Bud's prices and shipping were both excellent, this revolver…not so much. This is a very objective review based on my sample of one. I am not biased one way or the other about Charter Arms. I made this purchase knowing full well what I could probably expect, so this is not me whining about what I got. Overall fit and finish: A little on the rough side in general. The stainless is not polished or even smooth to the touch. It feels as though it has a bead blasted surface finish. There are some tooling marks around the rear sight trough and on the frame where the barrel is screwed in. In fact the marks on the frame are more like gouges that are quite prominent on both sides where the top strap blends into the frame. They don't look like machine tooling gouges, they look like thin abrasive wheel marks. There is a small casting line just behind the front sight about 3/32” long. There is a very prominent casting line all the way down the back of the hammer and grinding marks all along the outside of the trigger guard. The inside of the trigger guard sits flush with the frame on one side but not the other. The front of the frame where the crane attachment screw is located has very poorly shaped edges that are very asymmetrical. The barrel: the barrel was screwed into the frame a little too far, causing the front sight to be canted to the left. The forcing cone on the barrel is extremely thin, less than 1/16” and not a uniform thickness all the way around. The barrel is not the company advertised 2.5” but is in fact 2.4”. The cylinder gap is .007”-.008” and is not consistent from chamber to chamber. The “BULLDOG” logo on the barrel is very large and mostly black. Some will like it, some won't. The cylinder: the star extractor is too thick and does not sit flush with the back of the cylinder. The two star locating pins and holes are very very small and frequently the extractor star will not return properly and has to be jiggled a little before the gun can be reloaded. There is quite a lot of play in the cylinder crane when the cylinder is opened. There is about twice as much vertical play as there is side to side play. Opinions: both single and double action trigger pulls are very heavy, but at least the double action is smooth. The grip is a very hard rubber with not much recoil absorption at all. I am waiting for a Hogue over moulded grip to arrive. It is a great size for concealed carry with .45 Colt power in each chamber. The factory literature says this gun is p rated, but I HIGHLY stress not to use ANY p .45 Colt ammo currently on the market. Standard .45 Colt is limited to 14,000 psi, which this gun should handle just fine. In fact the .45 auto is rated up to 21,000 psi, and that model with this same frame size will shoot it just fine. So this .45 Colt version is capable of somewhat warmer loads than standard .45 Colt. But there are several .45 Colt p loads out there that are in .44 magnum power range, and would probably severely damage this gun. If you want to hand load for this caliber, please use caution and common sense. Don't try to push this revolver beyond its limits of safety. Final thoughts: Do I like this gun? Yes. Knowing what I know now, would I still buy it? Yes. I bought it for a specific reason. I wanted a edc revolver that was powerful, small, and I wouldn't be upset if it got a few dents, dings, and wear. On an everyday use gun for range practice and carry, scratches and accidents are bound to happen. Basically this is the Hi Point of the revolver world. As long as you know that going in you probably won't be too disappointed. Remember, this review is based on a sample of one, so YMMV.

I currently don't have possession of this firearm despite having purchased it brand new. It arrived with such horrible timing that the cylinder doesn't even rotate when you squeeze the trigger, it just binds up. Anyone looking to buy this firearm should know 100 percent of people that have bought it aren't happy because they do not receive a functional weapon.

Buds, as usual, AWESOME!!! I was disappointed with the fit and finish however. The barrel, frame and cylinder are all different shades of stainless. As if someone built it out of a parts bin. I planned on modifying and refinishing it anyway, so it's all good. This BEAST shoots great. Sights are right on. It disappears into my love handle IWB and yesterday, I had to make sure it was still there. So, easily a great ccw. It is accurate AF. I did not expect that. Also, Charter has been real good at replying to my questions and yes, for under $200 they will fit a pitbull 45 acp cylinder to it. So...BONUS!!! I am very happy with my LITLLE BIG IRON. Next up is the 32H&R for the wife. Good times.

Light weight fits nicely in hand and doesn’t kick near as much as expected very happy

Amazing big bore revolver great price

Fast shipping and exactly as described. I look forward to doing business with Buds again.

