A newbie to big bore

Kevin speaks truth. I have seen him smacking steel at 500 yards with his .308 Texan, and killing a Turkey at well over 200 yards, off hand.

Big bores are fun. I love them. If I had an unlimited bank account I’d have one of everything.

These days however, I am fighting not one but two frozen shoulders and carrying a Texan in the field and trying to shoulder it just isn’t working. Same with the DAQs or the Citrus .257. The big kick from the DAQs is a no go until my shoulders have healed up.

This brings me to the Bulldog. I bought one because of my shoulders, and having reasonable weight. Because it’s a Bullpup and the balance is closer to me, it allows me to shoot it more like an Olympic Airgun shooter. Elbows are tucked in giving me a more stable platform. I just can’t extend my left arm to support a long heavy rifle right now.

Stock, the Bulldog has plenty of power, and can make just under 200ft pounds with a heavy bullet and the hammer spring tightened down. But I’m going to use it to plink, shoot pests, and Turkey hunt. Way more than enough power. Right now I’m more interested in getting more consistent shots, and will end up with a regulator. I don’t need or want a 300 ft pound Bulldog with a violent recoil. If legal in your state, I see no issues killing deer and pigs with careful shot placement with a stock Bulldog.



Also, .357 is way cheaper to shoot than .457 and larger. Try shooting.50 or .58 and measure the amount of ammo you shoot in Pounds. 


Finally, big bores eat air. I have two big tanks, a small one, and a portable 12v compressor. If I shoot my DAQs (.458, .58) on a fun day, I run out of air pretty quickly. Yeah I love throwing a lot of lead down range.

A big game changer for me was buying a .257 Texan. Plenty of power, accuracy and it sips air compared to the bigguns.

oh, and my lead supply goes way further casting .257 bullets vs the .458 or .58. Getting factory made bullets and pellets these days is difficult and expensive, so you might want to consider casting your own. (If you can find the molds).



whew, I sure can ramble.






 
i had the fully decked bulldog Pitbull carbine will all the bells and whistles, it was a powerhouse for sure.

it just shook the ground you stood on when you pulled the trigger because or the size and weight.

i had about $1800 in it without shipping x3 & scope and rings.

it had to go......

then i resorted back to my Piatt tuned dragon claw .50 which develops right at 400fpe without the whiplash and earthquake the pitbull did freehand shooting.

and i'm 6', 205lbs.....

i know its not a .357, but its perfectly badass !!

same as my .457 texan with >629fpe

so i filled the .357 gap with the AEA challenger SL, good gun at about 266fpe

very accurate and controllable with 109gr slugs.

good luck with what ever you choose.
 
I think the Bulldog is one of the best, options for an inexpensive big bore airgun. Crossman made the Bulldog platform highly customizable and it has that outstanding 5 year warranty, unlike the newer breeds of China one offs popping up with promises that don't deliver.

I got my second Bulldog off of Sportman's Guide for a great price of $630, when you included the 3 month club membership for $9.00

Twin Bulldogs.1631323482.jpg

 
I think I'd prefer a .357 AEA challenger or challenger bullpup to the bulldog. I havent shot either to be fair but just based on what I've seen. They're close to the same price. I have a challenger bullpup .45 pre ordered

I had an AEA HPBP .25cal, and it had a horrible single stage trigger. I'd get used to it if I shot with it daily for a week or so, but every time I went back to my Bulldog, it reinforced just how bad the AEA trigger truly was.
 
i have a Benjamin Bullpup in .357
Crazy powerful ,, 
i love the balance of this design, i think most folks pick one up and it feels right ..

my .357 is frighteningly accurate, and for only bigger game than rabbits..
cough, there was not much left to eat,, lol 


i am suffering from a total shoulder replacement , that went bad, so now i am down to one arm , and i was thinking of selling my gear and ammo ..

in fact i just might post a classified ad tonight .. i think i could get 800 for everything , but 700 sounds fair

look for it ..