Charter Arms Pathfinder Vs. Taurus 94

[jakk280rem]

I'm in the market for a 2" stainless 22lr revolver. Price is to be in the $300 range. The Pathfinder and 94 are the two I've found currently in production and in my price range.

I like the 9 shot capacity of the Tauri, but I'm not sure I want to go down that controvertial Taurus Customer Service path.

On the other hand, i've heard from reputable sourses that CA's quality has dramaticaly increased in recent years. Has it?

Capacity is at the bottom of the list of desireable features for me, so the Pathfinder is in the lead at the moment, but just. At the top of the list is quality, durability, and accuracy. Wich of these is higher quality? More durable? Most accurate? For the purpose of this thread lets assume 3" or less @25yds as accurate(enough). Are both capable of making the cut, neither, or will one blow the other out of the water?

So what say you THR, CH or Taurus? Or did you have something else in mind?

BTW, if I had my druthers, I'd get one of those new M63's, HH and all, but the $600 price tag had me shaking my head.

 

[snooperman]

Both will do but

I like the Charter arms a little better as it is lighter and makes a nice gun to carry when hiking , camping, or fishing, when a 22 LR is what you need. For target work I like the Dan Wesson 22 the best.

 

[snooperman]

New Charter arms are well made

I have several of the older ones made during the 1970's , but the new ones that I have tried and shot are as good if not better than the original ones. I have shot thousands of rounds through mine with no problems at all. Especially the undercover and the Bulldog 44 special. I wish I could say the same for my K frames S&W .357 magnums ,which will not take a steady diet of magnum loads.

 

[LEVRLOVR]

Taurus 94.

We have two. Stainless 2" and a blued 4".

The blued gun digested 25,000 rds of Federal bulk pack before the transfer bar broke.
Shipped out to Taurus and had it back within two weeks.

That revolver now has over 35,000 rds. through it and is still going strong.

I have two Ruger .22 lr. sp-101's with 4' barrels but that well worn Taurus is what I pick up when I walk out the door.
I have used it for any and everything from killing hogs, finishing off deer, rabbit, squirrel, opossum, coon, armadillo, snakes, you name it, I have probably killed it with that little revolver.

 

[MedWheeler]

Don't know them now, but was familiar with both back in the 80s, and had a Taurus 94. I guess it would come down to whether I wanted a nine-shot capacity, or a six-shooter.. My 94 was a blued 4-incher, and it shot well. Gave it to the ex when we divorced..

 

[jakk280rem]

took a look at the 94 today. pass. da trigger pull in the mid teens, hammer pull required both thumbs, and the cylinder rotated 1/16 in each direction at full lock up. maybe i'm being a bit picky? perhaps i've been spoiled by years of shooting s&w's. i still need to put my hands on a charter, there may still be hope.

 

[jad0110]

I take it your are looking at only DA revolvers?

If so, I voted "other". I'd go to some gunshows and pawn shops looking for a Harrington & Richardson (H&R) revolver of some type, such a 922. Most H&Rs can be found for less than $200, and though they are not finely finished, they are functional, accurate and reliable.

I don't know anything about the Charter, but I did own a Taurus 94. Note the past tense . Don't get me wrong, there are some good 94s out there, some of them have been mentioned in this thread. But after hearing and reading about the bad stories (and having experienced a bad one myself), I've concluded that Taurus churns out more than their fair share of turds in this model.

If you buy one, you just have to check it out extra closely before doing so.

Actually, I'd consider Tauri's own Tracker in .22 LR (the model 970 I think). They seem to have a better reputation than the 94.

 

[mnrivrat]

I haven't had the oppertunity to use a Charter .22 but based on some of their other products I would not hesitate to try one.

Taurus 94's : I have one , sold one, and my aunt has 2 of them. Of those 4 units I have no complaints. If you expect a nice smooth and light trigger pull out of the box , any small frame .22 revolver will likely be disappointing these days.

 

[GaryP]

The Charter Arms Pathfinder would be an excellent choice in a .22LR revolver.
They are light weight, durable and accurate. Check the gun show market for an older one made by Charter Arms Stratford, Connecticut. These are hard to find but go for less than a new one. Stay away from the Charco made revolvers.

 

[weregunner]

As much as I like my Taurus 94 with 5 inch barrel it might be recommended to take a look at the S&W 317.

It has a lighter trigger pull than either the Taurus or Charter.

On the other hand I took .22lrf snap caps, loaded them into the cylinder, and then did a 500-1000 rep dry fire on the Taurus revolver. Smoothed things out and lightened the pull.

The dry fire cure does not need to be done all at the same time obviously, but dry fire practice helps get one in sync with the revolver and improves proficiency.

Dryfiring can be done using the spent .22lrf cases. The caveat is that the cases have to be turned after every one or two complete cylinder cycles. Hits of more than 2 times will not shield the fring pin from posible damage or the spent cases might be near impossible to eject to to malformation.
If you use this method make sure all live ammo is out of the area.

Using lighter springs can cause misfires to happen. Had that happen with a Taurus 731 in .327 Federal and had to put the old springs back in to get reliable ignition.