If you are looking for a short barreled, rugged 5 round 45LC revolver, this will do it. Looong da trigger pull with a speed bump in the middle of it. Cylinder latch requires effort. Was consistently able to put 5 rounds in a 4 to 5” group @ 30’ as fast as I could pull the trigger. 3 stars vs Colt, Smith or Ruger. Fills a niche though and earns 4 stars for it’s price point.

Delivery right on time to my FFL goes bang every time the trigger is pulled and now I have both bulldogs 44 & 45lc

So far it has functioned great and I enjoy shooting it. Feels very comfortable and light.

I carry this in a crossdraw holster with great confidence.. It is smooth operating, the trigger is good, and it is not overly heavy when loaded.

I wanted S&W to make a gun like this but they don't. So I bought this when I had the chance. It shoots very good in single action but double action not very good very heavy pull in double action.

This was my first revolver purchase. Lighter 45 lc loads are great but beware of anything in the +p realm as it could be and was painful. It conceals much better in a front pocket than I had thought it would. The action is pretty stiff initially but smooths out after you work it a good bit. No problems with the gun while I had it, just not a revolver fan; not the guns' fault. Buds is always awesome!

Buds handled the transaction with efficiency. The gun itself was a bit more trouble. This Bulldog arrived with a timing issue. Unless the trigger was pulled back hard and fast, the cylinder would not rotate far enough to lock into place. After that malfuction, the successive pulls of the trigger would do nothing. The cylinder was dead. Charter Arms was fast to respond to my request for repairs. Their customer service mailed a return box to me. The gun is presently in their possession. We'll see if they can diagnose and fix the problem. I'm a bit disappointed they let the gun leave their factory like that. This weapon was purchased new and has not been fired. It should have been in working condition when i received it.

Beautiful and unique revolver. There's nothing else like it chambered in 45 Colt in the current market. I added a set of Pachmayr compact grips on it and the recoil with factory rounds is very manageable. The factory grips are a bit thin in my opinion. I've put a couple hundred shots through it and anything that felt a bit rough has smoothed out wonderfully. Highly recommend this snubby.

I've finally been able to put some time on this revolver about 250 rounds. Unless I got a specifically ugly gun the guys saying the finish is good must be blind or have no idea of what a good finish is. Mine had multiple casting marks and the rest of the finish is basically what was left after the machining. I'm not bothered by it but I think it is a bit dishonest to lay it out otherwise. Everything else on the gun is rough from edges to trigger to sights. Measurements: .453 cylinder throats, .016 cylinder gap, .451 bore, about a .75 degree cylinder rotation (on par with my rugers) and maybe .002 front to back. Personally I wish the cylinder throats were smaller but they don't seem to matter too much with the longer bullets and SAAMI likes to be difficult with the 45 LC. The trigger which starts out very rough smooths up but suffers from an extremely overpowered hammer spring. So much so it will cause the gun to pull off target upon a double action trigger break. Single action was a totally different experience even from the beginning without creep and a 2-3 lb break. Longevity seems fine, only time will tell. But it feels like no one went one step over what was minimally required for this gun. Overall I would take 1 star for lack of attention to detail/ sloppy casting and parts and 1 star for the trigger.
All that said the gun is exceptionally light 26 oz fully loaded and quite small with a width of 1.6 in at the cylinder and recoil is really quite mild. You can also fix the nasty trigger by replacing the spring with a lighter one. Also Charter Arms deserves some credit for making a DA 45 LC in the sub 2.5 lb range which no one else seemed to want my money for so I would give them .75 of a star back for that. I feel like Charter could up the quality and maybe offer a switchable 45 ACP cylinder to make it a mainstay. I would pay for more attention to detail. Overall I would give this a 3.75/5

Received my .45 Colt Bulldog in a quick manner and it arrived in excellent condition.
Fit finish and function of this Bulldog was excellent and even the Cylinder chamber throats were tighter in size than I had read at .453
Fired my factory and hand load ammo with no issues and a great little carry pistol with a nice .45 Colt punch.
Yes it has some recoil but firing it one handed was no issue. The smallest DA .45 Colt revolver on the market!

