Charter Arms snub nose

If I wanted a snubby, I would be looking at a Taurus 856.
Taurus has an excellent selection of cheap and robust for price revolvers.

-Taurus 327 - if you are looking for a if a .32 caliber snubby.
-Taurus 942/942m - if you are looking a snubby in .22lr or .22 wmr.
-Taurus 905 - if you are looking for a 9mm snubbie and don't mind moon clips.

Basically if you are looking for a snubbie in the super common .22lr/.22wmr or .38 spc/.357 magnum calibers look elsewhere.

However If you are looking for a big bore snubbie(.44 spc, .45 acp, or .45 colt), or a snubbie that doesn't need moon clips (9mm, .40s&w, or .45 acp) they might be worth a look, especially with their lifetime warranty. Also Charter Arms makes the only left handed snubbie I know of.
 
Hi All
So a local shop has a Charter Arms snub nose (Under Cover or something like that I am not sure). 38spl on the used rack for $250 Dose that sound like a decent price and are they good guns?

I really want a Smith but I know I won't find a Smith for $250 anytime soon. So I am thinking that the Charter Arms might scratch the itch. Or should I suck it up and save the extra coin for a Smith?

Thanks
WB
Save up and buy what you really want. The gun you'll buy will last a lifetime. Don't give into impatience and instant gratification. You can find deals on used Smiths between $500-$600.
 
If I wanted a snubby, I would be looking at a Taurus 856.
The 856 has QC and design issues. The OP should not cheap out. He should buy what he really wants, and it does not appears that he really wants a Taurus.

I own budget revolvers including a Taurus 85 and 942. I also own five S&W revolvers, one Colt, Kimber, and Ruger more expensive revolvers. The fit and finish, pride of ownership, aftermarket support, resale value, etc is not even close between a S&W and a Taurus or Charter Arms revolver, and no one who's being honest would choose a Taurus or other budget revolver over a S&W if money was no object. What most are doing is settling for a budget revolver because of the price point. That applied to me too. I would rather have a S&W, but only purchased a Taurus because I didn't want to spend the money. I ended up purchasing five S&Ws after the fact though.
 
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Others have said here.... Unless you do not have a firearm already and you need something right now I would not get the cheaper gun. Save up and get the gun that will probably outlive you. At least the one that's made to better quality standards.
 
After I was done collecting Colts as a young man, I moved on the some Smiths and then started playing with Charters. I currently have 5, 4 of which are from the Stratford era and one newer version, all in 44 special. I don’t shoot them a lot, but they have all been flawless. Each range trip I usually take one and shoot several cylinders just to check the functionality. I also carry one twice a day when walking the dog. I find it very comforting having 5 shots of 44 special. I won’t part with any of mine.
 
I bought a new Southpaw a couple years ago.

When I picked it up at the FFL, we both laughed at how awful it was. The action felt like it was full of sand.

I purchased it as a project so I wasn't too concerned. Once I took it apart, I was shocked at the lack of finish work. Lots of grinding and stoning and polishing later, it works okay.

Unless you are going to do the work I would not purchase one.

This is a closeup of the hammer when I removed it. Every part was this bad.

CA Hammer.jpg
 
If you want a S&W you won't be happy with a charter arms.
I'd rather have a zero finish, mechanically sound M10 than any charter arms.
I bought a new Southpaw a couple years ago.

When I picked it up at the FFL, we both laughed at how awful it was. The action felt like it was full of sand.

I purchased it as a project so I wasn't too concerned. Once I took it apart, I was shocked at the lack of finish work. Lots of grinding and stoning and polishing later, it works okay.

Unless you are going to do the work I would not purchase one.

This is a closeup of the hammer when I removed it. Every part was this bad.

View attachment 1213723
Wow! That’s bad. That redefines the term Rough Around The Edges
 
I bought a new Southpaw a couple years ago.

When I picked it up at the FFL, we both laughed at how awful it was. The action felt like it was full of sand.

I purchased it as a project so I wasn't too concerned. Once I took it apart, I was shocked at the lack of finish work. Lots of grinding and stoning and polishing later, it works okay.

Unless you are going to do the work I would not purchase one.

This is a closeup of the hammer when I removed it. Every part was this bad.

View attachment 1213723

Same as my Undercoverette as mentioned in this thread. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/charter-arms-32-cal-revolvers.930820/#post-12907815

There were a lot of issues discovered when the .32 aluminum frame Undercoverette was released. It was showcased in a thread somewhere here on THR.
 
I just bought an older (Stratford, 400,000 range serial) Charter Arms Undercover. It has a plum-colored cylinder and frame, which tells me the alloy or the bluing solution or the temperature was maybe a bit off? But the price was right and the trigger is, no joke, better than any J frame I’ve ever felt. It’s not as good as an LCR, but for a third of the price, for something that will be “put it in your pocket to walk the dog” sort of gun…. Really hard to argue with!
 
I just bought an older (Stratford, 400,000 range serial) Charter Arms Undercover. It has a plum-colored cylinder and frame, which tells me the alloy or the bluing solution or the temperature was maybe a bit off? But the price was right and the trigger is, no joke, better than any J frame I’ve ever felt. It’s not as good as an LCR, but for a third of the price, for something that will be “put it in your pocket to walk the dog” sort of gun…. Really hard to argue with!
Plum color blueing of some parts is something you see on some guns. I forget what causes it. Not a problem, just an artifact of the way the blueing was done.
 
I have not had a bad experience with any of the Taurus snubbie's I purchased.

The five shot is very close in size to the J frame:

uCX8yfI.jpg



The six shot is close to a Colt Detective Special in size:

d7tsMom.jpg


Both of these are so light they actually produce a lot of recoil with standard 158 grain 38 Special loads. For the recoil sensitive, Taurus makes a stainless.

3OHkYhD.jpg



My aim point reflects my flinch. The pistols will shoot to point of aim, if I were not twisting the pistol during hammer fall.

SWVLPHL.jpg
 
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