The British Bulldog

Happy Firearm Friday this week, the Owen Guns Museum is bringing you the British Bulldog!

Historically, the Bulldog rose to popularity in Victorian Britain. Its reputation for being reliable, simple and durable made it a favourite among civilians seeking personal protection, as well as among plainclothes and undercover police officers.  The name “Bulldog” was first popularised by the manufacturer Webley & Scott, and this name then carried over to the numerous copies made, both in Europe and North America. The term eventually became generic, describing any in the family of small, heavy-barrelled pocket revolvers rather than a single model. Its most familiar form is a small, solid-frame, double-action revolver with a short barrel, typically chambered in .44 or .442 calibre, short, powerful enough for its purpose, yet compact enough to be carried discreetly.

One of the most infamous appearances of the British Bulldog came in 1881, when American President James A. Garfield was shot with a .44 calibre Bulldog revolver by Charles J. Guiteau.  A mentally ill, failed lawyer, Guiteau believed that he had played a major role in Garfield's election victory, for which he should have been rewarded with a consulship. Guiteau felt frustrated and offended by the Garfield administration's rejections of his applications to serve in Vienna or Paris to such a degree that he decided to kill Garfield and shot him at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. Garfield died 79 days later from infections related to the wounds. In January 1882, Guiteau was sentenced to death for the crime and was hanged five months later. Guiteau is reported to have chosen the bulldog as it would look good if displayed in a museum after the killing.

Design-wise, the Bulldog emphasises stoutness and concealment over range or ergonomics. It generally features a short, heavy barrel and a chunky frame intended to absorb the recoil of a very short weapon. The grips are small, and sights are minimal or non-existent, practical for the pistol’s intended point-blank engagements rather than precision shooting. Many Bulldogs were made with fixed, non-adjustable sights and had a robust, no-frills finish. Some later variants added small improvements like better grip shapes or safety features, but the core philosophy remained concealability and immediate, reliable firepower.

Culturally, the Bulldog acquired a certain level of popularity. It was frequently used in detective and crime novels and later used in many on-screen portrayals as the go-to pocket revolver for crooks and heroes alike. Due to the sheer volume made, there are many examples of the bulldog in the collectors' world, but each one is unique in its own way.