The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > Hogan's Alley > Handguns: The Revolver Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old November 17, 2013, 05:20 PM   #76
Dan-O
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 3, 2011
Location: Northern Colorado
Posts: 969
I'm a fan.







Dan-O is offline  
Old November 17, 2013, 06:54 PM   #77
lee n. field
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 12, 2002
Location: The same state as Mordor.
Posts: 5,568
Quote:
(3) Always make sure the cylinder stop plunger is properly lubricated and moves freely, or the cylinder will "free wheel," possibly causing a misfire.

The biggest PITA was the tiny spring loaded plunger that acted on the cylinder stop. It would either (A) corrode in the hole (dissimilar metals) or (B) the owner would use WD-40 and, when the WD-40 turned to varnish, it would stick in the hole.
What would be a proper lubricant for that area?

Quote:
(2) If you drop it and it hits somewhere else besides the grip, you have a chance of jarring the hammer strut out of its cup on the underside of the hammer. The strut will then lodge to the rearmost portion of the underside of the hammer. You won't realize it until you go to either cock the revolver or fire in DA; The hammer will travel part way back then stop cold.
Mine gets dry fired a lot. I'd notice.

Quote:
The only plastic grip frames are on the Undercover Lite.
My steel Undercover has a plastic grip frame.



I took mine mostly apart. (Dumb thing, don't ask.). The trigger is a major PITA to get back in to place.
__________________
"As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. "
lee n. field is offline  
Old November 17, 2013, 07:48 PM   #78
gav1230
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 17, 2013
Posts: 148
hm, would it be possible to replace it with a metal grip frame?

As for Dan, I've heard that the patriot .327's had some problems, apparently charter frames didn't hold up well to .327 pressures. Have you had any problems?
gav1230 is offline  
Old November 17, 2013, 07:54 PM   #79
lee n. field
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 12, 2002
Location: The same state as Mordor.
Posts: 5,568
Quote:
hm, would it be possible to replace it with a metal grip frame?
I don't see why not. And I don't see why you would. This grip frame appears to be a fiberglass impregnated plastic. It should be quite strong.

I see metal grip frames on ebay a lot. (Scouting somewhat for a wood stock set for it.)

Next time I see a current Bulldog, I'll check to see what the grip frame is made of.
__________________
"As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. "
lee n. field is offline  
Old November 17, 2013, 09:51 PM   #80
Deputy276
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 6, 2010
Location: Silver City, New Mexico
Posts: 102
One must remember that revolvers, by their very design, are nowhere near as rugged as semi-autos. So dropping them on hard surfaces can cause all kinds of problems, no matter WHO makes them. Drop a Colt or S&W on the ground and you can easily knock the cylinder out of alignment. Same with using a revolver as a club, like so may movies show being done.
__________________
Bigger holes make deader souls.
Deputy276 is offline  
Old November 17, 2013, 11:52 PM   #81
gyvel
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 30, 2009
Location: Northern AZ
Posts: 7,172
Quote:
What would be a proper lubricant for that area?
Anything that doesn't turn into a varnish after 3 months. A good quality oil will do just fine.

Quote:
Mine gets dry fired a lot. I'd notice.
Yes, you would know immediately, but a lot of my clients were (to put it politely) not the brightest bulbs in the pack when it came to firearms. (This was back in Miami.)

Quote:
My steel Undercover has a plastic grip frame.
To me, that's a definite improvement. According to the description by another poster, that would be a lot less prone to cracking or breaking if dropped than the aluminum. Either way, it's still an easy fix.

And, yes, the trigger is somewhat of a PITA to get back in, so don't feel bad.
gyvel is offline  
Old November 18, 2013, 02:23 AM   #82
Deputy276
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 6, 2010
Location: Silver City, New Mexico
Posts: 102
Dan-O: Nice pics! Beautiful guns.

Oops...I just dropped my Charter and it broke in half. And it fell on the carpet too!
__________________
Bigger holes make deader souls.
Deputy276 is offline  
Old November 18, 2013, 04:36 AM   #83
Crazy88Fingers
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 20, 2010
Location: WesTex
Posts: 958
Quote:
Yes, you would know immediately, but a lot of my clients were (to put it politely) not the brightest bulbs in the pack when it came to firearms. (This was back in Miami.)
I know exactly what you mean. I still can't believe some of the stuff I hear around here pertaining to guns, especially revolvers.

