Three 5-shot groups were fired with each test cartridge, all in SA from the bench while using a sandbag rest. I also used a generous-sized target to help compensate for my 60-year-old eyeballs. I set up my target stand at 15 yards, given the sighting arrangements and short barrel of the Pitbull.
Not surprisingly, the highest reading went to the Pow’RBall +P load at 1,053 fps. On range day, I first set up my Oehler Model 35P chronograph to see what kind of velocities I’d get from the 2.5-inch barrel and.
Smith and wesson vs charter arms revolvers free#
The flexible material held the cartridge rims firmly yet allowed the cartridges to pull free during the loading sequence. For faster reloading than just using loose cartridges, I found the 44-45 size QuickStrip from Tuff Products worked just fine with the. This high-ride, open-top rig had just enough “give” to allow use with the slightly larger Pitbull. 38 Special Revolverįor leather, I turned to a tried-and-true Alessi belt-slide holster I use for my Charter Bulldog. For an even lighter bullet, I elected to try the Glaser 165-grain Pow’RBall +P that has a hollow-cavity bullet with a polymer cap on the nose. Dropping down to 200 grains, I used the new Sig Sauer 200-grain Elite Performance JHP load. 45 ACP for my Pitbull shooting evaluation, so for the standard 230-grain bullet load I selected Federal Premium cartridges with the 230-grain Hydra-Shok JHP. I wanted to cover the spectrum of bullet weights available in. Running The Big Dog The Pitbull created a 1.38-inch group with Sig’s 200-grain JHPs. Consequently, cartridges have to be pushed into the chambers as the plungers prevent them from just dropping in. Dyed-in-the-wool revolver shooters take note-unfired rounds will not just fall from the chambers on the Pitbull when you pop out the cylinder since they are held in place by the plungers. I noted the ejector rod throw on the Pitbull was 0.63 inches, which lifts about two-thirds of the. Sans the thicker extractor star, which would allow a slightly longer cylinder, a. 44 cylinder was 1.45 inches in diameter, while the. My dial calipers indicated the frame from just forward of the trigger to the upper surface of the topstrap was 2.08 inches on the Bulldog but measured 2.25 inches on the. 44, I could tell the Pitbull was a bit larger. 45 ACP Pitbull alongside my Charter Arms Bulldog. The ejector rod throw is about 0.63 inches.Įyeballing the. The SA trigger pull was crisp at about 5.5 pounds and the DA pull was over 12 pounds (I’d guesstimate at least 14 to 15 pounds) but fairly smooth. The grips are checkered neoprene that feature finger grooves and the Charter Arms logo they cover the backstrap to help absorb recoil. RELATED STORY: 6 Charter Arms Snub-Nose RevolversĪs a concealed-carry handgun, it’s fitted with a serrated ramp front sight and a fixed notch rear sight. It has a 2.5-inch barrel equipped with a rib on the top and an ejector rod shroud on the bottom. It’s a five-shooter, with a traditional double-action/single action (DA/SA) trigger, an exposed hammer, and the Beryllium copper firing pin is fitted in the frame. 45 ACP wheelgun is fashioned from 416 stainless steel, except for the grip-frame/triggerguard unit, which is anodized aluminum alloy.
Like the previous Pitbull models, this new. The round headspaces on the front of the cartridge case and, when the revolver is empty, the cylinder is swung out and the ejector rod pressed vigorously to extract the spent cases. When a cartridge is loaded into the chamber, the plunger is depressed and then pops back out to engage the extractor cut in the cartridge case. When Charter Arms introduced the Pitbull line, it didn’t use moon clips at all, but instead the ejector star/ratchet at the rear of the cylinder was made thick enough to contain small, spring-loaded plungers. Called the Model 1917, both revolvers required thin, steel, C-shaped “half-moon” clips that affixed to three cartridges and allowed them to be simultaneously ejected from the revolvers. 45 ACP service cartridge due to the shortage of Model 1911 pistols for U.S. 45 ACP date back to World War I when Colt and Smith & Wesson produced their large-frame service revolvers in the. Close on its heels was a 9mm version and then, late last year, Charter Arms brought forth the Pitbull revolver in. A couple of years after that, the Pitbull was introduced on the same frame but in the rimless. About five years ago the Bulldog frame was used in a six-shot. This five-shooter emulated the old British Bulldog: a small revolver firing a big cartridge that became popular in the mid-19th century. The company started in 1973 with the introduction of the Bulldog in. In my estimation, Charter Arms is the leading producer of small, lightweight, big-bore revolvers.