Current Carry — My personal situation:
- Well, small is nice, but small grips hurt, if firing service/duty cartridges. (5’11+”, 175-ish#, humid SE Texas, so, not unlike Florida panhandle.)
- Yes, two of them are nice to have.
- Yes, ultra-concealed is nice, some of the time.
- Yes, must be fast on the draw.
- Yes, must hit with authority
- Well, I do not concern myself with an intimidating appearance.
The smallest revolver that has a square-ish butt grip, that reaches all the way to the heel bone of my arthritic right hand, is the Ruger SP101. The SP101 is the smallest handgun I will still fire, right-handed, with a service/duty-type cartridge. “Compact Nines/Forties/+” are no longer part of my life. Full-length grips are now necessary, for right-handed shooting.
Two handguns are nice to have. I am a natural left-hander, who chose to carry “primary” at 0300, for several practical/tactical* reasons, while attending the Houston PD (TX) academy, 1983-1984. As an LEO, carrying a second weapon, positioned for lefty access, made sense, on and off the clock. I reckon it still does. From the time I bought the second of my current pair of SP101 snubbies, in 2002, it has not been unusual for me to carry both of them at the same time. Getting the second SP101 relegated my one remaining J-Frame .38 to occasional/niche status.
Being retired from policin’, now, I have become more conscientious about concealment, because I no longer have an official reason to be packing a pistol, so cannot “badge” my way out of an awkward moment.
“Fast on the draw” means, for me, a gripping area that fits my hand well, a well-positioned holster, and nothing that will snag during the draw.
“Hits with authority” is important. A .380 ACP bullet can, document-ably, break a human femur, so, I reckon that is a place to start, though I feel more comfortable with something a bit more powerful. My healthier left hand can still shoot full-pressure .357 Mags, from an SP101, or a larger revolver. Milder stuff is better for my right hand, regadless of weapon size. The pandemic has limited my opportunities to train, relegating my auto-pistols to collectible status, for now, as long-stroke DA is my least-perishable trigger skill set.
A person, who is thinking clearly, should be very concerned by the sight of any handgun being pointed at their person. For those not intimidated by the presentation of a firearm’s muzzle, the “hits with authority” part is what counts.
So, for me, Ruger GP100, Speed Six, or SP101, or S&W K-Frame, is the usual current carry. I like the Milt Sparks PMK, and the Kramer Vertical Scabbard.
Notably, the SP101 is about the same size envelope as the OP’s Charters, though the SP101 may have a longer factory grip, IIRC.
*I throw with my right arm, so drawing a big, heavy revolver, from the then-mandated low-slung duty rig, not being unlike an under-handed toss, seemed natural enough. I knew that I would be patrolling alone, so my right hip would be more accessible, while seated in the driver’s seat of a vehicle. While not easy to learn, long-stroke double-action was, in principle, caveman-simple, so, ambidextrous enough to learn with both hands. So, it made sense to carry on the right hip.