Charter Arms Bulldog

The Bulldog is a 5-shot traditional double-action revolver designed by Doug McClenahan and produced by Charter Arms. It was introduced in 1973. The Bulldog has been available for the .44 Special and .357 Magnum cartridges. It was a top-selling gun during the 1980s and it is considered to be Charter Arms' trademark weapon. It has been produced by four different companies since it was released.

History

Designed by the founder of the first version of Charter Arms, Doug McClenahan, the Bulldog was released in 1973. It was one of the best-selling weapons of the 1970s and the 1980s in the United States. Its design and execution, which were quite modern at the time, caught the attention of the gun press and combat shooters. By the mid-1980s, more than half a million units had been produced and nearly 37,000 were being manufactured every year. Bulldog production has been stopped a few times since 1992, when Charter Arms (the original manufacturer) went bankrupt.

Some time later, manufacturing began again under the Charco (descendant company of Charter Arms) trademark, but this company also filed bankruptcy; the models produced during this period showed obvious production flaws. It was produced again by Charter 2000; this company, which failed also, improved the weapon with a one-piece barrel, front sight, ejector-shroud assembly. The original model had no ejector-shroud and the aluminum front sight was soldered to the barrel.