Charter Arms Pathfinder

A good gun for your intended purpose. Go for it. I owned one years ago and never had a problem.

Look into a Ruger Wrangler. Can be had for under $200. I own one and love it. I own a charter off duty .38 and love it as well. Can't go wrong w either.

I have a couple of vintage charters. No pathfinder, however if I do come across a good deal on a used one I may just go for it.

The Charter will serve you well. Another option that is smaller than the Wrangler, but bigger than the Pathfinder, and would still do the job would be the 3.5-inch Heritage Rough Rider "birdshead" version.

But I think you'd find more uses for the stainless and versatile Pathfinder overall. Go for it.

(There are scads of small, lightweight autoloaders in a "budget" price range that would do the job, too, but I'm like you probably are in feeling that a revolver just "goes with" being in the woods.)

I have a CA Mag Pug, in .357. Literally a piece of junk past the first 300 rounds. You spends your money and takes your chances. If you only intend to shoot it a few times, then OK.

I got a 2" Pathfinder something like six months ago. There is one brand of super cheap ammo that it doesn't like and it will occasionally give light strikes. CA has very good customer service, and I know I could just send it in, but I am lazy and just use better ammo.

Its trigger is good and it seems to be pretty accurate. In other words, I can shoot it as well (or poorly) as any other small-framed fixed sight snubby. It didn't cost much and I am pleased with my purchase.

The 2" Pathfinder Lite is easy to carry and reliable. Empty cartridges tend to stick pretty bad in the chambers though. That's happened with a S&W 63 I used to have, too.

I too have a vintage Charter and it's a fine little gun at any price. At the price I bought it for it might be the best gun deal I ever made.

I have a 4" Pathfinder that I bought new about 5 years ago,,,
It's not as pretty as my S&W Model 63,,,
But performs just as well.

The only real complaint I had about the gun was the front sight,,,
It seemed to disappear completely in bright sunlight,,,
Some bright orange nail polish cured that.

Aarond

.

I owned a 3" Pathfinder .22lr a few decades ago and I'd say it was a top performer. Considering the prices of today's Charter Arms I'd go for the Ruger LCR .22lr instead.

I have had a love/hate relationship with da 22 revolvers over the years.
Have tried a s&w 63, taurus 94, and old rossi. Best of the bunch i thought was an old 2" High Standard.

John_R said:

Empty cartridges tend to stick pretty bad in the chambers though.

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Got my mother a .22 mag Pathfinder in 2012. Spent cases had to be tapped out of the chambers they were so tight. Sent the revolver to Charter, got it back in ten days and it was fixed. I was impressed by their customer service.

I have two CAs - a 38 and a 32 mag. Been very happy with both.

I didn't know I wanted one of these until now. I would like one for cheap practice & plinking. I don't have as much time to reload my 38 special anymore so it would be nice to have a cheap 22 double action revolver.

The S&W J frame 22s and Ruger LCR are cost prohibitive for a 22 IMO.

Bond Arms makes nice derringers, but they are probably heavier and more expensive than the Pathfinders.

I bought several different short-barreled 22lr revolvers trying to find one that I liked. The LCRx was the most disappointing, which surprised me because I very much like my 38 special LCR.

I also got a Heritage, a High Standard, and an H&R, which all created a region of low pressure in a hollow cylinder filled with excrement. The Taurus had the worst trigger of all. Like the High Standard, the Rossi had one or two cylinders which were horribly inaccurate.

The Pathfinder is way better than any of them. I would have saved absurd amounts of money if I had just bought it first, or a nice S&W.

I didn't even try a Ruger Sp101. My experience with their centerfire versions was bad enough.

Admittedly, these are not large sample sizes. I sure wish I had gotten a better example of the small Rossi or the Ruger LCRx.

Ruger Bearcats are not cheap, but my understanding is that they are nice shooters and some are very small.