Charter Arms Undercover not stamped +P

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understanding comes from knowing that most +P ammo is a hotter load in name only when compared to original 38 special loads. The only reason some ammo is labeled +p is because it is slightly more powerful than the watered down ammo sold as 38 special that is no stronger than the 38 colt it was supposed to replace.
Which still seems absolutely content free.

If the gun is made recently and not marked for use with +P ammo it would seem the reasonable response would be to simply not use +P ammo.
 
FISwamprat that quote you posted from my earlier post is not from me. It is straight from Charter Arms. Did you read the link I posted? Charter just says that the extra power will be wasted from a short barrel. And this is not correct. Even a short barrel will give more power with more powerful ammunition.

Paul Harrell has a YT video titled 38 vs 357 from a short barrel and the 357 has far more power from a short barrel than one of the so called +p loads. I don’t normally quote Paul Harrell but this time I agree with him.
 
The thing is that if a gun is not rated for +P then I can only assume that means currently produced +P. Why do the ammo mfrs download 38 Spl? That makes no sense to me. If the guns of yesteryear were capable of handling hotter 38 Spl loads then why download it? Not for safety. Is it a conspiracy to get everyone to buy a wonder 9? We may never know.
 
The thing is that if a gun is not rated for +P then I can only assume that means currently produced +P. Why do the ammo mfrs download 38 Spl? That makes no sense to me. If the guns of yesteryear were capable of handling hotter 38 Spl loads then why download it? Not for safety. Is it a conspiracy to get everyone to buy a wonder 9? We may never know.

I have read that the lower pressure 38 offered now was originally loaded to make it easier to shoot lightweight guns like the model 36 Chiefs Special. About like how some recommend using target wadcutters in snubby guns for lighter recoil. So if your gun is able to fire the original pressure 38 special ammo it should have no problems with the new +P ammo that in a lot of cases does not match the original 38 special loadings.

The +P from people like Buffalo Bore is another matter. These people know what a +P rating really means. Will it blow up a Charter Arms snub? No. But the recoil will be bad enough that you will not shoot much of it. And it will shoot the gun loose.

Here is a link to Buffalo Bore STANDARD PRESSURE 38 Special ammunition. If you look at the velocities listed near the bottom of the page you will see that in most cases it will have higher velocities than the new ammo listed as +P from other makers.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=110

These loads would be pretty stiff in the CA guns in the OP. They will probably make you look for lighter recoiling loads in this particular gun. But the gun should be rated to handle these loads.
 
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FISwamprat that quote you posted from my earlier post is not from me. It is straight from Charter Arms. Did you read the link I posted? Charter just says that the extra power will be wasted from a short barrel. And this is not correct. Even a short barrel will give more power with more powerful ammunition.

Paul Harrell has a YT video titled 38 vs 357 from a short barrel and the 357 has far more power from a short barrel than one of the so called +p loads. I don’t normally quote Paul Harrell but this time I agree with him.

The part I quoted from your post was this:
+P ammo requires a four-inch minimum barrel to burn the extra powder. Therefore, in a two-inch barrel the extra powder is burned after the bullet leaves the barrel creating more recoil and making it harder to come back to target.
That line wasn't so much comparing two different rounds, it was comparing two different barrel lengths, and, as that line says a longer barrel, to a point, will render higher muzzle velocities than a shorter barrel, all other things being equal like powder charges, bullet weights etc. It is not comparing rounds, it's comparing barrel lengths only.
 
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Off topic:
Springs!
No one offers spring kits for the undercover. Wolff has them for the Bulldog, nothing else.
Has anyone tried S&W J-frame springs in an undercover, primary concern is the hammer spring, looking to drop the DA from 16 pounds to something a little lighter.
 
I wonder how much stronger the 5 shot undercover is vs the 6 shot undercover. The 5 shot has offset locking notches.
I would guess that the 6 shot would be much stronger. It’s uses the same frame as the Bulldog 44 special. It’s probably the same frame used in the 357 mag Pug model too.
 
I would guess that the 6 shot would be much stronger. It’s uses the same frame as the Bulldog 44 special. It’s probably the same frame used in the 357 mag Pug model too.
The real issue isn’t the frame. It’s the cylinder. The locking notches are usually the weak points. On a 5 shot gun they are offset so that the locking point is in the thickest part of the cylinder wall. On a 6 shot gun the chambers and locking points are aligned and makes for a thin spot. Look for a blown up revolver and you most likely will see one that the cylinder let go at the locking notch. That’s why the backstraps normally blow or bend, because the hot round is directly beneath the top strap when the cylinder fails forcing all of the pressure up and into the top strap.
 
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