@S.S. Steve: I had an original Charter Arms bulldog with a 3 inch barrel. (My son has it now.) It was light and handy. A great tackle box, hiking, or concealed carry gun. However, at 19 ounces, the recoil was punishing with standard .44 special loads. I actually wound up loading down a little from the standard .44 special. So, I wouldn't recommend it for a plinking or range gun. While mine had only about 300 rounds through it and was still tight, I can't help but feel that it would loosen up with a lot of shooting.
If you want a handy .44 special, there was a run of new vaquero's a while back with a 3 3/4 inch barrel called a sheriff's model. Maybe you could still find one. They would be durable and can be loaded beyond standard .44 special loads.
Or, if you're really a die hard .45 fan (and in spite of my joke above, I love the .45 caliber, too), you may want to look at some 3 3/4 inch birds head vaquero's which lipseys is listing. They are offering them in .45 colt and .45 ACP. I have a bird's head .45 ACP, and it is very handy and nice shooting. I chose the .45 ACP because the shorter ejector rod of the bird's head, will clear a .45 ACP from the chamber, while a .45 colt will only part way eject. Plus, I have tons of .45 ACP brass.
Or if you still want a double action .44 caliber, you could get a S&W 329 scandium and just shoot .44 specials or download a .44 magnum to milder levels. A lot of choices here. I think 50% of the fun of a new gun is the planning and dreaming stage.
