Jim March
Member
So I'm at the gun show today with an older lady whose computer I work on. She needs to buy a basic defense piece.
We look at one table and spot a vintage Charter Arms 38 snubbie (2" barrel). Marked $200, it appears at first to be in decent condition - very minor holster wear indicates it likely saw some CCW duty (this is in Tucson AZ) but wasn't abused.
The dealer is dismissing the Charter as a low-end gun in general, but this one shows all the signs of being from their best QC period. It looks much like mine (which is late '70s production): case-hardened hammer, open ejector rod, marked with the original pre-Charco Charter Arms marks, finish is well-executed and black where the aluminum is, a dark brown on the steel frame and black on the steel cylinder.
It passed "the checkout" perfectly - rock-solid cylinder at full lockup, perfect alignment, very tight gap, etc. I went and forgot to bring a flashlight like an idiot but found an LED keychain light for a buck a couple tables away. That was enough light to work with.
It's marked "Police Undercover" and it's a SIX shot 38Spl instead of a 5-shot like mine. Some additional checking once she bought it shows that it eats out of S&W K-Frame speedloaders. It's obviously built on the 44Spl-size frame, but it's a 38 true sixgun.
I think for $200 she got the deal of a lifetime.
As I've said before: be careful around Charter/Charter2000/Charco/Charter Arms guns. The design is good, the QC has varied. But if you've studied these in some detail, can identify the peak QC periods and avoid both the 44 and 357 varieties, they can be damned good values in a 38Spl and abnormally accurate much like a Colt Detective Special.
I'll be doing some instruction with her in a couple of weeks. Before that I'll take my gunsmith-grade screwdrivers to it and blue-locktite all the key screws.
On a hunch I checked the Charter 2000 website...wait, they've renamed themselves back to "Charter Arms"...OK, whatever, they apparently still make the 38Spl sixgun:
http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Undercover_73840.html
I'm quite certain this vintage specimen is going to be a better quality gun than the new ones, but in any case, this makes all kinds of sense. The 44 variant was understrength for a 44, so setting it up as a 38 sixgun should rock.
We look at one table and spot a vintage Charter Arms 38 snubbie (2" barrel). Marked $200, it appears at first to be in decent condition - very minor holster wear indicates it likely saw some CCW duty (this is in Tucson AZ) but wasn't abused.
The dealer is dismissing the Charter as a low-end gun in general, but this one shows all the signs of being from their best QC period. It looks much like mine (which is late '70s production): case-hardened hammer, open ejector rod, marked with the original pre-Charco Charter Arms marks, finish is well-executed and black where the aluminum is, a dark brown on the steel frame and black on the steel cylinder.
It passed "the checkout" perfectly - rock-solid cylinder at full lockup, perfect alignment, very tight gap, etc. I went and forgot to bring a flashlight like an idiot but found an LED keychain light for a buck a couple tables away. That was enough light to work with.
It's marked "Police Undercover" and it's a SIX shot 38Spl instead of a 5-shot like mine. Some additional checking once she bought it shows that it eats out of S&W K-Frame speedloaders. It's obviously built on the 44Spl-size frame, but it's a 38 true sixgun.
I think for $200 she got the deal of a lifetime.
As I've said before: be careful around Charter/Charter2000/Charco/Charter Arms guns. The design is good, the QC has varied. But if you've studied these in some detail, can identify the peak QC periods and avoid both the 44 and 357 varieties, they can be damned good values in a 38Spl and abnormally accurate much like a Colt Detective Special.
I'll be doing some instruction with her in a couple of weeks. Before that I'll take my gunsmith-grade screwdrivers to it and blue-locktite all the key screws.
On a hunch I checked the Charter 2000 website...wait, they've renamed themselves back to "Charter Arms"...OK, whatever, they apparently still make the 38Spl sixgun:
http://www.charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Undercover_73840.html
I'm quite certain this vintage specimen is going to be a better quality gun than the new ones, but in any case, this makes all kinds of sense. The 44 variant was understrength for a 44, so setting it up as a 38 sixgun should rock.
