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Charter Arms .44 Bulldog Classic

Image provided by Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons license.
Image provided by Wikimedia Commons under the Creative Commons license.

Charter Arms announced the “new” classic .44 Bulldogs will be shipping in September 2010.  Modeled on the old-style Bulldogs, the new .44 Special revolvers will feature a 3″ tapered barrel, exposed extractor, and checkered walnut grips.  Finish will be a high-gloss blue.  The hammer will be exposed, and the cylinder will hold five of the big-bore .44 Special loads.

The image to the right is of an original .44 Bulldog.  Photos of the new revolver have not yet been released by Charter Arms.

MSRP is $521.00 and the model number will be 34431 for those interested in placing an early order.  The rep I spoke with said the new guns are in production now, so delivery should be on-time.

Update – October 2013

Charter Arms still lists the .44 Bulldog Classic as “estimated availability to be announced,” suggesting that this gun is still not ready for production.  At this point, it is three years since the original announcement on the gun was made.  In 2010, the model number was provided as 34431, but currently the Charter Arms website shows only TBD (to be determined.)  Likewise the MSRP is listed as TBD instead of the previously announced $521.

I have not be able to determine if any of the Bulldog Classic revolvers made it into production during the past three years.  It would seem unlikely.

I like Charter Arms as a company, and I’ve shot a number of their revolvers.  For example, the Off Duty is a great concealed carry handgun that matches the Smith & Wesson 642.  However, the extreme delay on the production of this gun is not unlike the multi-year delay on the roll out of the Pitbull revolvers (aka “Charter Arms Rimless Revolver”).

I just hope this gun eventually makes it into production.  I don’t know if the .44 Bulldog Classic will sell a lot or not, but I know there are plenty of fans of the classic styling to sell out the first run of these guns.

By Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson is a gun writer, amateur historian and - most importantly - a dad. He's done a lot of silly things in his life, but quitting police work to follow his passion of writing about guns was one of the smartest things he ever did. He founded this site and continues to manage its operation.

One reply on “Charter Arms .44 Bulldog Classic”

I just received a CA 44 Bulldog Classic. Only gripe I have is that it says Walnut grips on box and their website but the grips are rubber. I called CA and was told they are all come with rubber grips. No wooden ones. So being a purist I have to locate a set!

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