Charter Arms Undercover 38 Special Old

They are great guns.

You will do fine with that gun. Charter Arms did well with the Undercover from its inception until around 1990. Between then and around 2005-ish, the company changed hands a few times, operating under the names "Charco" and "Charter 2000." Guns produced during those periods have horrendous reputations. The company has since fallen back into the hands of its original ownership.

I have two of them. The first one I purchased new in 1987, the day I was sworn in as a LEO. The second, made in 1966, was owned by my dad, though he did not acquire it new. It became mine upon his death in 2010. Both are good little guns, each "a pound of protection", to take a quote from an early Charter Arms ad slogan.

I always wanted one of those older Charters.

I remember paying something like $88, plus tax, for an Undercover model back in 1976. S&W J frames were going for like twice that amount, that is when you could find one.

The old school Charters and the new ones are decent little guns. Correctly stated before,the Charco/Charter 2000 guns are suspect. Charter should do well in this CCW rich environment. They took the correct position of offering good guns that avoided frills of the S&W/Colt offerings,much like Mossberg does with shotguns.

My Charters are accurate,reliable and the newer ones have decent triggers in DA that smooth out with some light use.

Back in the late 70's, Charter sold some larger wooden grips for the undercover that was a joy to use.
ll

The wood Bulldog grips are good.
My favorite rubber grips on a Charter are the Pachmayr Compac.
I've had those and the Gripper.
The Gripper is a fantastic grip that makes shooting them a breeze, they're just a bit huge on a gun like a Charter.
However, if it's just a home defense gun, they may be perfect for her.
As long as they're not too big for her hands, they will give her excellent control over the gun.
Easy for her to hang onto, and hard for a bad guy to take away from her before she can empty the cylinder into him.

If they fit her hand, she will love them.
If they're too big for her hand, you can sell them and buy the Pachmayr Compac grip.
Both are much more comfortable than the factory wood grips.
I'm thinking about getting the Grippers for my current Bulldog, just for range duty, and put the Compacs back on for carry.

When I started shooting, Pachmayr was the only name in rubber grips.
After having also owned guns with Uncle Mike's and Hogue grips, Pachmayrs are STILL the only name in rubber grips-for me.
No others can compare.
The Uncle Mikes were a distant second, and the Hogue rubbers were at the bottom of the heap.
Hogues look like a firm turd that someone has squeezed, and they feel like a dead snake.
They have their fans, and I feel sorry for them. (just kidding. I just don't understand them)

I put Hogues on my Ruger Redhawk many years ago. One shooting session later, I put the factory wood grips back on.
I tried them on a Taurus 85, also. Didn't like them. Wife loved them. She can have them. Needless to say, that Taurus is now hers.

I used a Tyler T-Grip on my Undercover and also had a set of Pachmayr Compacs for it, though because of their larger size I mainly had them on when I went to the range.

since this is a house gun don't be cheap on good grips. get which ever ones your wife likes, even the laser grips since concealed size is not a consideration...

I don't know why, but as of recent I have been looking for one of there older Bulldogs.

WB

^
I know why. Because they're awesome self defense guns.

The Grippers will make it MUCH more comfortable to shoot.

The large grips make it a breeze to shoot.

Bought my Charter Undercover stainless .38 2 incher maybe 20 years ago from a pawn shop for $100.

Made in Stratford (best ones are from there.)

It is an excellent little gun and is used as a house gun with 110 gr DPX .38s.

The CA company has had many ups and downs with quality control suffering many times but the early ones are fine.

I could sell mine but hey, were do you find a $100 .38 now days that is of quality make?

Deaf

Deaf Smith said:

Bought my Charter Undercover stainless .38 2 incher maybe 20 years ago from a pawn shop for $100.

Made in Stratford (best ones are from there.)

It is an excellent little gun and is used as a house gun with 110 gr DPX .38s.

The CA company has had many ups and downs with quality control suffering many times but the early ones are fine.

I could sell mine but hey, were do you find a $100 .38 now days that is of quality make?

Deaf

Click to expand...

Deaf you know you can't .

Yea Deltaboy I know.

I see all these polymer guns, revolvers to, and while I do have some Glocks, one Taurus TCP, and one Kel-Tec P32, that is it in the plastic department.

Yes I've handled Rossi/windicators/etc.. revolvers, even have a Taurus 85 snub (also has DPX in it), but none of them have the quality I like.

Sadly $100 won't even get you a Raven .25 now days.

Deaf

I'd like to get one each-or more-of the old 5 and 6 shot Charter .38 snubs.
I'm probably going to give my mom & dad a Taurus 85 CH, just so she won't use her Colt Commando Special for HD.
Darn things are worth too much, now, to have it rusting away/getting scratched up in a police evidence locker while the situation gets sorted out.
Heard too many horror stories about that.
It's not like they have the time/inclination to maintain your roscoe while it's in evidence.

I have looked at the new Charters and they are top notch as in days of old. Good luck
ll