9mm PITBULL

[luvmy40]

Since all of my semis were lost in a freak boating accident, I decided to pick up a wheel gun for EDC.

I went to a couple of my favorite LGSs to get an LCR in .357 but there were none to be had. One shop had a beautiful Ruger SP101 TALO. I drooled on it for a few minutes and then went to look at the Tauruses since there were also no M&P revolvers in the case either.

I was checking out a Taurus 650 when the proprietor asked if would be interested in a 9mm revolver. I told him I didn't want to deal with the moon clips. Well, he pulls the Charter arms PITBULL out of the case and says "No moon clips required!"

I'd never seen one of these before but remember S&W did something like it but it didn't catch on for some reason. I figured that it's worth a shot and as a bonus I won't need to get any more reloading gear.

I put it in lay-a-way so I could do some research and have it reserved. After some googling I have come to find that this is the proverbial hen's tooth and the few reviews I could find varied widely from total fail to well worth the $.

There are a couple threads here that started out asking about the PITBULL but turned into "discussions" about the need for a 9mm or .40sw revolver.

Has anyone actually fired one?

ETA:
I've never been a wheel gun guy so I haven't paid much attention to them before now. I realize that the PITBULL has been around for a little while but it is completely new to me.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[luvmy40]

Well, I guess I'm the site guinea pig!

I paid the lay-a-way off on the the Pit Bull and brought it home a couple days ago. I cleaned it up, lubed it and after about 500 snap cap dry fire trigger pulls hit the range.

Less than stellar results.

I guess it was finally my turn. I have been very lucky to have never bought a lemon in hand guns before. My luck ran out with this one.

I shot very nice(for me) groups at 35' except that they were about 10" low, consistently.

After about 50 rnds. I started to get intermittent lock ups. The action would stop about 1/3 of the way through the trigger pull or cocking and I would have to fiddle with the cylinder to get it to cycle. This happened in both SA and DA. Not every shot but very frequently. I even tried without any cartridges in the cylinder. Same results. Not every pull but very frequent.

I also had a few light strike misfires. All of them fired on the second chance.

I called CA and they emailed me a return label. I sent the Revolver back today. Hopefully, they will make it right. I am not panning CA at this time. Anyone can produce a lemon and as I said, I have been very lucky thus far.

I will update when I get the Pit Bull back from CA.

[High Altitude]

It happens to everybody at least once.

Keep us updated. I am very interested in this revolver. 9mm performs fantastic out of short barrels and it would be nice to have one.

[IAm_Not_Lost]

I am interested as well. I have 9mm's pretty much across the board and a relatively inexpensive 9mm revolver to stick somewhere would be fun.

[Bark'n]

I hope you get good results.

I remember when Ruger first introduced the SP-101, it was available in 9mm. I thought it was interesting since it had a six shot cylinder instead of the usual five shot cylinder of the other SP-101's. It's been so long ago that I don't recall if it required "moon clips" or not.

9mm is no longer part of the SP-101 line-up, and hasn't been for a while. I don't know why, but I suspect that it just wasn't a popular seller.

I opted for the .357 mag version when I bought mine.

[Boozehound]

Good luck.

Not a big fan of Charter Arms (had issues years ago with a 5 shot .38) but as you point out....anyone can produce a lemon now and again. Maybe it was a lemon too.

Please keep us updated as I am interested in how they handle your situation. And again good luck with getting this resolved

[luvmy40]

The Pit Bull came back today. The repair form stated "Adjusted barrel & cylinder gap", "Adjusted front sight", "Replaced firing pin & main spring", "Targeted & function fired, OK"

The front sight is noticeably shorter than when purchased. The gap at the forcing cone is extremely close and the the trigger is markedly smoother.

Out of the box I could easily feel the trigger hit a wall before breaking. Staging was very easy. Now the trigger is smooth right through the break with no noticeable wall.

