The reports on Charter 2000s...
Nobody knows yet around here for sure whether the C2000s are any good. Some published professional reviews have been stellar, for example the Quinn brothers review at
www.gunblast.com and several print reviews. But the guns were provided by Charter 2000 themselves and while they SAY they weren't "specially tuned lab queens", we don't really know for sure.
Some people on TFL have reported seeing loose specimens at gun shows and the like. But unfortunately, most of the people providing such reports have done so incompetently, and that's being charitable. My apologies if I offend anyone, but most of the reports didn't describe any details of the problems, some didn't mention just which gun or caliber they were talking about, and some weren't sure if they were looking at an original Charter Arms, a Charco or a Charter 2000. They also didn't record serial numbers of poor specimens so we can check whether they're very early C2000 guns or newer.
I'd be embarassed to even discuss what I saw without recording at least most of the above...I'm very disappointed.
We know the basic design is sound. Charter family guns use no sideplates, the lockwork and grip frame "forks up" into the rear of the grip frame. This is similar to the Ruger Blackhawk/Vaquero frame and we know how strong that is - as long as the Charter metallurgy is OK, strength isn't a major concern as long as you understand the limits of these small guns. Charters also lock the cylinder pin at both the rear and front of the cylinder (at the crane) somewhat like a Ruger GP100, although the forward lock works on a different principle.
This is why Charter keeps coming back from the dead after cycles of bad management, poor cash flow and nasty QC, as seen at the end of the Charter Arms period and the entire Charco run, more or less.
Many of us are still VERY curious about how Charter 2000 quality fares, and wish the company all the best. I hope I can make it to a local gun show so I can check out some specimens in more detail. Failing that, one of the Quinns said they were going to buy a personal Bulldog in .44Spl at a local dealer, without C2000 being involved in picking it out, in part so they can do a follow-up to the first review. I'm looking forward to that eagerly; the Quinns don't live off of gun manufacturer advertizing and have been willing to call a turkey a turkey in previous writings.
