Charter Arms Forum?

[shootniron]

We are a three Charter family. I have always been pleased with my Charter's...not the most refined guns, but have always fired with I pulled the trigger and all have shot to the sights...and they are CHEAP.

I have had this Off Duty since 1983...MANY hours of carry and rounds shot. It has been used all of the times that I did not want to mess up a "good" gun. It is wearing the grips of the Bulldog...we did a switch because the Pach's handle recoil a little better on the Bulldog.




This is my son's new Bulldog. It was a little stiff out of the box, but it will smooth up a little with some shooting.
Just got through working up a 200gr Gold Dot load for it, this morning. Those are 5rds of the load.









I just inherited this Undercover from my late FIL. I have only shot it 5rds...but it shot to the sights.

[Thomas Traddles]

I purchased a Bulldog last February. I was hesitant to do so because of the reputation the CAs have for spotty quality. Sure enough, when I received the gun the cylinder was out of time. I sent it back to CA and they fixed it and I have to say that this gun has become my favorite for EDC. It fits in my hand better than my Ruger SP101 and LCR. It is not as finely finished, but I don't care. It shoots 240 and 250 grain bullets accurately (I don't have any molds of lesser weight bullets so have not tried them), and while it took a bit for me to get used to the recoil, I now find the gun a pleasure to shoot. I should also point out the the DA action was very stiff initially, but it has smoothed out nicely with use and is almost as smooth as my LCR's DA pull. The SA trigger pull is really light!

Many say that the Bulldog should be carried often and shot little. I don't follow that advice. I take it to the range regularly and shoot as much as I like and the gun has now about 1000 rounds through it with no issues. I do not load the rounds hot, but they are on the upper end of standard pressure.

I've gotten to the point now where I am seriously considering buying the 6 shot undercover in .38 special. It should fit the hand as comfortably as the Bulldog as I understand they share the same frame. If it works as well as the Bulldog has for me, then I would have a winner.

[Radny97]

Just picked up an Undercover DAO yesterday. It is used and beat up and I got it for a good price. I was surprised to find it is smaller than a j-frame or an LCR. Not greatly small, but still smaller. Timing is great. Cylinder gap looks good. Biggest surprise is that the trigger is better than my LCRx and *substantially* better than a j-frame. Very happy.

[OneFreeTexan]

I've had Charters for years, I think through three different manufacturers. Goes way back to the funky 22 rimfire with the changeable barrels. As far as I am concerned they are good reliable handguns,,,Just keep them clean.

Ohhh, I don't have any guns anymore,, lost them all in the flood.

[handlebar]

I have had this Bulldog about a month now. I have put original wood grips and BK grip adapters on it (similar to Tyler T-grip, just made of a polymer resin and does the exact same thing with no 2 month wait to get them). Feels great in the hand and concealability is excellent with an IWB holster, that I made from scrap leather I got from the local shoe maker.

here is my CA Undercover, too. I keep the 44 loaded with Underwood 200 gr. full wadcutters and the Undercover with Underwood 150 gr full wadcutter. Both make big holes and come full bore without having to expand.

[Buckeye!]

Charter On Duty 38 spl Alumium frame , polymer grip frame , old style wooden grip panals weighs un loaded 12.5 oz ...



This is a Pic of my 44spl Bulldog ... Ive had this revolver for about 9 yrs .. Great gun ..
This is all the Charters I have at this time .. But Im looking hard at a Boomer !!

[Soclosenotnear]

I have been eyeing a patriot as of late. These are built on the bull dog frame, correct?

[dogngun]

I own a Charter .38 snub Off Duty and 2 .44 Spl Bulldogs. One of the Bulldogs had problems when I bought it - used - so I emailed the factory. THE OWNER emailed me back, gave me shipping instructions... I sent it in, got it back within a week, like brand new. They replaced the crane, and tuned it up, and paid for shipping both ways...and they KNEW it was bought used.
I can't imagine S&W doing that...and now all 3 of them are great shooters.

[handlebar]

My Undercover and Bulldog using a new picture forum.

[Bighorn1]

Here's my Charter Arms Target Pathfinder, .22 mag., with 4" barrel. I carry it with two CCI shotshells up top, for rattlesnakes, and HP ammo in the other 4 chambers. It carries in a Simply Rugged holster, and is very easy to carry concealed. Trigger is great, and it is a very accurate revolver. Great deal for the money.

[Carmady]

A little shout out for Charter Arms' CS.

I bought a used .38 and thought it might have the wrong mainspring because the trigger pull felt heavier than normal. Called them up and asked, and the CS lady said it should be a blue spring (mine was red). She's sending me the correct blue mainspring free of charge, after I made sure she knew I bought the gun used.

