, by way of his first employer and mentor, John H. Tunstall. Four Years Later: IWI Tavor SAR Revisited. Things like the average velocity of the rounds, their shot to shot deviation, are the numbers being measured by you the same as the numbers the bullet manufacturer was advertising (LoL, probably not as manufacturers tend to hype their products), etc. Blazer JHPs. [5] With most ammunition types the muzzle velocity tends to be between 705 and 1000 feet per second (215 and 305 meters per second, respectively). Many Webleys or ivory and engraved models command prices in upwards of $1,000. Manufacturer: AMERICAN BULLDOG. For those just now coming across this model, how has it stood up over the years?

[6] Most critics believe the best use for the Bulldog is self-defense. The Charter Arms original .44 Special in the 1960s was a blued five-shooter with a 3" barrel. Anti-Personnel full wadcutters. Multiple British Bulldog models are housed in the NRA’s National Firearms Museum alongside Colts, Smith & Wessons and Velo Dog revolvers. The 44. Conversley black powder detonates all of it at once and the only push the bullet gets is the initial first push, after that on the way down the barrel everything is inertia. The weapon used is the 5 shot folding trigger variant of my Belgian 44 Bulldog revolvers and it has a 2.5″ barrel. Enter To Win A Altor 9mm & .380 Pistol Package. Whether you're a new or seasoned shooter, everyone needs more training, but getting out to the range can be a hassle if you don't have the right gear. Artist Frank Leslie’s rendering of President Garfield’s assassination. Webley cartridge with about 18 grains of FFF powder launches a 205 grain bullet at velocity of 502 feet per second. I’ve often mentioned there are two Charter Arms stainless steel Bulldogs stashed in the two bathrooms in our home. The gun commonly shown as Guiteau’s model in period illustrations has walnut grips, but the actual gun is, in fact, long gone. Meanwhile Colt chambered both their SA Army and the double action New Service in .44 Special. ".44 Bull Dog", in, ______ and _____. The .44 Bull Dog was an American centerfire revolver cartridge produced from the 1880s until the 1930s.[1]. £2,650.00. So how does the no-frills Ruger AR-556 perform when put to the test?

Eventually Colt chambered their 3rd Generation SA and New Frontier in .44 Special and in the 1980s S&W resurrected the 1950 Target as the Model 24/624. Both Colt and S&W dropped the .44 Special from production. Ruger is now part of the .44 Special five-gun scene. Then we come to the bulldog revolvers.

Charter Arms still offered the .44 Bulldog while Taurus produced a five-shot .44 Special, the Model 431. wielded a matched pair of ivory handled British Bulldog, Both Bark and Bite: British Bulldog pocket revolvers.

£6,850.00. Both the American and Belgian Bulldogs, which seem to be the most prevalent on the market these days, were readily available in smaller calibers. Whether this gun ever saw any dubious service remains for great speculation, but regardless, the little British Bulldogs were as well traveled as they were well loved.

Indeed the ballistics and the wood block penetration test of the other blog would indicate the 44 Bulldog is no more of a manstopping round than is the .22 Short or a .25 auto pistol (and actually some loads for the .25 greatly exceed the kinetics of the 44 Bulldog cartridge). It has a full under lugged barrel with both 4″ and 5″ versions available complete with an adjustable rear sight and a ramp front sight. In the side drawer of my desk is a customized Taurus .44 Special by Bill Oglesby. My normal heaviest load for the Bulldog is the Keith 250-gr. [6][9], The accuracy of the Bulldog is aided by its trigger pull. S&W led the way in down-sizing sixguns. All Rights Reserved. Thanks to Charter Arms and Freedom Arms we do have .44 Special five-shooters available. AMERICAN BULLDOG .44 CAL REVOLVER. Feel free to leave them below. It was one of the best-selling weapons of the 1970s and the 1980s in the United States. Colt still catalogs both the .44 Special SA Army and New Frontier, however, they are extremely difficult to find. Probably the most infamous connection places it in the hands of Charles Guiteau, the man who shot President James Garfield in 1881. Ruger arrived on the sixgun scene in the early 1950s but didn’t produce a .44 Special with the early .357 and .44 Magnum Blackhawks. (Typically, in the late 19th century U.S., a box of .44 Bull Dog cartridges cost $0.68 for 50 rounds, compared to $0.90 for 50 of the longer .44 Webley round.

Also, most .44 Magnum shooters rely on .44 Special loads for everyday use. To fit larger-diameter .44 Special cartridges, the company had to lose one, resulting in the five-shot .44 Special. The revolver is generally dressed with simple fixed sights, a large looping trigger guard, curvaceous hammer spur and weigh in around 20 ounces. Stout and strong, these little revolvers are built like their namesake canine. Let's find out.

The .44 Bulldog moves a 168 grain bullet at 390 feet per second from my little revolver. It was a top-selling gun during the 1980s and it is considered to be Charter Arms' trademark weapon. It was introduced in 1973. Many believed it could stop man or beast out to 200 yards. This company also filed bankruptcy, and the models produced during this period showed obvious production flaws. The top of the frame is marked “AMERICAN BULL DOG” and the grips have an eagle molded into them. The first example was the Model 696 built on the L-Frame with a 3″ barrel.

As I write this, Freedom Arms delivery time is running about one year.

(Photo credit: iCollector). Fortunately, Charter Arms enlarged their .38 Special to create the five-shot .44 Special Bulldog. If you would like to do a little price comparison shopping first, then I suggest a copy paste of the link below. [14][15] All Bulldog models have a cylinder of five shots. (Photo credit: iCollector). With its five-shot cylinder and bolt slots cut between chambers, the Bulldog is much stronger than it appears. At the time it was one of my most carried sixguns and logged many miles in the top of my boot. Groups like the Texas Rangers took to the new repeating pistol. This is an all stainless steel five-gun with a round butt, smooth trigger and S&W adjustable sights with a red ramp front sight. When the gun is fired, the hammer does not actually strike the firing pin.

John keeps his Bill Oglesby five-shot custom Taurus .44 Special Sights are typical S&W adjustable sights with a white outline rear sight matched up with a red ramp front sight. Charter Arms Summer Shutdown25 May, 2020    Charter Arms will be closed from end of business Friday July 3rd through July 12th,... Read more →, American Rifleman Chooses the "Boomer" .44 Special for NRA Gun of the Week17 February, 2017 Thank you for American Rifleman for featuring Charter Arms .44 Special "Boomer" as Gun of... Read more →, US Concealed Carry Magazine nominates Charter Arms Undercover!15 February, 2017 We’re excited and honored to learn Charter Arms "Undercover" is nominated by US Concealed Carry... Read more →. With a barrel length of 2.5", the .44 Special is one of the larger revolvers to qualify for concealed carry. This is a stainless steel, five-shot, double-action sixgun. Nonetheless, it still held six rounds. It was introduced in 1973. Thanks to the urging of Bill Jordan, S&W came up with a smaller .357 Magnum, the Combat Magnum, which was built on the .38 Special K-Frame.