I have a Charter Arms 38 special
undercover model. I think its a great
carry gun for the money. Any Charter
Arms owners have comments on the
brand compared to more well known
expensive revolver makers
I have a Charter 2000 .44 Bulldog. Small package for a big bore so it conceals well. Shoots well and recoil is very manageable with 200gr Slivertips or Gold Dot Blazer. Currently I have Corbon 165 gr rounds loaded. Some will say that Charter Arms' products are "boat anchors". That is not my experience and I believe this comes from the snob fraternity. Visiting many gun forums shows, that even Ruger, Kahr and Glock suffer from poor QC.
How much did you pay for your Charter UC?
My first handgun was a Charter Arms Undercover. Great little gun for the money. It is one of the stake out guns in the house. The only concern I have is rather or not it can handle +P ammo.
If it's not since they reorganized a few years ago, I'd say no, at least not as a steady diet.
Like this one of mine:
1960's model.
Actually, I've got some nice normal pressure Hornady 158 gr. JHP's in it for SD.
I've fired a couple chambers' worth of +P through it, but I can just sort of hearing it say "gimme a break".
Actually, Charter does NOT recommend +P in their current models either, if you read their FAQ onsite. Not for "durability" reasons, but because +P out of 2" barrel gains you nothing, because all the powder is still not burnt before the bullet leaves. I happen to agree with them on that for the most part, btw.
I'm happy with my Undercover. It doesn't lockup nearly as tight as my SP101, but it's never failed me and the trigger is surprisingly decent. CA says you can use +P just not a steady diet of it so that's what I keep mine loaded with for SD. I picked mine up for $227 plus transfer so I'd say it's well worth that.
I have an early mod 44 Bulldog ( Son of Sam time frame) that has a lot of carry time and a lot of rounds thru it. looks rough but it works and I can't tell that much difference between it and my Colts,S&W,Taurus. jwr
Bulldog Pug .44 Spl. - purchased used last year. Had some issues not striking the primer hard enough - and therefore would not fire some rounds. Sent it back to Charter. Was told there woud be a charge to fix (small) - but it was fixed and sent back no charge. Worked great since the repair.
I had a stainless one that I carried in my boat to dispatch snakes with. The front sight fell off pretty soon, but the little gun never failed to go BANG!! Dont need no front sight when ya shoot them "snake loads" up close.
I had an undercover .38 that served me well for years. I used to use it as a "walking around the property gun" and a fishing gun. Kept snake shot in it most the time but shot regular ball out of it a good bit and it never let me down.
Same here, mine is from the 70's 44spl it shoots great.It was reasonable
purchase at a couple hundred bucks.It's not comfortable to shoot with heavy
self defense loads.
I love all three of mine. I recently had some custom work done on one of my .44 Specials. Enjoy the gun porn.
Forgot to mention that I also have a Ruger SP101 .357, and a Smith M&P 340. To be honest, the Charters almost always get the nod for EDC, and the .44 with the custom work is on my bedstand every night.
Here's my little pet 15+ year old bobbed Charter Arms Undercover...Always went bang and is pretty accurate for a snubby...I love it. The Pacmyers grips helped a lot. I have shot quiet a few +P's out of it with no issues. Still seems tight. Super Duper Carry gun IMHO...:smile:
I bought a bulldog 44 last year at Gander Mountain for about $350.00 with five shots & a 21/2 " bbl in the black finish its a great carry gun that i use every day, its light easy to conceal and its accurate & handles all the 44 ammo, a gun that i have no problems if need to defend one's self with, if the situtation should arise. great gun
I've had a Charter Arms Nickel Off Duty for about 15 years that's never given me a problem. Very lightweight carry piece.
I since bobbed the hammer, and when I want a quick grab and go gun, that's it. I shoot light target loads, but carry with Buffulo Bore +P's.
The 44 specials look very interesting, especially that custom.
Question, how much bigger is the 44 special snub than the 38 special? Anyone have a side by side picture? I'm planning to get a Ruger SP101, but that CA 44 looks very nice.
I have the bulldog 44spl.It fits in a desantis nemesis for a k frame.with the rubber combat grips it can be pocket carried,and actually weighs less than an sp101.Mine has been 100% reliable and has fantastic trigger(may have had work done)I bought it froma friend for $200.
It also fits my sp101 holster.
mine is a first generation I don't know anything about the newer ones.
Lately, I'm trying to compile a little more info about some of my older guns. I've ordered Factory Letters for a couple of the old Colts, and tried looking up Serial numbers on several guns to determine the year of manufacture.
One that I've struck out on is my Charter Arms Undercover snubbie. I bought it new, in the early 80's IIRC, but can't remember the year and I no longer have any documentation. It is a Stratford, CT gun, Serial #796xxx. The Stratford production is "First Generation", and puts it at somewhere between 1974 and 1990, but I already knew that! It's been a loyal companion (snake gun, mostly) for decades, but I wish I knew exactly how old it is!
I haven't been able to find much info online re: Date of Manufacture vs. Serial Number for Charter Arms. Anyone know of such a list? Or does anyone have an Undercover with a Serial # close to mine, and know the date of manufacture of theirs?
I would call Charter and see if they can help you. I read a interview with Nick Ecker, President of Charter Arms. He claims they actually answer their phones, no push’s button computer crap. Maybe they can help.
That was my first thought, too, but I came across a couple of posts on different forums where folks have tried that, and found that Charter doesn't have records for the older guns that were made under the previous ownership. Charter Arms has changed ownership several times, and the current company actually has no connection to the original at all - they just bought the name and the patent rights to the old Charter designs.
[ETA: I may just try anyway, if I ever remember/get the chance during business hours!]
I say try it anyway and stop listening to people online lol.
I've read the same thing about them not tracking serials made under previous ownership. But if you call and talk to them you may talk to the guy who's like, "But you know, there's this website of a guy who's a Charter fan and he's got a database..." or maybe not. Just saying it never hurts to try because during an investigation you never know where your next lead is coming from!
I picked up a Pitbull .45 ACP last year and Charter has been excellent with their customer service and any questions I have had. I am very pleased with my Pitbull. I feel it's a great value for the money.
I find the Charter revolvers a very interesting design. Being "modular" in design, there is an opportunity for the possibilities of easy customization.
**hint**hint** It would be neat if some CNC shop would come up with after-market grip frames made in alternate materials and shapes. A Charter revolver done in black nitride sporting an aftermarket grip frame in brass has the potential for a neat look. Also the stock grip is a bit small for average to large hands. The option to get a longer one would be nice too.
Nearly 10 year old thread resurrected, I expected a post count of one, two; nope, surprised me. :vs_clap:
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