Charter Arms

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Zeke/PA

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Hi Gang,
What say Ye about Charter arms revolvers?
I'm looking at the Charter Arms Target Bulldog in .44 Special, 4" Barrel.
Thanks
 
If they are using different machinery and have better quality control than when the company was called "Charco" then I guess it's worth a look. I had a Charco and it was terrible.
 
If they are using different machinery and have better quality control than when the company was called "Charco" then I guess it's worth a look. I had a Charco and it was terrible.
Click to expand...

"Charco" and "Charter 2000" were the bad years.

Quality is back up now. I have a 2011 Bulldog Pug, great gun.
 
I am really wanting the new Charter Arms rimless revolver in .40 S&W. I like auto cartridges in a revolver because the short brass makes for quick ejection and this one would have no moonclips. I might just like the novelty of it. I can't find a S&W 547 so this will have to do. :D
 
I have the current 4" target 357 its a great gun and still light enough to carry at 25oz.
 
Like MachIV pointed out [QUOTE"Charco" and "Charter 2000" were the bad years.
][/QUOTE]

I had a mid-70's vintage .44Spl Bulldog, and it shot very well. I have shot one of the newest "Target Bulldog" offerings with the 4" barrel, and it puts the lead where you point. The longer sighting radius of the 4" barrel helps me A LOT.. I'm no good with a 'Rodent Weapon'.

If I get enough ahead some day, I'm gonna get one of the new Target Bulldogs
 
Bought a new Charter .38 snub about 2 years ago. It was a mess! The ejector star was all chewed up and the cylinder was off center and out of time. And you could pull the hammer back with the cylinder open.

I brought it back to my dealer and he got me a new one from Davidsons in a couple of days. This one still had the issue with the hammer back while the cylinder was open. The dealer called Charter and even though it said in the manual that you can not pull the hammer back while the cylinder was open, the guy at Charter said it was normal.

My dealer let me bail out of the deal and ordered me a Ruger Sp101 .357 which has been a great gun!

The dealer sold the returned Charter only to have it come back in a week with a broken firing pin block, he sent it back again and the guy that bought it sold it as soon as it came back without even shooting it.

Not bashing Charter, just relating my experience.
 
I think the older the better with Charter Arms, and I am thinking about the 1970's stuff, primarily. I think the older guns were well-designed, and represented generally a solid, dependable handgun.

Can't speak to the newer stuff other than to have handled it in a local shop- seems a bit gritty to me, and not very solidly made; just my opinion
 
I have a 70s Charter Arms Bulldog .357 that has served me well, it has had literally thousands of rounds through it, both .357 and .38 Spl.
Its light weight has made it ideal for my carry gun and its reliablity has been well proven on the range. I have to admit that whenI first got it in the 70s I was a little concerned, as they were not that well known and I was worried about the lighter weight frame. But the price was right!
Mine has really been used a lot and is still a great shooter with good accuracy and a really nice trigger let off, both in SA and DA.
Maybe I was just lucky but I like to use it and shoot it regularly.It isnt as nice as my SW model 19 but still makes a nice piece, The SW is a far superior piece of equipment, especially in that beautiful bluing jobs that they did back in the 70s. The lighter weight of the CA is evident when using full house loads in 357 but it is still managable.
To conclude, I am well pleased with the Charter and would try another!
Roger
 
I have two Undercover .38 revolvers. One is from 1967, inherited from my dad in 2010. The other is from 1987, purchased by me the day I was hired as a cop. It rode off-duty and backup duty the first few years I worked there.
Both have been solid, reliable shooters, though I really haven't shot my dad's that much. As has been mentioned, the newest generation of CA revolvers and the oldest generation seem to be the best. The 1990s were rough times for Charter Arms, especially those sold under different incarnations of the company.
 
Mesinge2, I have a CA .40S&W Pitbull Revolver. Many good points;
* Moonclips not required
* Recoil very manageable, seems less than my XD40sc
* Very accurate, i.e. good group placement
* IMO, a beautiful revolver

One negative is the sights take getting use to but my orientation was short. Alibi, I'm use to the S/A type sights [see sig].
 