On a more related note, my Bulldog has an aluminum frame. It was manufactured in 2010, if I'm not mistaken.
__________________
"And I'm tellin' you son, well it ain't no fun, staring straight down a .44"
-Lynyrd Skynyrd
Crazy88Fingers is offline  
Old November 18, 2013, 10:00 AM   #84
Deputy276
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 6, 2010
Location: Silver City, New Mexico
Posts: 102
The Bulldogs and Pitbulls definitely have aluminum frames.
__________________
Bigger holes make deader souls.
Deputy276 is offline  
Old November 19, 2013, 06:31 PM   #85
Dan-O
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 3, 2011
Location: Northern Colorado
Posts: 969
Quote:
As for Dan, I've heard that the patriot .327's had some problems, apparently charter frames didn't hold up well to .327 pressures. Have you had any problems?
Haven't had any issues with mine, and I mostly shoot .327 mags out of it.
Dan-O is offline  
Old November 20, 2013, 10:49 AM   #86
TPD211
Member
 
Join Date: July 30, 2009
Location: Sucky Florida
Posts: 28
I reload for 40 S&W and tried some of my 200 grain swc in the Pitbull without success. I loaded them long for my semi auto due to the powder I used, HS-6, which filled the case and made a compressed load.
I just bought some Titegroup and loaded some rounds.
Good news is that Titegroup takes half of what HS-6 required at 3.5 grains.
I was able to load the 200 grains swc with no problems and seat them to the proper depth so they fit in the cylinder and seat properly.
TPD211 is offline  
Old November 20, 2013, 11:16 AM   #87
Mike Irwin
Staff
 
Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 41,374
Many years ago we had this same discussion regarding the fragility of dropped revolvers.

It got to be so annoying that I started dropping my Charter Arms Off Duty out of my office window on the second floor of my home and onto the concrete patio about 15 feet below.

I did that repeatedly, and made sure to drop it so that it would land in various aspects.

I enclosed it in heavy plastic bags so that the finish wouldn't get too chewed up.

IIRC (I recounded it all here) I dropped it close to 20 times, and it came through unscathed.

I got it to land on BOTH sides of the cylinder more than once, and it never affected lock up or operation.

The hammer strut also never popped out, the grip frame never broke, and it remains functional and serviceable to this day.

I'll have to go digging for those threads, but right now, given us having just moved servers, the search feature is off line.


Thank the good Lord for Google Search!

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72856
__________________
"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza

Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.
Mike Irwin is offline  
Old November 20, 2013, 11:29 PM   #88
gyvel
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 30, 2009
Location: Northern AZ
Posts: 7,172
Quote:
I did that repeatedly, and made sure to drop it so that it would land in various aspects.

I enclosed it in heavy plastic bags so that the finish wouldn't get too chewed up.

IIRC (I recounded it all here) I dropped it close to 20 times, and it came through unscathed.

I got it to land on BOTH sides of the cylinder more than once, and it never affected lock up or operation.

The hammer strut also never popped out, the grip frame never broke, and it remains functional and serviceable to this day.
Just recounting repairs with which I had first hand experience. I dealt with it more than once.

As the saying goes, YMMV.
gyvel is offline  
Old November 21, 2013, 06:11 AM   #89
OxyGuy
Member
 
Join Date: November 6, 2011
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 77
I'm a Charter Arms fan, too.

My Off Duty, a 12 ounce pocket companion.



My old Bridgeport Undercover that has been a faithful friend for many years.



And another Bridgeport Undercover.



An old Bridgeport Bull Dog that I shortened to a 2 incher. I have a nicer Bull Dog and always wanted a .44 Special pocket gun. I found this one and modified it. It's a handful with .300 grain cast bullets.

OxyGuy is offline  
Old November 21, 2013, 04:53 PM   #90
jerryd
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 21, 2004
Location: Ct.
Posts: 131
Sign me up!!! Have an Off Duty made in Stratford from the 70s a Pittbul that is very accurate and just got the Bulldog yesterday. My old one was stolen from my father in laws house 30yrs ago. the factory is 5miles down the road from house, been there a few times to get holsters and grips. Nice set-up and very friendly service.
jerryd is offline  
Old November 22, 2013, 10:01 AM   #91
Deputy276
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 6, 2010
Location: Silver City, New Mexico
Posts: 102
Mike Irwin: Oh great...while reading your post I sprayed Diet Coke all over my monitor! Thanks for that report. While it's pretty much accepted that revolvers, because of their exposed components, SHOULD be more fragile than autos, your testing obviously proves they CAN be quite ruigged. I picked my Charter that broke in half when I dropped it on the carpet, and glued it back together with Crazy Glue (you can do some crazt things with Crazy Glue). It works great and I'm sure it will last until it's next carpet adventure.
__________________
Bigger holes make deader souls.
Deputy276 is offline  
Old November 22, 2013, 10:30 AM   #92
Mike Irwin
Staff
 
Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 41,374
There was another thread that kicked off that response, and I'll be damned if I've been able to find it.

The guy who was expounding on the fragility of revolvers was making some ludicrous claims.

