A Bull Dog Followed Me Home (Well Kinda Did)

m&p45acp10+1

New member
I stumbled into too good of a deal to walk away from on it at least.

I was at the range shooting, and a guy was shooting a S&W snub in .38 Spcl. I was talking to him, and he let it slip he had years ago bought a .44 Spcl. on a whim. Once he found out the price of ammo for it when buying a couple of boxes he shot those up, and it went into his closet. He said he oiled it monthly. He had just bought the Smith, and was thinking about selling the .44 Special to recover some of the cash he had dropped on the new gun.

He took the .44 Special out of his bag in the hard shell factory box. I saw Charter Arms on the box. He opened the box, and all of the factory paper work, and fired case were inside. The catalog was for 2009, and he said he bought it in early 2010 on sale. I checked it out. It was clean, and showed that it had not been fired much. Thus confirming his story that he shot two boxes of ammo, then put it up.

I asked what he wanted for it. His price was $200 cash on the table, and proof of state residence. I had extra cash from my sick time sell off in my pocket. I dropped the cash, and showed him my CCW. A hand shake, and his words. "Good luck finding ammo. I have checked every shop within 40 miles. No one has any on the shelf. Cabella's has Winchester Cowboy loads for $45 for 50."

Needless to say I did have to drive to Cabella's the next week. His story about none of the local stores having any panned out. I called 20 shops looking. One had a single box of Speer Gold Dots for $38 for a box of 20. I passed up on that.

I picked up two boxes of the Winchester Cowboy, and one 20 count box of Hornady Critical Defense. I bought a bullet mold and am casting up the first batch for it now.

 

m&p45acp10+1

New member
Did I mention that there is not even a drag line on the cylinder yet.:eek:

Note I said yet. I plan on shooting the snot out of it. As soon as I can find a decent pocket holster for it I am going to start carrying it.:cool:
 

Nick_C_S

New member
Nice gun. The Bulldog is one of those on my list; but never quite makes it to the top. Years ago, my range stall neighbor had one and let me shoot a couple cylinder's worth through it. I liked it.

You mention ammo being hard to get. . . Don't you load?

Few cartridges beg to be handloaded more than 44 Special. They are among the most fun and easy to load; and the savings is huge. Probably in the upper 25% of cost savings, compared to other calibers (some realize more savings than others).
 

old bear

New member
M&P45, good catch at a great price. Charter arms revolvers are like Taurus revolvers. If you get a good one you have a very serviceable handgun. You may want to check out Underwood ammo for your .44 special needs.
 

lee n. field

New member
Did I mention that there is not even a drag line on the cylinder yet.

What good is that?

I asked what he wanted for it. His price was $200 cash on the table,

Is there a jaw drop emoticon? How come I don't get that lucky.

Charter arms revolvers are like Taurus revolvers. If you get a good one you have a very serviceable handgun.

Charter's service support is very good.
 

m&p45acp10+1

New member
I do reload. In fact I cast my own bullets as well. The problem is that no has brass that I could find. I bought two boxes of ammo just for the brass. I shot both today. I cast up a nice pile of 240 grain SWC before I went to the range.

The Winchester cowboy action stuff shot like crap out of the little gun. Way too far to the right. Elevation was right on the money. I though it was maybe me, and being cold wearing gloves. Two other people that are very good shooters fired it. Same thing with them. Once I figured it out with good ol' Kentucky windage I was keeping the shots inside the 8 ring at 15 yards while freezing my tail off. Groups were very tight.

I think once I get a load worked up this will be a very serviceable gun.
 

markallen

New member
Trim .44 Mag cases to .44 special length...........easy peasy brass supply.
Just keep the brass seperate. Don't want to load mag charges in special brass and put it accidently in the Bulldog.
 

m&p45acp10+1

New member
I fired the 100 rounds I bought. I now have 100 cases. For all general purposes that should hold me over till I find brass. Once the mule snot on my cast bullets dries I will set up the dies in the turret press for a loading session. Good thing is I still have some powder. I have Red Dot, Win 231, and Trail Boss. So at least I am good on that. Good thing is I also still have primers as well. Local gun store has plenty of primers. The thing is pistol powders just do not stay on the shelf for long.

 

Duster340

New member
Congrats on your new purchase m&p45acp10+1. I too have a Bulldog Pug and after nearly 1,000 rounds I absolutely love it. Carries like a dream in a IWB holster or coat pocket and has become my primary CCW.

The best part is feeding it! :D I have had very nice results with Red Dot, Unique (of course!), Blue Dot, Bullseye and 800X. Most of the loads were created around 200 to 255 grain cast RFN, WC and SWC bullets. Currently in the process experimenting with some very light WC and RN cast bullets ranging from 116-172 grains. Hopefully to allow more enjoyment for my daughters and I from each pound of lead and powder. Trying to assemble some cream puff loads for plinking and the occasional rabbit or squirrel we may encounter when bumming around our property.




I am so pleased with the little Bulldog that I am considering getting a Pit Bull in 40 S&W to accompany my M&P40.

Be well all!
 
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tallball

New member
The OP inspired me. I used "buy it now" on GB yesterday and paid $300 for a stainless Bulldog with the shrouded hammer. I am very much looking forward to shooting it.
 

Ozzieman

New member
What good is that?

No cylinder ring just proves the original owners story about not being shot much.
One other powder that works well in 44 special is Herco.
I don't make my own bullets but I shoot a lot of Penn lead. My dog likes the 200 Gr.
I hope you sleep at night because you stole that dog.:D
 

m&p45acp10+1

New member
Lee I got the joke as soon as I saw it. Also note I had that there was not a turn ring yet. Well there is one starting to faintly show after I put 100 rounds though it on Saturday.

The guy that sold it to me bought it on sale for what he said was $200 and change. He wanted to give someone a good deal, and put money in his pocket fast. He did both.

I have one dislike so far that I will be working to fix. Rims of the the empties catch on the grip when ejecting. I am looking into either an aftermarket replacement, or a factory replacement I can trim down. I am not going to cut up the factory grip. So for now I will just live with it. If I carry it in the future I am not worried about a reload. I have a G26 with 11 rounds on tap for that.
 

lee n. field

New member
Empties clear the Pachmayr Compac grips I put on mine. They work well and look good. YMMV -- these were "new, pretty old stock" off ebay (the packaging listed Star PD as something else Pachmayr made grips for).
 
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