I just read an article about the best survival lighter to have. Here's the link if you want to read it, although in my opinion it falls more into the category of "thought provoking" than "good article". That doesn't necessarily mean it's not a good article, just that their definition and criteria of what makes a good survival fire starter is different from mine. But the article does make some good points, hence this post.
First of all, I agree with their assessment of disposables, specifically that there are two types: Bics and cheap pieces of junk that are not worth fooling with. OK, there may be some wonderful quality non-Bic disposables out there, but if so, I have never run across them. I don't smoke anymore, but I did for decades, and I found Bics to always work. Most of the time I used them as my front-line lighter, but even when I was carrying a non-disposable lighter, I learned that it was a good idea to also carry some kind of backup in case the non-disposable lighter ran out of fuel or otherwise didn't function when called upon. Sometimes the backup was matches, other times, a Bic. The point is, I have always found Bics to be reliable and completely acceptable. In fact, I still carry a Bic in my pocket every day, even though I have been a non-smoker for about ten years.
Don't misconstrue that statement, by the way; I have used Cricket and other disposable lighters on occasion, and mostly without problems. But I consider Bics to be the most generally favorable of the disposables, so that is what I buy, and always in bulk packs.
The second lighter the article covered is the Zippo. I agree with their comments, except I would add other liquid-fuel lighters of the same basic design, because although I have several Zippos, I have seen and used other brands of the same design that were equally acceptable, including a no-name brand that was an exact copy (although who knows, it may have been actually made by Zippo) and an old Zenith I have that is higher quality than my Zippos.
The problem with liquid-fuel lighters in general is that they tend to run out of fuel without warning, and the vapor they emit makes my clothes smell and irritates my skin, if carried in a pants pocket.
The last lighter the article covered, and the one they chose as most desirable, was a "storm-proof" refillable butane lighter. I disagree, and I lump all refillable butane lighters into the category of lighters I don't consider to be worthy of consideration as a survival fire starter, unless of course one is already in the situation and the refillable butane lighter is what you have.
I have a few refillable butane lighters, and have found them to be fine for the purpose of lighting smoking materials. The peizo ignition some of them have, including my favorite of the lighters of this type that I own, is very nice to have, and reliable. But...
Here, I am going to get away from the referenced article and discuss my personal take on the subject matter. The linked article was written from a standpoint of wilderness emergency survival, and while the conclusions drawn therein are reasonable for that purpose, I am more interested in having a reliable firestarter I can use on a day-to-day basis, both now and in the event of wilderness emergency, societal breakdown, or whatever.
To me, a peizo-ignited, refillable butane lighter is comparable to a Glock for self-defense. The Glock works great for daily carry for anti-personnel defensive use, should one be attacked. But it works best when used with factory-produced, modern hollowpoint ammunition. I have heard a recurring theme of Glocks blowing up when used with reloads (especially in .40 S&W chambering) because of the factory feed ramp which leaves a semi-large portion of the case unsupported, and since the brass cases become weaker with successive reloadings, the case sometimes blows out at that point.
On the other hand, consider the single action revolver in .45 Long Colt. Slow to reload, sure; but it is extremely reliable to the point of being able to function even with most of its parts missing. Basically, if it has a frame, cylinder, basepin, hammer and hammer spring, it can be fired. And even if things get to the point that you have to recover your bullets and cast or even forge them back into useability, loading them over gunpowder of your own composition and even homebrew primers, it will still work. After all, the design was originally intended for use with black powder, plain lead bullets, and the first generation of primers.
Think about the Zippo and other liquid-fueled lighters. Flint and steel, with a built-in "tinderbox" which is made easier to use by the addition of a volatile liquid fuel. The store-bought versions of that fuel are simply naphtha, but I have found that plain old automotive gasoline works fine, and camp stove fuel (aka Coleman fuel) works so well that I gave up on buying "lighter fuel" and started using camp stove fuel almost exclusively. It also works with alcohol, which I know for a fact because I just tried it moments ago (and you never even noticed I was gone, kinda' like time travel!) with 91% isopropyl alcohol in my old Zenith, and it worked wonderfully. So in an immediate post apocalyptic world you could keep that old Zippo functioning with automotive gasoline (while using your stash of Red Dot in your .45 single action), and long after TEOTWAWKI you could still be using the Zippo with homebrew alcohol (and the single action revolver with homebrew black powder).