The one I liked was something to the effect of "what if you drop your gun off a 200 foot cliff? Think you revolver would survive?"

My answer was along the lines of "I don't think it would matter which one you dropped, because you'd be disarmed and screwed at a time when you obviously needed you gun, and you've violated Irwin's First Rule of Firearms... Don't be a frigging idiot."



OH HELL! That thread is linked in my first post! I didn't see it.
__________________
"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza

Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.
Mike Irwin is offline  
Old November 22, 2013, 01:29 PM   #93
Deputy276
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 6, 2010
Location: Silver City, New Mexico
Posts: 102
ROFLMAO! I love it Mike!!!!
__________________
Bigger holes make deader souls.
Deputy276 is offline  
Old November 22, 2013, 04:24 PM   #94
TPD211
Member
 
Join Date: July 30, 2009
Location: Sucky Florida
Posts: 28
Quote:
I reload for 40 S&W and tried some of my 200 grain swc in the Pitbull without success. I loaded them long for my semi auto due to the powder I used, HS-6, which filled the case and made a compressed load.
I just bought some Titegroup and loaded some rounds.
Good news is that Titegroup takes half of what HS-6 required at 3.5 grains.
I was able to load the 200 grains swc with no problems and seat them to the proper depth so they fit in the cylinder and seat properly.
As a follow up, the bullets did not all seat in the cylinder allowing it to close.
I remembered I have a Lee Factory Carbide Crimp Die for 40 S&W.
I ran a box of reloads through the crimp die, it resized the cartridge and put a good crimp on it. About 99% of the rounds now fit in the cylinder of the Pitbull allowing it to close.

I just like the thought of a 200 grain bullet out of a 5" barrel in 40 S&W.
I also have a Mechtech CCU for a Glock 22 lower that is 40 S&W making it into a 40 caliber carbine. the 200 grain bullet out of the 16" barrel is moving an estimated 1200-1300 fps.

When I hog hunt I use the Mechtech and will have the Pitbull as a sidearm.
TPD211 is offline  
Old November 24, 2013, 09:45 PM   #95
franco45
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 29, 2010
Location: Toledo Ohio
Posts: 474


A first gen Undercover with a Tyler T-Grip and a new Bulldog with a BK grip are the only Charter Arms I currently own. The bulldog came dao and the Undercover was converted with a hammer bought from Charter Arms.
franco45 is offline  
Old November 25, 2013, 09:34 AM   #96
budd
Member
 
Join Date: April 14, 2011
Posts: 95
RELOADING

Enfield,
I know to best use and shoot a 44SPL is to reload. But apparrently RE-LOADING is not for me. I ruined a Dan Wesson Mod. 15 trying to learn to reload, so I just buy my ammo. Safer and cheaper in the long view.

J. Budd

Last edited by budd; November 25, 2013 at 03:58 PM.
budd is offline  
Old November 25, 2013, 11:50 AM   #97
Deputy276
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 6, 2010
Location: Silver City, New Mexico
Posts: 102
I tried ALL the heavier factory .40 S&W loads in my Pitbull and ALL of them hurt like hell from recoil. Everything from 180 grain down to 155 grain. I think the HEAVIER bullet and/or the hotter-as-you-get-lighter loadings might be the problem. So I grabbed some Winchester Ranger 135 grain FMJ-Flat Point and I will try that. It's not loaded real hot and the flat point will be better than a round nose against human targets. They make a JHP of this load, but it has had mixed reviews about effectiveness.
__________________
Bigger holes make deader souls.
Deputy276 is offline  
Old December 1, 2013, 02:24 AM   #98
TenRing
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 1, 2009
Posts: 427
Lately I have been wanting a 6-shot .38 snub and I was looking at the Charter Police Undercover. That's what led me to this thread. It's too bad that S&W is out of the K frame snub game.

With all of the enthusiasm for Charter guns on this thread, I don't feel any hesitation for moving forward on one.

Mike, I would love to see a video of your Charter drop test if you have one. I know it was a long time ago but I always get a kick out of watching people do those wacky abuse tests on their firearms.
__________________
Gun control...that's when you learn to hit where you aim.
TenRing is offline  
Old January 22, 2014, 06:40 AM   #99
Kilibreaux
Member
 
Join Date: October 4, 2012
Posts: 57
Not sure why anyone would want a K-frame snubbie.
The J-frame is smaller and far, FAR better for concealment.
Kilibreaux is offline  
Old January 22, 2014, 08:29 AM   #100
Mike Irwin
Staff
 
Join Date: April 13, 2000
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 41,374
Didn't video it. Didn't have any means of doing so.
__________________
"The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza

Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.
Mike Irwin is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:58 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.13365 seconds with 9 queries