Quote:
200 GR at almost 1000 FPS will batter a Bulldog
--Ozzieman
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I agree with this completely. Not only will hot-rodded ammo deteriorate your gun in short order, but it will also wreck your hand, wrist, and more importantly follow-up shots, unless you're quite proficient at firing stout ammo out of a very lightweight revolver. the stoutest stuff I ever plan on putting through my bulldog is the Underwood Bulldog 44 spl 200gr Gold dot load mentioned in my previous post. It is rated at 975 fps out of a S&W model 396 3.25" barrel. That likely equates to about 900 fps or so from the 2.5" Bulldog and a little more from the older 3" version. Even this I would use sparingly, but they have it listed specifically for the Charter Arms model and if used only a little to get a feel for it, I'm sure it wouldn't cause undo damage like some of the really hot 44spl loadings.
It WILL/DOES put a lot of recoil straight into your palm and wrist, but I was able to get three out of five shots touching in the 9 ring of a 5" target at about 3 yards in fast double-action, two-handed fire.
From what I've read/shot the best defense loads for this gun in no particular order are the Underwood Bulldog load (item #321 and currently out of stock), the 200gr Blazer Gold dot (a little hotter than the Speer branded load, but lighter than the Underwood), and the 200gr Winchester Silvertips. A good hunting/defense load would be the Buffalo bore 200gr wadcutter, but I would be very reluctant to put a significant number of rounds that hot through a Bulldog, no matter what BB says on the website.
Good target loads are any 200gr or under cowboy load or light handloads just for practice. As always, JMHO and YMMV