Thank you, Charter Arms.

[4V50 Gary]

I saw a Charter Arms Southpaw the other week and was impressed. I emailed them with some questions and am still waiting their response.

1) Can it handle +P or +P+?
2) Are the internal parts MIM or casted?

[4V50 Gary]

Their customer service people tried to call me on Wednesday but I was outside. On Thursday they called again and this time we spoke. This is what I learned:

MIM parts: Trigger, trigger latch, transfer bar
Investment casted: hammer
Barrel/cylinder gap: .004 min - .012 max
Do not shoot +p or +p+ in your 38 cal. revolver

Some parts are contracted out including: springs, pins and screws.

[Carmady]

I spoke to two S&W CS guys about b/c gap after receiving a "repaired" 642 which had the frame replaced, and a new b/c gap of .011" on the left side and .005"-.0055" on the right.

S&W CS guy #1 said as long as it's anywhere between .004" and .011" it's good. Iow, the gap can vary up to .007" and it's good, according to him. I thanked him and figured I'd call a few hours later and speak to someone more CS oriented.

S&W CS guy #2 said the b/c gap range was .004"-.012", BUT it should be somewhat consistent. He emailed a FedEx label to me, and the 642 still at S&W.

The used Charter Arms .38 has a b/c gap of .007" on the left and .005"-.0055" on the right. I'm very pleased with that.

Another thing I've started checking is whether or not lead bullets will pass through the cylinder throats (because of leading issues). 158gr LSWC .38 Special bullets will pass through the throats on the Charter Arms. The throats in the original cylinder on the 642 were too small to allow a lead .380 bullet to pass, and that's about .002" smaller than the .38 (which should pass).

I also find the sights on the CA snub MUCH better than those on the 642 and LCR, especially the rear sight.

[Carmady]

Post #147 has pics of an Undercover with Bridgeport on the barrel and Stratford on the box, s/n 303234.

Here's a UC with Bridgeport on the barrel and a slightly higher s/n, 303311.

[Carmady]

Progress. A Bridgeport barrel on #314297. According to post #147 this was probably assembled in the Stratford plant. The lowest Stratford barrel I've seen was 315xxx, so the gap is getting tight.

[franco45]

Good to see this thread revived. I've always been a fan of economy priced, reliable, American made handguns. Charter Arms customer service is second to none. I recently picked up a Stratford made Undercover and was again reminded how small, light and easy to conceal the older models are. I've been looking hard at the new 6 round Professional in 357 magnum.

[Grizzly2]

I bought my first CA Stratford 3" blue Bulldog off Gunbroker a couple of years ago. I was told by the owner that he thought it was a safe queen. When it arrived, the crane screw was loose allowing the cylinder to wobble, the front pin was backing out and the ejector rod was loose. I think the queen must have snuck out for some fun. The little collar on the ejector rod was messed up and peened and so it made the first of three trips back to CA. It shot left so the first two trips consisted of repairing the peened collar, replacing the pin with a new design and adding a fiber washer to the crane screw. It still shot left and we were running out of front sight to fine on. After a few discussions they finally agreed to replace the barrel if I signed a waiver. The new barrel is marked Shelton and the sight is a bit different but it finally shoots to the sights. They were kind enough to polish and reblue the whole gun. They removed an old rust stain on the cylinder at the same time. All in all, I'm very pleased with their work and the like Bulldog I carry most of the time now.

[navy87guy]

I picked up a CA Undercover for summer carry and I’m very happy with it. It handles +P loads nicely, and it’s a small and comfortable gun to carry. I picked up a pair of Altamont grips to “dress her up”, but I do like the factory grips for everyday!

[shoebox1.1]

I love mine!

[Carmady]

I've kind of wanted a 44 Bulldog for years, and resisted temptation when this jewel came along. A stainless steel 3" Stratford with the pocket hammer and neoprene grips (made in Italy). Oh well...life goes on.

[Bill DeShivs]

I bought this gun as a spare "car gun" around 1990. It was used then. Started engraving it. car and gun were stolen. Later, the gun was recovered. Then, I used it as a counter gun at my paging business.
Business was burgled and burned to the ground.
Gun was recovered 4 days later by LE.
I decided the gun was rather special, so I finished the engraving, did an action job, made the grips, gold plated the trigger and had it hard chrome plated.

My wife liked it, so it's her bedroom gun now.

[Buckeye!]

Charter Pitbull 45acp

[shoebox1.1]

Bill THAT is a cool story!! Beautiful gun BTw

[Carmady]

That's nice engraving, Bill. Does it have a recent trigger guard?