Wednesday I purchased a brand new
4" Target Pathfinder by Charter Arms,,,
Thursday I took it out and ran some rounds through it,,,
Overall I'm very satisfied with the little shooter.
Pro's
It's the least expensive DA/SA .22 revolver on the market,,,
Okay, Okay, a Czechpoint is a bit cheaper,,,
But this pistol is all American made,,,
Comes with a lifetime warranty,,,
Out the door was $380.63.
It seems to be very solidly built,,,
You know how some guns just feel cheap,,,
This revolver has a very solid heft to it and feels good in your hand.
It is virtually the exact size and shape of a S&W J-frame,,,
It fits a holster I made for a S&W Model 34 perfectly,,,
I'm told that the HKS J-frame speed-loaders fit it.
I went through 250 rounds of ammo the first day,,,
100 of Mini Mag, 100 of Remington Golden Bulk,,,
And 50 rounds of Federal Bulk from Wal Mart,,,
Every round went off with a nice rim dent.
It seems to be an accurate little gun,,,
I was hitting water bottles at 25 yards with it.
Con's
The finish of the gun could be better,,,
It's stainless steel but looks to be bead blasted,,,
The surface has more of a matte look than a glossy sheen.
The front ramp sight is smooth,,,
It seemed to disappear under bright light,,,
I'll probably use some orange sight paint to fix that.
The gun has a very tight action,,,
By tight I mean it needs some breaking in,,,
Everything moves where and when it is supposed to move,,,
But everything is a bit more effort than you would think is necessary.
The trigger pull is not heavy at all,,,
But it is a bit "gritty" compared to a well used pistol,,,
I expect it will take a bit of shooting to get all the internals smoothed out.
General Comments
The rubber grips are very slender and resemble Pachmayer "Compac" grips,,,
If I were going to keep the gun for myself I would change them,,,
But it's going to be a graduation gift for a young lady,,,
They will probably fit her smaller hands just fine.
MSRP of the Charter Arms Pathfinder is $459.00
MSRP of a Ruger SP-101 in .22 is $689.00,,,
MSRP of a S&W Model 63 is $769.00,,,
I recently got to shoot an almost new (less than 50 rounds) Model 63,,,
In my not-so-humble opinion it's trigger was not any better,,,
It's fit and finish were not worth a $310.00 price bump.
I have also fired one of the newest model Ruger SP-101 revolvers,,,
It's trigger was worse than the Pathfinder I just purchased,,,
The finish of the stainless steel was a wee bit better,,,
But again not enough to justify a $230.00 bump.
All in all I'm pleased with the Pathfinder,,,
If you want a solid DA/SA revolver but are on a budget,,,
Do yourself the favor of checking out the Charter Arms Pathfinder.
I was pleasantly surprised with the handgun,,,
I think it's going to be a fine little shooter for my friend.
Aarond
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