Charter Arms Bulldog
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Charter Arms Bulldog | |
|---|---|
 Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special | |
| Type | Revolver |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Doug McClenahan |
| Designed | 1970s |
| Manufacturer | Charter Arms |
| Number built | More than 500,000 |
| Variants | 13520, 14420, 73520, 74420 and 74421 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 0.62 kg and 0.57 kg |
| Length | 171 mm and 184 mm |
| Barrel length | 56 mm and 64 mm |
| | |
| Cartridge | .44 Special and .357 Magnum |
| Caliber | .44 and .357 |
| Action | Double action |
| Rate of fire | Single |
| Muzzle velocity | Usually between 215 and 305 m/s; can reach 335 m/s with some kinds of bullets. |
| Feed system | 5 rounds cylinder |
The Bulldog is a 5 shot double action revolver designed by Doug McClenahan and produced by Charter Arms. It was introduced in 1973. The Bulldog has been available for the .44 Special and .357 Magnum cartridges with a length of 184 mm and 171 mm and barrel lengths of either 64 mm or 56 mm. It was a top-selling gun during the 1980s and it is considered as Charter Arms' trademark weapon.[1] It has been produced by four different companies since it was released.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
Designed by the founder of the first version of Charter Arms (now defunct),[2] Doug McClenahan,[3] the Bulldog was released in 1973. It was one of the best-selling weapons of the 1970s and the 1980s in the United States.[4] Its design and execution, which were quite modern at the time, caught the attention of the gun press and combat shooters.[5] By the mid-1980s, more than half a million units had been produced and nearly 37,000 were being manufactured every year.[4] Bulldog production has been stopped a few times since 1992, when Charter Arms (the original manufacturer) went bankrupt.
Some time later, manufacturing began again under the Charco (descendant company of Charter Arms) trademark, but this company also filed bankruptcy; the models produced during this period showed obvious production flaws.[6] It was produced again by Charter 2000; this company, which failed also, improved the weapon with a one-piece barrel, front sight, ejector-shroud assembly.[2] The original model had no ejector-shroud and the aluminium front sight was soldered to the barrel.
In June 2007, a version of the Bulldog with new features[3] began to be produced by another company named Charter Arms,[7] but this time was distributed by MKS Supply.[8]
The Bulldog was used by the infamous serial killer David Berkowitz aka "Son of Sam" who was responsible for a brutal series of attacks and murders in New York City during 1976-1977.[9]
[edit] Description
Like most Charter Arms weapons, the Bulldog is a relatively inexpensive yet serviceable, no-frills,[2] snubnosed revolver[7]. It can be concealed easily because of its small size,[7] and has no sharp edges to contend with when carrying the weapon in a holster or a pocket.[3] The Bulldog is a solid framed double action revolver with a five-round cylinder which can be opened by pushing a release slide on the left of the gun, or in the original model by pulling the ejector rod. It features a concave sight.[4] Its triggerpull, in both single and double-action modes, is quite light.[2] If a large quantity of residue piles up inside the revolver because of heavy usage, cylinder cranes axel screw can be removed and the cylinder pulled out from the gun for cleaning.[3] Most critics believe the best way to employ the Bulldog is self-defense.[3][6]
[edit] Performance
The accuracy of the Bulldog is aided by its trigger pull. According to reviews, it is more accurate than expected for a revolver of its size and type[2] but probably not enough to be called an "accurate" weapon.[3][6]
When the gun is fired, the hammer does not actually strike the firing pin. Under normal firing circumstances a small steel bar (called a transfer bar) is raised when the hammer is cocked, placing it into a position between the firing pin and the hammer itself. The falling hammer strikes the transfer bar, which in turn strikes the firing pin, discharging the weapon.[3]
