Charter Arms 44 special

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 I have a Older 3 " Charter Arms Bulldog I am considering heavily, Even have the buddy at the shop holding it till I make a decision on it .

 Question I have is for those that have reloaded cast bullets for this particular older 44 special and wether it liked them or not.

 If I commit to it , this would be my 4th 44 cal firearm, and while i havent looked yet to confirm it , can the 44 mag brass be shortened to 44 spcl length for the Bulldog ?
 
 And are the older 44s compatable with the Rubber style grips being made for the present CA Bulldogs ? Not that the wood grips are in bad condition , I just like to have options.

 Any other helpful info on the older 3" would be greatly appreciated as well.

[stimpylu32]

I have a Older 3 " Charter Arms Bulldog I am considering heavily, Even have the buddy at the shop holding it till I make a decision on it .

 Question I have is for those that have reloaded cast bullets for this particular older 44 special and wether it liked them or not.

 If I commit to it , this would be my 4th 44 cal firearm, and while i havent looked yet to confirm it , can the 44 mag brass be shortened to 44 spcl length for the Bulldog ?
 
 And are the older 44s compatable with the Rubber style grips being made for the present CA Bulldogs ? Not that the wood grips are in bad condition , I just like to have options.

 Any other helpful info on the older 3" would be greatly appreciated as well.

Cutting down the Mag case's is not a problem , the'll work just fine , not sure about the new grip frames , but your right  , the wood ones are not bad by themselves .

stimpy

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Thanks for the input Stimpy.

 I think with all the info I have rounded up online from other forums old posts that the newer rubber grips will fit the old model, And if nothing else tame some of the felt recoil these things are known for with the heavier loads versus the original wood grips. I know the 2.5" Pug I had back in 01-02 was a pleasure with 180-200gr factory loads , but something about the 210+ grain stuff just wasnt fun.

 Mostly I was just needing peoples experiences with launching cast slugs from this particular older model, Since I already load for two 44 mags and a 444 marlin I have more then enough projectiles to play with in this new piece . But wanted the goods and bads of loading lead for um, I know the older 444 I have has some serious issues with the lead 240gr slugs I load up for the Mags and I would have liked to have first hand info that that wasnt something the older CA bulldogs were known for .

[Frank V]

The Bulldog will shoot cast bullets quite nicely. Just don't load it hot, it's a small frame gun & won't stand heavy loads. I'd use starting loads in the Speer Manual #14, they list several lead bullets. It might take some experimenting to see which bullet weight hits closest to the point of aim with the fixed sights, but the Bulldog will digest lead bullets quite well. Enjoy that gun, I think they are a good gun for the money. Made In the U.S.A. Too!!!
Good shooting.
Frank

[v-man]

How old is "older"? I have one I bought new in the 70's with 3" brl.  I think first year with a transfer bar. Shoots cast just fine. Actually a very accurate pistol after I worked on the trigger a little. (almost too much).  it's hidden away for when I "really" need it but I do take it to the range about once a year. As already stated, don't load too hot for that 19oz alloy frame. I say buy it.

[Hank08]

I have a 4 cav. flatpoint Saeco mold, cast 214 gr. plainbase bullet.  Load it just heavy enough to shoot point of aim at 25 yds.  I'm loading mine to around 900 to do that.  It's a 3" with Pachmayr compact grips.  not sure when it was made, I've had it 10 -12 yrs or more.  Nice light packable gun.
H08

[v-man]

The Pachmayrs make it really nice. The smallish walnut grips it came with feel good but way to small to control the recoil.

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V Man I havent dated the pistol , Will get to that search once I got her home. I honestly dont know at what point into the 90s before the CHARCO era that they still used the pinned on front site. My post CHARCO Pug 44 was the one piece front site/ 2.5 inch barrel and I loved it , Of all the toys I have had that is the one my brother and brother in-law both wanted something fierce haha.
 
Hank thanks for the heads up on the 214 gr SAECO mold, Heck its not like if this particular 44 doesnt like a cast 214gr bullet that I wouldnt have other options for launching them huh ?

 I'm rather glad to know that they have a good reputation with cast shooting , As for the loading hot and heavy , I have my SBH for that This one will be a 4 wheeler trail etc. gun since we do have alot of black bears where we like to ride all day trips in the mountains. I also had something special in mind for this one as far as the make over goes leaning it toward my soon to be wife ( July 10th is the big day ) . Figured a nice face lift with with her new married name engraved on the barrel. I had it all under wraps till my buddy called her phone instead of mine and let her know to tell me that my "ALL GOOD" had come through, SSSSOooooooo I had a call come in about what I had going on that I needed a NICS done yadda yadda hahahahaha .

 But I was thinking that 240 RNFP that I already have in hand would be the heaviest I would like to go with in this piece , I was thinking the 160s to 180s wt. would be nice for the missus maybe the 200s for hunting , Though If good accuracy shows up at slower velocities with the 180s I may stick with that for hunting since that is the same wt. I have loaded for her Winchester 357 mag. She would just be getting a bigger hole for her bang  

The grips may be the first thing changed depending on what her hands tell us about fit/recoil, Personally wood or factory rubber grips are fine in my hands but I want this one to be HER 44 since she knows how much I love all my other 44s its time she shared my 44 passion. And its not like I wont get to play with it too 

  Much thanks for the responses guys