I put 70rnds of my hand loads(115gn, RN plated, 4.8gn Win231, Win. small pistol primer) through it this afternoon. I had no jams but 3 light strikes which all fired on the second chance.

From 25', slow firing SA I had a good group about 2" below POA. Firing DA rapid fire from 25' I peppered a 5" circle centered about an inch below POA. From 10' 2 cylinders tore out the bull's eye firing SA.

I'd have to say that I am happy with this gun and just as happy with Charter Arms customer service. Very quick turn around and they seem to have taken care of everything I was crying about. Only time will tell for sure but I am satisfied today.

I would be interested in finding some sort of speed loader that will hold the 9mm cases. I may have to work on something myself. I am toying with the idea of getting an ejection star from CA and trying to fab up a loader from Kydex. I maybe having pipe dreams but it could be a nice little niche for a while.

[1MoreGoodGuy]

Thanks for the update.

[Bark'n]

sounds good. Definitely quick turnaround. Glad it's shooting better.

[bunker]

The Pit Bull came back today. The repair form stated "Adjusted barrel & cylinder gap", "Adjusted front sight", "Replaced firing pin & main spring", "Targeted & function fired, OK"

The front sight is noticeably shorter than when purchased. The gap at the forcing cone is extremely close and the the trigger is markedly smoother.

Out of the box I could easily feel the trigger hit a wall before breaking. Staging was very easy. Now the trigger is smooth right through the break with no noticeable wall.

I put 70rnds of my hand loads(115gn, RN plated, 4.8gn Win231, Win. small pistol primer) through it this afternoon. I had no jams but 3 light strikes which all fired on the second chance.

From 25', slow firing SA I had a good group about 2" below POA. Firing DA rapid fire from 25' I peppered a 5" circle centered about an inch below POA. From 10' 2 cylinders tore out the bull's eye firing SA.

I'd have to say that I am happy with this gun and just as happy with Charter Arms customer service. Very quick turn around and they seem to have taken care of everything I was crying about. Only time will tell for sure but I am satisfied today.

I would be interested in finding some sort of speed loader that will hold the 9mm cases. I may have to work on something myself. I am toying with the idea of getting an ejection star from CA and trying to fab up a loader from Kydex. I maybe having pipe dreams but it could be a nice little niche for a while.

Sounds to me as if CA did you well. BTW, 35' out of a snubby is tough for anyone, i would not beat yourself up over that. This is not a go to war gun, this is a get off of me from two feet type of gun. Keep us posted. bunker

[onacoma]

One question; is it rated for either +P or +P+?

[clarkston_cz]

If I really wanted a 9mm revolver and the CA was the only game in town.

A letter from RUGER, today tells me they don't plan to bring back the SP-101 in 9mm anytime soon.

I guess that means no 9mm LCRs as well?


My next revolver will be the SP-101 TALO.



I just wish it was a 3 incher as they have better balance.

At least to me after owning both 2 inch and 3 inch SPs as shown in the
beautiful pic.

[luvmy40]

clarkston-cz,
I'm still thinking that the Talo I drooled over will make it's way to my gun safe soon.

onacoma,
I can't say what the Pit Bull is rated for as the CA web sight doesn't say, but my hand loads are definitely hotter than WWB or even Speer Gold Dot. Maybe not +P+ but certainly punchier than any standard factory loads. It did just fine.

[10thmtn]

I've emailed Ruger suggesting a 9mm version of the LCR. Not only is the ammo cheaper, but the cyliner could be shorter, making the whole revolver smaller and easier to fit in a pocket. You'd think it would sell like mad.

If anyone else feels the same way - email Ruger! More competition is a good thing.

[High Altitude]

I've emailed Ruger suggesting a 9mm version of the LCR. Not only is the ammo cheaper, but the cyliner could be shorter, making the whole revolver smaller and easier to fit in a pocket. You'd think it would sell like mad.

If anyone else feels the same way - email Ruger! More competition is a good thing.

I will send an email.

I would definitely buy a 9mm LCR.