1st Generation C-A's

I've got two of the early versions of the Charter Arms revolvers. Both are great and I consider them keepers...no problems, I really like'em.

If I spot a 1st generation .44 Bulldog I'd be wanting that. :scrutiny:

A new stainless Bulldog would probably come home with me but those seem scarce around my area. I see the new .38, .357, and .40 ones but not the .44's.

1st one is a Undercover .38 special that I recently put a spurless DAO hammer in.

397716792.gif
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The other is a Pathfinder .22lr with 3" barrel

402892409.gif

402892413.gif
 
FWIW

Bought Charter .44spl. Bulldog new in Jan 2012 - sold March 2012.

First trip to factory, locked up three times in first 15 rounds - new cylinder, adjusted.

Second trip to factory - new cylinder accepted 44 MAGNUM rounds…loaded and fired by mistake but were hand loads downloaded to 44 special specs (fortunately) - new cylinder..

Third trip to factory - locked up after 2 rounds of Winchester Super X 200g Silvertip factory ammo - new cylinder. Got gun back with third new cylinder, dry fired it out of box, locked up on third pull.

Fourth trip was to dealer who refunded my money and sent gun to factory. Factory sent dealer new gun which is still for sale in his shop.
 
I had a couple of older Charters from the early 60's and 70's that were good, solid revolvers. I eventually sold them when I decided to reduce the inventory down to just Smith & Wessons (and a couple of Ruger 22's) but there was nothing at all wrong with those undercover 38's.

I've never looked at the newer ones.
 
I bought a new Bulldog .44 last fall at a gun show after looking for one for months. It has quickly become one of my (if not the most) favorite gun to shoot. I have not had any issues at all with it, just fun. I finally found a good IWB holster that works with it, so I carry it sometimes.

I would still like to find an ammo wallet that would work with .44 special rounds that could be stuck in a back pocket discreetly. I bought a speedloader at a gun show Sunday, but as I thought, it's too bulky to carry comfortably.

I am so happy with this revolver that I have a local gun shop trying to find me a new Pitbull in 40 S&W. :D
 
I wanted to wait and see how this turns out but I am about to send back a new .40cal Pitbull. Frequently in double action it does not shoot because the firing pin does not go in far enough. Single action works fine, but I wanted a revolver for it's dependability. This should not happen with the "new" Charter Arms with a revolver costing > $400! Also the rounds are difficult to get into the cylinder as if the bore holes are too small. I'll keep you posted.
 
I've owned 6 or 7 and still own 4. Wish I hadn't sold the ones I had before. I like them a lot.
I found an Undercoverette .32 S&W Long that I may buy.
What I really want are a new 5" Target Bulldog .44 and another circa 1990 bull barrel Bulldog 44. I had one in the early nineties and wish I still had it.
 
I think the older the better with Charter Arms, and I am thinking about the 1970's stuff, primarily.
Click to expand...

Not my experience, I'm afraid. It's possible Charter Arms just had perpetual up and down cycles of quality. Few years good, few years bad, then good, then bad...The two late '70's early '80's C.A.s I owned had some good qualities, but too many shortcomings to make up for them.

I'm NOT saying there aren't good C.A.s out there. I'm just saying I'd have to shoot a couple hundred rounds through one to feel confident it was decent, and I wouldn't buy it unless I was confident of that.
 
I would still like to find an ammo wallet that would work with .44 special rounds that could be stuck in a back pocket discreetly. I bought a speedloader at a gun show Sunday, but as I thought, it's too bulky to carry comfortably
Click to expand...

Cut down SKS stripper clips with a little dremel work are perfect for a .44 Spl. speed strip.


Charter44.jpg
 
I bought a Charter 38 spl NIB in July 2009.
In my defense, all I can say is, I didn't know any better.

If I wanted another handgun, it'd be an older S&W
or if it had to be new - it'd be a new Ruger.
 
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