Charter Arms: medicine cabinet guns

American Handgunner, Nov-Dec, 2006 by John Taffin

This Dog Shoots

The sights are the same easy to see square rear notch, however the front sight is now a ramp style rather than the post of the originals. The major difference is found in the shooting. This Bulldog Pug not only shoots closer to point of aim than the other two, it also has proven to be not just more accurate, but also quite accurate in its own right. The double action trigger pull feels quite smooth and not overly-heavy, while the single action pull is right at four pounds. Check out the chart for shooting results.

I certainly cannot find any reason not to be happy with a 19 ounce, smallish big bore revolver capable of shooting as well as this one does. The .44 Special Bulldog Pug performed perfectly while shooting. One minor problem surfaced which has almost taken care of itself with use. The ejector rod hesitated to enter the collar in front of the cylinder at first, however with use the sharp edges have been smoothed out. Other companies have offered five-shot .44 Specials over the past several years, however Charter Arms was the first and still offers one of the best. I can't even begin to imagine keeping house without one, or three, of them. If it makes any difference none of the Bulldogs has internal locks nor warning labels.

Deep Pocket .38

A second test gun from Charter Arms is the appropriately named "Off Duty." This 2", five-shot, DAO .38 Special weighs only 12 ounces with its aluminum frame and Boot Grip-style rubber stocks. The ejector rod is also enclosed on this little pocket pistol and the sights are the same easy to see square style as found on all Charter Arms revolvers. In spite of its 12 pound plus trigger pull it also turned out to be a very accurate shooting little revolver. At the beginning of the testing one round out of each five would not fire, or more correctly the trigger would not release the hammer to allow it to fall. After rapidly cycling the action dry fire about 50 times the rough spot smoothed out and there were no further problems. Anyone looking for a lightweight, pocket .38 Special should find this little Charter Off Duty should fill in quite well. I'd like to see a bit more action testing though before the guns leave the factory to catch these kinds of things.

No Dogs Here

Two final test guns from Charter Arms are basically the same revolver in two different chamberings. The Pathfinder is the miniaturized version of the Bulldog Pug with the same sights, grips, and enclosed ejector rod and available in either .22 Long Rifle or .22 Winchester Rimfire Magnum. Barrel length is 2" and like the Pug they are all stainless steel and weigh 19 ounces. Trigger pulls are 4 3/8, pounds for the Magnum version and 4 3/4 pounds for the standard .22 Rimfire.

Both .22s shot about 6" low for me so would require removal of metal from the top of the front sights to bring the point of impact up. I normally shoot most sixguns lower than other shooters so they both may be right on, or close to it, in someone else's hands. Both .22 Pathfinders performed perfectly with no malfunctions whatsoever.