Charter Arms: medicine cabinet guns

American Handgunner, Nov-Dec, 2006 by John Taffin

It's not often any company in general, and a firearms company in particular, can survive by producing dogs. However, Charter Arms has been producing a dog for four decades now; it is the .44 Special Bulldog and it's definitely no dog. Dogs have been very important to my family, including K'Lev, a huge German shepherd/Labrador crossbreed who would have died protecting our kids when they were small. In recent memory, my two wonderful malamutes, Red and Wolf, spent most of their life protecting my wife, Diamond Dot. I took care of them, fed them, greeted them every morning, spent most days with them and I put them out every night; how ever their number one duty was watching out for her. Perhaps, that's the way it should have been.

Got Dogs?

Two other dogs, Charter Arms Bulldogs that is, have also been tremendously important to this family. Three times in my life I have needed a firearm, I mean REALLY needed a firearm. Once, when I was a teenager, it was the sudden appearance of a 7 1/2" .45 Colt that protected me from a whole lot of trouble. A Charter Arms .44 Special Bulldog was involved the other two times and in both cases my family was present and in possible danger, had that .44 Special Bulldog not been in my hand.

Over the past 40 years I've carried a Bulldog in my boot top, in my pocket, and somewhere in a vehicle when traveling. It's one of my most-used firearms, although it's very seldom fired and hardly ever brought out to show someone as an example of a great .44 Special. It's not a Single Action Army, it's not a Triple-Lock and it's not a New Service. But it is a true classic defensive handgun and there are now three of them loaded and within reach in the house.

Your Medicine Cabinet

One of those, a stainless steel version, rests in the main bathroom medicine cabinet; another stainless steel Bulldog .44 is in the bathroom off my reloading room. Now before you laugh, and especially if you believe in having a house gun, where do you keep yours? One house gun can be pretty worthless if it's in one spot and I'm in the other when it's needed. Most folks keep the token house gun beside the bed. That works fine for about eight hours a day but what about the rest of the time? Can you think of any place one can be more vulnerable in the house if trouble begins than the bathroom?

My wife, Diamond Dot, used to do quite a bit of fishing, both fly and otherwise, and always seemed to fall in at least once every trip. It didn't take me long to realize the gun of choice in her vest should be a stainless Bulldog. Have you ever tried to clean a blued gun that has been dunked in a vest pocket, which also contained a roll of Tums? They really do disintegrate nicely and enter every possible opening.

Bad Move

Charter Arms has had its ups and downs over the years and managed to survive one of the worst public relations disasters of all times and I'm surprised the anti-gunners did not pick up on it. About 20 years ago either someone at Charter Arms or some advertising airhead convinced those at Charter Arms to produce a matched pair of five-shot revolvers, one in .32 and the other in .38 chamberings, and they were known as the Bonnie & Clyde--two firearms actually named after two bloodthirsty killers! This would be like someone today offering an AR-15 called the Beltway Sniper. It was simply total irresponsibility and stupidity. But most importantly, Charter Arms survived strongly. Perhaps we were more tolerant of such things then? After all, it was just a name.

The Beginning

The first revolver from Charter was known as the Undercover. Introduced in 1965, it was a five-shot DA .38 Special revolver fitted with standard sized walnut grips. Selling for somewhere around $150 it was an alternative to the high-priced spread, an oleomargarine to Smith & Wesson's J-frame butter.

Although it was a low-priced alternative it soon gained a reputation for dependability and was soon seen, or rather not seen, in pants pockets, dresser drawers, under car seats and in fishing tackle boxes. As diminutive as the .38 Special may seem in these days of .500 Magnums, everyone did not even need a revolver as powerful nor as expensive to shoot as the .38 Special and the basic Charter Arms revolver was soon offered in .22 Long Rifle. A small frame, six-shot .22 double action revolver is a most popular choice for hikers, campers and fishermen. Charter Arms was happy to fill this need.

Good & Bad News

The year 1966 was definitely a good news, bad news proposition. The good news is the fact I moved my family to God's Country, Idaho: the bad news that year was the dropping of the .44 Special by Smith & Wesson, with their Model 24 being deep-sixed while at the same time Colt blew taps over the .44 Special Single Action Army. Prices for used .44 Specials from the 1950s and 1960s climbed steadily and continues to do so to this day. Charter Arms came to the rescue of .44 Special sixgunners with the introduction of the Bulldog. Unlike any other .44 Special ever offered, the Bulldog was a five-shot, DA revolver not much larger than the .38 Special Undercover.