A really cool snubby....

[woad_yurt]

I recently traded for this, a first generation Charter Arms Off Duty (.38 SPL, 5 rounds, 16 oz.) These are great little carry guns priced at half (or less!) of equivalent-purpose S&Ws. It's small, light, affordable and pretty freakin' accurate, too. I am seriously impressed.

​

 

[rcmodel]

Try it and see if it works 100% double-action.

I owned two of them back then, both purchased brand new, and neither one worked reliably DA.
Constant DA mis-fires with any brand of ammo.

They both went to a new home as soon as I could find a S&W Chiefs Special for sale.
They were next to impossible to find then, or I never would have even bothered with the Charters in the first place.

rc

 

[woad_yurt]

This one works like a champ in DA mode. I don't know about SA, though, as I never shoot single action anyway. It never occurred to me to even try single action firing.

 

[David Sinko]

An elderly guy in the 'hood had one of these and didn't want it anymore. So he calls the police and expects us to deal with it. When I get there he proudly hands it to me and tells me I can have it. I looked it over and didn't have the heart to tell him I wouldn't want it even if he could give it to me. Half the price of a S&W but about a quarter of the quality.

I hope yours is better quality.

Dave Sinko

 

[armoredman]

Mine was excellent quality back in 1984. Worked like a charm. If it's from later, like Charco or Charter 2000, nah, wouldn't walk across the street for one.

 

[CajunBass]

The two I've got will misfire from time to time in D/A but it's only with reloads. So far with factory ammo, or even commercial reloads, now that I think about it, they've worked fine. I don't know if my primers (CCI's) are harder than other brands. It may just be this batch of primers, they will misfire with other guns, once in a while, also. When I shoot this batch up, I plan to switch to another brand. It's plinking ammo, so I don't fret about it much.

 

[madcratebuilder]

CA's QC can be hit or miss with the older models. If you have one that functions well that's great, good revolver for the price. If you get a bad one it's a pita, very hard to work on. I have a Bulldog that I'm happy with, but I have seen some I would not want to own.

 

[Dogguy]

I have one of these. Bought it new sometime in the 1980s and it underwent decades of abuse and neglect but continued to work perfectly. It was a good little gun until my hamhandedness messed up the ejector and I tried to fix it myself. It's now in a Ziplock baggie waiting for me to decide if it's worth getting it repaired.

Charter Arms did not recommend +P ammo for this gun. I've shot a few rounds of +P in it without ill effects but today I would go with standard pressure Federal Nyclads or Hornady Critical Defense.