...and despite usually being THE Great Procrastinator, I hit the range today with the Charter Arms Bulldog that I only got with the last week or two. I also brought along my Marlin Model 70P (Papoose) which I received back in February this year and was unfired until today and my Remington 870 that I got this past January which was & sadly remains unfired. The reason the Remington remains unfired is that the range I went to today, Texarkana Gun Barn, does not allow shotguns even if firing slugs. That was a disappointing revelation.
Anyway, I got to shoot the other two. First off, I started with the Marlin Papoose. I fired 7 rounds (what its mag holds) at a target set at 15 yards from a standing unsupported position. The group was not too pleasing but nor was it extremely displeasing. It was off to the right and mostly high and just too big for my liking. Still, it would be okay for a hiking carry survival rifle if I could adjust the windage but alas it did not look like it could be adjusted to me. I will have to check the manual and take another look at the front sight to see if it can be drifted but it looked as if it could not at first glance. I was anxious to shoot the Bulldog so did not look too long.
I put that same target back out but only to 7 yards the next time and loaded up the Charter Arms Bulldog. The first shot went kaboom and it kicked like a small mule (as opposed to my Ruger Redhawk in 44 Magnum that kicks like a full sized mule). I fired its compliment of 5 shots. At first I thought I somehow had missed the paper with one of the shots but they are all there in two holes. I was firing slow fire, two hands unsupported. I am pretty darned happy with the group.
After those first shots, I put the target back out to 15 yards and shot the Papoose from a seated position with only ,my left elbow resting on the bench. The group size improved markedly but was still off to the right and a bit high.
I was firing Aguila, 40 grain, standard velocity, lead round-nose ammo at it. Although either would do as a survival rifle, I probably would carry this takedown rifle with me on hikes instead of my Henry U.S. Survival rifle, it is definitely the more accurate of the two. Granted, it does not breakdown and then fit into its own stock like the Henry but does break down to barrel & stock/receiver combo and comes with a case in which to store it.
After that it was back to the Bulldog. I fired another 10 shots from it, this time at 10 yards. I shot with an unsupported two hand hold, slow to medium rate of fire. For a revolver that has only a ramp front sight and groove for the rear sight, it shoots pretty darned good.
As you can see, my groups on this and the previous 5 shot target were low and there was the one low flyer too on the 10 shot target. I am not sure if my groups were because of the gun, the ammo or me anticipating recoil (it certainly was on my mind at least a little bit considering the caliber but not much). Yet, I am quite happy with the way it shot. It was the only gun, in the last Hessney Auction on which I bid without first asking for & getting a rundown on its condition from the auction house. I do that now and again and have regretted it a couple or few times but this one had some better quality photos of it on the auction site and I took a shot. I am happy I did!
In all I fired 25 rounds through the Bulldog - not many but enough to assure it went bang every time. I had suspected the trigger pull seemed as if someone maybe had ground down the main spring when fired single action (I only fired it double action today). Yep, even with the factory bobbed hammer, it can be cocked easily enough (at least at the range but you do need to be careful since it is a very short hammer spur if you can even call it a spur) to fire it single action and it has one heck of a light single action trigger pull. Double action felt pretty heavy - by my guess at least 10 pounds. When I looked at the spent primers after firing it, I no longer had any concerns about the mainspring maybe having been worked because the indentations in the primers were pretty deep and were consistent from round to round.
Now to hope for ammo prices to fall for this not rare but still not very popular round. I got three boxes of 25 rounds each for about $25.00 per box; the ammo I used was PMC 180 grain JHP (actually looks more like semi-JHP). I need to order at least a few more boxes because that was the same price or less than I saw for FMJ 44 Special Ammo. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention why I need more ammo - that's because this one is a keeper!
All the best,
Glenn B
2 comments:
I have a Marlin 70 and it shoots very nice. I've added a scope and sling and plan to work with it some more. Sights set at 50yds.
Mags aren't cheap, only on ebay and they were the most expensive I've bought for anything. Got 3-10rd mags to go with the 3-7's it came with.
Found CCI minimags high velocity 40gr shots reliably too.
Would like to see a photo of yours too compare.
As described, your Charter Arms single action sear release is actually factory. Those .38 and .44 snubbies have a target trigger in single action. Definitely not something to use in a defensive engagement, unless shooting at long distance. I sent my snubbies back to the factory to have the spur hammers replaced with that pocket hammer for that reason.
What bullet weight are you using? My .44 seemed to prefer 200gr. The 240gr bullets recoil too much and don't seem to group as well. They don't shoot flat enough, too much arcing trajectory. Too slow a velocity, I suspect.
BTW, you can cut off the bottom of the grips for better concealment. Just leave two fingergrips, and the grips should cover the bottom of the frame. Don't bother with "bootgrips", you need the backstrap covered with the rubber. One other mod for the grips is to sand or carve the backstrap surface to widen it. The ones for Charter are too narrow, too little surface area. Beats up your hand nearly as badly as the metal frame would do. The nearly identical ones for S&W snubs have a better (fatter) backstrap, but they don't interchange, sigh...
Keep an eye on the breechface around the locking rod hole. The rod assembly weighs enough that it unlocks the cylinder under recoil. It can dent the metal inward from spring energy as it returns, far enough to keep the frame mounted release button from moving forward enough to unlock the cylinder. You have an exposed rod, so the dynamics are probably different compared to the shrouded style. Factory indicated that I was the only complaint they had seen about this. Didn't take many cylinders full to manifest, so you may want to check every time you empty the cylinder, to verify you don't have the problem. Couple boxes or so. I'm left-handed, so the recoil dynamics are probably different, but better to verify. It happened with two of those .44s. It would return off center.
Check that all the chambers lock up equally, as the target pattern might indicate some are looser than others. Charter is usually pretty good about this, but I've seen one .44 that was pretty sloppy in lockup. Couldn't tell until all the grease was cleaned up. The ones I've dealt with are from the late 80's/early 90's.
I've had no problems with leather thumb break holsters and the pocket hammers. Those are shoulder rigs, mostly. Some are actually sized/marked for the .38's, but they seem to stretch a bit. The guns are nearly the same anyway. The grip frame seems to be the same, uses the same grips. Holsters are rare for the .44's.
I like the guns.
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