By Jim Dickson | Contributing Writer
Designed by Doug McClanahan and first made by Charter Arms in 1973 the 5 shot, compact .44 Special Bulldog revolver was an immediate hit offering the big bore .44 Special cartridge in a small frame .38 Special-size action.
The late, great gun designer Max Atchisson had one and said it was the best compact revolver for concealed carry made. It has a good trigger pull with the test revolver having a smooth 13-pound double action trigger and a 4 ½-pound single action trigger pull as measured by a Lyman mechanical trigger pull gauge from Brownells’ Gunsmithing Supplies.
Weight is a mere 20 ounces or 1 ¼ pounds if you prefer. The dimensions are a svelte 5 inches high by 7¼ inches long and 1 3/8 inches wide with a 2 ½-inch barrel. This made it easy to conceal and carry while the .44 Special had considerably more knock down power than the .38 and .357 Magnum revolvers of the competition.
The revolver is made from stainless steel with a blue/black finish, which is an asset when carried in a sweaty shoulder holster. My old shoulder holster for the M1917 New Service revolver eventually rotted in this environment. Blued stainless steel is definitely the way to go as bright stainless steel can reflect light at times and places that it is harmful to you. The front sight is a blade type and the rear sight is a simple notch at the rear of the frame. that are easy to use fast for this is a defensive pistol.
The cylinder notches are placed between the cartridge spaces enabling more strength with less metal than some older designs. Grips on the test revolver were rubber, which go a long way towards absorbing felt recoil while their relatively flat sides are a great aid to accurate pointing. Remember that pistols are best accurately pointed in a gunfight instead of using the sights and as most attacks will occur in the poor light conditions that criminals favor to hide their deeds you probably won’t be able to see the sights anyway.
Charter Arms subscribes to the “333 rule” which states that most self-defense situations take place within 3 yards (9 feet), with 3 shots fired in under 3 seconds. The .44 Special Bulldog revolver is designed with that in mind.
I had 140 rounds to test fire through the .44 Bulldog consisting of 20 rounds of Steinel 200-grain Short Barrel Gold Dot at 940 fps from a 3-inch barrel, 20 rounds of Steinel 180-grain SJHP at 1,100 fps from a 5-inch barrel, and 100 rounds of Steinel 200-grain RNFP Cowboy Action at 620 fps. The latter has a red coating that effectively prevents leading in the bore while the first two have only gilding metal in contact with the bore.
The little pistol was accurate and pleasant to shoot with the rubber grips absorbing most of the felt recoil.
After the ammunition was all gone I cleaned the little revolver with Shooters Choice bore cleaner and patches then lubricated it with Ballistol oil before returning it to Charter Arms.
Carrying concealed offers a plethora of options. You can carry it in a pocket, of course. Inside the waistband carry is popular and I would recommend a Sticky Holster from the Sticky Holster Co. for that as once positioned the gun will not move and this enables you to position it more precisely. Contrary to the name, these holsters are not sticky to the touch.
For both open and concealed carry the best holster by far is the pancake design. It carries the gun tight against your side yet permits an exceedingly fast draw. I have never found a more comfortable holster and that is important as you will be less inclined to carry anything uncomfortable. I well remember some of the deep cover holsters that sacrificed comfort for maximum concealment. I never saw anyone use those except when they absolutely had to.
Shoulder holsters are popular in the movies and on TV but I have always found them generally inferior to the pancake design. However for someone anticipating the need to draw the pistol while seated they do offer an advantage.
There are many fine holster companies out there but my preferred maker is El Paso Saddlery. They have been making quality leather work for a very long time. They made holsters for John Wesley Hardin, the deadliest gunfighter in the old West and they also made the bandoleers you see crossed on the photos of Pancho Villa’s men.
It’s not just city folk who have need of a lightweight, compact, powerful pistol that is easy to shoot well. Fishermen, hikers, and anyone exploring the great outdoors may unexpectedly find a sudden urgent need for one when they least expect it. A pistol that is easy to carry and hit with is more likely to be carried and thus there when it is needed.
The woods are not always as Disney portrays them in his children’s films. The inhabitants can hurt you. There are rattlesnakes, and wild hogs are a nationwide scourge. While they can be elusive when you are hunting them they can also attack without provocation, particularly a boar with a sow and a bunch of piglets in tow.
Coyotes are everywhere now and it is well documented that they killed 3-year-old Kelly Kleen of Glendale, California and 19-year-old Taylor Mitchell in Nova Scotia. I know of two instances where hunters in Georgia were attacked by coyote packs, one of them in my own county. Coyotes are just a small species of wolf and a few years ago wolves killed a school teacher out jogging near Chignik, Alaska on the Alaska Peninsula in 2010.
No one has to be convinced that there are vicious dogs in the world but when they run in a pack they are much more dangerous. Wild dogs can be a real threat to human life as they often lack the fear of humans that other wild animals have. Back in the 1960’s Georgia had a severe wild dog problem and every time the game wardens got together they would swap stories about how they had been attacked by these packs. I remember one instance where the wild dogs were chasing a deer but when they caught sight of the game warden they abandoned the deer chase to attack the warden who they thought was easier prey.
Bears are another potential threat and even a small black bear mother can be serious trouble if you inadvertently get between her and her cub. In remote parts of Alaska, the Yukon, and British Columbia we also have instances of man eating black bears. As for the larger brown bears, well, the original and correct spelling is “grisly” bear as in a grisly murder. Enough said.
The Charter Arms .44 Special Bulldog is a potent little package that I would prefer to the .38 and .357 magnum revolvers. It is lightweight, easy to carry and conceal, just as it was intended to be. A graceful and elegant looking revolver the staff at Reeves Ace Hardware in Clayton, Georgia commented on how beautiful it looked when I picked up the test pistol. It may be just what you have been looking for.