This is the compact 45 I been looking for!
I own a popular derringer in 45 and empty
the Bulldog XL is about the same weight.
Loaded it a few ounces more but I gain over
twice the capacity for those ounces. The biggest
improvement is the controllablity. With a full length
grip the recoil is better mitigated than with the 3 finger
derringer resulting all shots in my the black at 10 yards.
Note I installed the rosewood “backpacker” grips from
Charter.Thatmay not seem impressive but seeing
I counted it a success if I put two in the black of a
full size silhouette yeah Ivery pleased, especially
when the Bulldog XL shoots same 255gr as my
Blackhawk at point of aim.
Summary. Better balance, a few ounces heavier with
over twice the capacity and still a pocket gun, yeah
It’s highly recommended!

I am very pleased with this purchase! It is everything I had hoped for and more! Easy to carry, manageable recoil and accurate! Service from Bud's was fast and efficient! Will shop here again!

With Taurus discontinuing the 450 a few years back, it left a bit of a gap in the market. Thankfully Charter has stepped up to the plate filled that position. It is built on their Pitbull 45 acp frame which is slightly larger than the standard Bulldog 44 spl. Trigger pull is excellent in single action. Very light, crisp, with almost no overtravel. Double action is a bit gritty and could use a good internal polishing and a spring kit but is still very usable for a defensive revolver and seems to be getting better with use. I tested a variety of ammo in it. Hornady Critical Defense 185 gr clocked about 830-850 fps in it. Expansion in gel was so so but it's still making a big hole to begin with. Recoil was fairly mild and wasn't much worse than shooting a lightweight 38 spl with stout loads. I also tested Buffalo Bore's 225 gr wadcutters. Holy s*** those are stout! Recoil felt every bit as bad or a tad worse than an airweight 357. They clocked in the upper 800fps range Blast however with this low pressure round was considerably less than a snub nose magnum, as was the muzzle flash. Extraction is also very easy as cases practically fall out on their own. Accuracy is very good as well. I'm consistently able to hit my 12x18 steel silhouette from 50 yards offhand and I'm no expert pistoleer. For those of you looking for a big bore snubby but not wanting to pack around a ruger alaskan, look no further.

Many years ago Taurus stopped producing their Model 450, a DA short barreled .45 Colt and CA has picked up where that revolver left off with this new Bulldog .45 Colt. I have been anxiously awaiting it's release after hearing about it in December of 2017. Well I'm not disappointed in any way. The trigger in both DA and SA is excellent as is the lock up and the sights. The edges are a bit sharp on the trigger guard, but that was expected as it is the same on their Bulldog .44 special. As this is a SS revolver the sharp edges are easily dealt with and doesn't affect the finish in the least. I've tried three different .45 Colt loads in the gun and all shoot to the point of aim. I'm no pistolero, but in rapid fire DA I can easily keep all shots on target at 7 yards. In slow fire it is capable of very good accuracy. The rubber grips that come with the revolver prevent one spent case from ejecting, so I put a nice set of wood grips from Altamont on the gun and now all the cases eject with ease. Overall I'm very happy CA decided to build a .45 Colt and very pleased to have it.

I avoided charter arms for many years and I listened to the critics who said they were poor quality without having any experience with them. It is not as well finished as a S&W, ruger, or colt, it has tooling marks and nicks and it is kind of ugly, but I bought it to use so I accept it for what it is. Surprisingly, it has a good trigger in both single and double action, the sights are simple and rugged, and the factory grip is actually comfortable. I shot winchester's 255gr lrn, it shot well enough that no further experiments will ne necessary. I primarily bought this to stick in my pocket when im walking the dog or cutting wood, for these purposes it serves well. It is not a S&W or a Ruger, but for a four hundred dollar revolver, I like it very much. Thank you to buds gun shop for fast, reliable service.