[IMTHDUKE]

Anyone recommend or not recommend Charter arms guns....are the made by SW or not?

[shotgunjoel]

I seriously doubt that they are made by S&W. My GUESS would be that they are okay, but don't expect great things or shoot hot loads out of them.

[CWL]

Not made by S&W.

Read this link:
http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=437724&highlight=charter+arms

[propex]

I carried a Charter Arms Bulldog (44 spcl) for a few years. Always went bang when I wanted it to. Fairly accurate and concealable. Did not have the finish of a S&W nor able to handle 1000s of rounds down the tube like a Smith could. The cost was no where near the cost of a Colt or a Smith. Another plus is its made in the USA :)
ps Since then things have improved in my life and I now own a S&W Model 24 with a 3" barrel and passed my Charter Arms along

[GJeffB]

Duke, Charter Arms is a distinctly different company from S&W, and not manufactured by Smith. They started out 45 years ago with the then-smallest and lightest .38sp made, almost identical in outward appearance to the S&W M36, but at a lower price. I had one of those early "Undercovers" and it was certainly a usable sidearm.

I have come to understand that in the intervening years, Charter has gone through several reorganizations and management changes that have resulted in varying quality. A while ago (5 or so years?) they apparently got their stuff together and now again produce a relatively decent quality weapon. I bought a new Undercover for my wife a couple months ago. Similar to the thoughts about Taurus handguns, the current Charters are not the fit and finish-equivalent of Smiths, but are quite serviceable, and somewhat less expensive.

If you buy a recent model, you will most likely have a perfectly useful "entry level" sidearm. I'm perfectly satisfied with mine, and it is rated for +p ammunition. No affiliation with the company, yada yada.

HTH,

-jb

[MedWheeler]

I've carried a Charter Arms Undercover off and on for more than 20 years. It was my BU/OD gun the first few years I was in LE, until we switched to autoloaders (went with the PPK/S then.)
Not as crisp as a S&W, but makes a fine and functional SD piece. It's on my hip now..

[Cpt. America]

Had a undercover model 38 spcl since 1992. Put bullets in, keep oiled and has worked evertime. Solid built hand gun well worth the price tag. No they are not made by S&W.

[jon_in_wv]

They now offer their revolver in pink and purple. I have a hard time taking that very seriously. If your looking for an inexpensive revolver I would look at a used S&W. The Rossi snub 357 is also a very attractive weapon.

[BHPshooter]

The next time you're at a gun shop, look at both. There is no way anyone could ever come to the conclusion that they have anything to do with each other, except that maybe they're both revolvers.

Honestly, I used to sell a lot of Charter revolvers. To be fair, every shipment we got was better than the last... but they're still not up with S&W, Ruger, or Taurus.

I really hope they get there, but it may take a while.

Wes

[Travis Bickle]

I have come to understand that in the intervening years, Charter has gone through several reorganizations and management changes that have resulted in varying quality. A while ago (5 or so years?) they apparently got their stuff together and now again produce a relatively decent quality weapon. I bought a new Undercover for my wife a couple months ago. Similar to the thoughts about Taurus handguns, the current Charters are not the fit and finish-equivalent of Smiths, but are quite serviceable, and somewhat less expensive.

The ones you have to watch out for are the ones marked "charco." Those are the ones that really sucked. The rest of them weren't that bad.

[MCgunner]

Me, I've owned an Undercover. Prefer Rossi in that price range. The Undercover had a little timing problem out of the box, but it still went bang. I didn't really care for the thing, though. I've learned to inspect the gun before actually buying now days.

[MatthewVanitas]

I just bought a 2009 Undercoverette in .32 H&R Mag, since I was curious about Charter's one-piece frame and had just started handloading .32 H&R.

Haven't had a chance to shoot it yet (probably next week) but on initial inspection I'm pretty pleased. It was a little over $300, so a used .38 S&W snub would still be a much better deal, but it's notably cheaper than a new S&W.

It feels quite solid, the one-piece frame is pretty interesting too. Pretty similar to what Ruger is doing with their LCR now. Trigger pull is actually quite good, especially for a gun I haven't even broken in yet. The DA is slightly better than my 1970s S&W 49, and the SA only slightly inferior. Fit and finish aren't ideal, with the stamping being somewhat chintzy and a few sharp angles my finger can find if I hunt around. Lockup isn't bank-vault solid, but not bad. Overall, I'm pleased thus far and looking forward to shooting it.

I'm less excited about their .38 models (which have plenty of competition) than their .32, and especially the .44 Bulldog which has nothing like it on the market since Rossi dropped their .44Spl.

Charter is supposedly working on .45ACP and .40S&W models for this year, so very interested in seeing how those work out. The company certainly seems to still be alive and kicking.