British Motorcycle Gear

Categories: GearGuns

TJ’s Bulldog

What does a professional, world-class pistolsmith use for his personal weapon of choice?

I asked good buddy TJ (of TJ’s Custom Gunworks) that question, and the answer was surprising.  This is a man who knows handguns inside and out, and a guy who is one of the top men in the world for custom-crafted combat handguns.  SIGs, 1911s, Colt and Smith revolvers and autos, and more.  A guy who could have just about anything he wanted.  His guns are carried by law enforcement officers, special agents, and others the world over.  So what is TJ’s personal sidearm?

It’s a highly-customized Charter Arms Bulldog, chambered in the mighty .44 Special cartridge.  It’s the one you see here and in the photo above:

As you might imagine, TJ did not leave the gun stock.  These are the custom features TJ’s personal .44 carries:

      • Satin brushed hard chrome finish
      • 1.5-inch barrel (cutdown from stock barrel)
      • Radiused and polished trigger
      • “Melted” (rounded – sharp edges removed) contours throughout
      • Night sights with orange DayGlo highlighting
      • Custom-contoured front sight
      • Level 1 action work
      • Action modified to double action only
      • MagNaPorted barrel
      • Bobbed hammer
      • TJ custom prototype laser grips (modified from Crimson Trace S&W grips)

TJ explained that double action is the only way he uses revolvers.  You know, there’s a school of thought that a good man with a double action revolver can fire faster than can one with a semi-auto handgun.  You can read more about that in Ed McGivern’s Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting, a good read for anyone interested in improving their handgun shooting with a double action revolver.

TJ’s Charter Arms custom Bulldog is a very impressive weapon.  You can see more photos of it, and a few of TJ’s other custom guns, on the TJ’s Custom Gunworks website.


Help us bring more content to you:  Please click on the popup ads!


More Tales of the Gun!


Never miss an ExNotes blog:  Sign up here for free!

Joe Berk

Recent Posts

ExNotes Review: Glock (by Paul Barrett)

By Joe Berk I'm not a Glock guy and it's not likely I'll ever own…

3 days ago

A.J. Baime’s WSJ Enfield Piece

By Joe Berk A.J. Baime writes a weekly "My Ride" column for the Wall Street…

7 days ago

The Sopranos: The Final Scene

By Joe Berk Very few (if any) final scenes have sparked as much discussion and…

1 week ago

The Harley-Davidson Museum

By Joe Berk I've been a motorcycle guy nearly all my life and I've owned…

1 week ago

ExNotes Review: The 600 m.o.l. Black Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam

By Joe Berk This is the first of several book reviews to follow in the…

2 weeks ago

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

By Joe Berk The destination on this fine day was Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, part…

2 weeks ago