|
The only ".44 Bulldog" I've actually handled was a gun made by Charter Arms called, obviously, a Bulldog. The model was a 5-shot medium-framed snubnosed revolver, though it was a .44 Special, not a .44 Bulldog. It was compact, if a bit weighty, and looked like a great concealment piece (if you could conceal it, wide gun). Rossi, years later came out with a Bulldog, though it was chambered in .44 Special, still a 5-shot snubby. Since then, quite a few manufacturers have made semi-concealable big-bores, almost always in .44 Special.
As to the actual .44 Bulldog cartridge, it was, I believe, a Colt cartridge design, or at least the only guns I've ever seen it in were Colt revolvers. Vague memory says shortened .44 Special, essentially, and the era, total guess, would be the 40-50's, when Elmer Kieth and the boys were handloading the .44 Special to truly obscene pressures. The .44 Bulldog was likely made in response to the popularity of the bore, but with an eye towards concealment.
|