[edit] Ammunition
The Bulldog is apparently intended for light, fast bullets, as with heavier and slower bullets it is less accurate.[2] With most ammunition types the muzzle velocity tends to be between 215 and 305 meters per second.[10][7] For self-defense the Blazer 200-grain (13 g) Gold Dot is, apparently, the load of choice for the Bulldog. With this load, the muzzle velocity can exceed 335 meters per second.[10] If the the Bulldog is used to hunt, the most effective ammo is, reportedly, the 240- or 250-grain (16 g) SWC. With this bullet type, the shot is very powerful and has a strong penetration but the recoil can easily be handled. Other ammo types are weaker or provide too much recoil.[10]
[edit] Models
Five models of the Bulldog have been produced, allowing customers to choose between: .44 Special and .357 Magnum cartridges, gun lengths of 184 mm and 171 mm and barrel lengths of either 64 mm or 56 mm.[11][12] All Bulldog models have a cylinder of 5 shots.[4] Currently, Charter Arms only offers its 14420, 74420 and 74421 versions.[12] Charter's Police Undercover could also be considered as a Bulldog variant because it's produced with the same frame model but its caliber is different and it was built to resemble the Undercover by Charter.[13]
| Variant[11][12] | Caliber[11][12] | Length[11][12] | Barrel length[11][12] | Weight[11][12] | Capacity[4] | Grip[11][12] | Hammer[11][12] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model 13520 | .357 Magnum | 171 mm | 56 mm | 0.62 kg | 5 Cyl | Full | Regular |
| Model 14420 | .44 Special | 184 mm | 64 mm | 0.62 kg | 5 Cyl | Full | Regular |
| Model 73520 | .357 Magnum | 171 mm | 56 mm | 0.57 kg | 5 Cyl | Full | Regular |
| Model 74420 | .44 Special | 184 mm | 64 mm | 0.57 kg | 5 Cyl | Full | Regular |
| Model 74421 | .44 Special | 184 mm | 64 mm | 0.62 kg | 5 Cyl | Full | Double action only |
[edit] References
- ^ Williams, Dick. "Pocket Protectors". Guns and Hunting. http://www.gunsandhunting.com/pocketpistols.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ a b c d e f Quinn, Jeff. "Charter 2000 .44 Bulldog Pug". www.gunblast.com. http://www.gunblast.com/Bulldog_Pug.htm. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g Trzoneic, Stan (January 2008). "Charter Arms Bulldog Pug - A classic .44 returns to production, with several CCW-friendly enhancements.". Guns & Ammo. http://www.gunsandammomag.com/ga_handguns/ga_charterarms_0801/. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ a b c d e McNab, p. 74
- ^ "Charter 2000’s Bulldog Shows Why Experts Liked .44 Special". www.gunweek.com. http://www.gunweek.com/2003/feature0720.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
- ^ a b c Chris Luchini and Norman F. Johnson. "Charter Arms Bulldog". rec.guns. http://www.recguns.com/Sources/IIIB2a.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ a b c d "The Gun Zone - Charter Arms Bulldog Pug". www.thegunzone.com. http://www.thegunzone.com/bulldog-pug.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ "MKS Supply Partners". www.mkssupply.com. http://www.mkssupply.com/partners/MKS_partners.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ "David Berkowitz". www.allserialkillers.com. http://www.allserialkillers.com/david_berkowitz.htm. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
- ^ a b c M.L. McPherson. "Charter Arms 44 Special Bulldogs: Care and Feeding". www.levergun.com. http://www.levergun.com/articles/44_Special_Bulldog.htm. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Bulldog parts and prices" (PDF). www.charterfirearms.com. http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Bulldog_MagPug.pdf. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Bulldog from Charter Arms". www.charterfirearms.com. http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Bulldog.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
- ^ "The Police Undercover from Charter Arms". www.charterfirearms.com. http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Police_Undercover.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
[edit] Bibliography
- (in Spanish) Atlas ilustrado de Armas de fuego. Susaeta Ediciones. ISBN 84-305-5801-2.
