Are old model Charter .38's rated for +P?

T

TruthTellers

New member
Just wondering, were the older Charter .38 revolvers, 60's through the 90's, rated for +P? I had on my list of future guns to buy an Armscor M206, but for some reason a used Charter came to mind instead and want to make sure they can hold up to a steady or heavy diet of +P.
 
Probably not.
A S&W J frame won't stand up to a steady diet of +P.
That's why I use standard .38 special ammunition. All +P does is hurt your hand and wallet.
 
Charter Arms did start out as a design that mimicked the Ruger "no side plate for added strength" design.

Having said that - I'm on the same page as Bill w/regards to a steady diet of +P....
 
The 5-shot .38s built on the Undercover frame were not +P rated.

The 6-shot .38s built on the Bulldog frame were +P rated according to CA's advertising at the time, although the guns themselves were not marked +P. These were made in Stratford and I think they all have "Police" in their names, Police Undercover (or Undercover Police), for example.

A steady diet of +P? I don't think so.
 
Ok, sounds like a steady diet is a no-no. So with the Charter's treat them like the Armscor and practice with standard pressure and use +P only if needed?
 
Believe it or not, an alloy "J" frame S&W will loosen up rather quickly shooting very hot ammunition. Most people won't shoot the lightweight guns enough to see it happen. I carried a model 42 for years. Annual qualification consisted of 158 gr. +P ammunition, 200 rounds. It didn't take too many qualificatons to loosen up considerably.
 
Apparently the biggest issue with the early Charter Arms guns and really hot ammo was that the grip frame pin holes would stretch and the grip would get really loose.
 
^ I wouldn't call .38+P "really hot ammo" but I guess that definition is broad depending on who's loading that ammo. Obviously Buffalo Bore +P is something that belongs in its own class.
 
I've never understood the reason people think they need to practice with expensive P+ ammo. Fire a few once in a while to get the feel, see where they hit, etc., yea...I can see that, but a "steady diet?"
 
Bill, your first post didn't say alloy. I am a bit leery of them although in 1955 Elmer Keith wrote about shooting factory 38/44 ammo through an alloy J frame with no effect. No idea how much he shot. Plus I keep coming back to the fact that factory +P is NOT a hot load. Mostly 18,000 PSI and that's what the 38 Special was designed to be. I think any revolver stamped 38 Special is OK with +P.

I have a Colt Cobra with an ally frame. Maybe I'll put a couple thousand +Ps through it for fun.
 
I've seen a few Charter Arms revolvers have the grip frame flat out break at the pin/screw holes. I've also seen Charter revolvers have a problem with the cylinder base pin hole in the recoil shield get dinged up enough that the cylinder became very hard to open.

I've shot mine (circa 1972 or so) with a couple of hundred hot handholds, as well as some +P. It's never been as accurate or smooth as my S&W Model 38, but it'll probably work for it's intended use.
 
According to a Speer reloading book, the SAAMI pressure limits are:
.38 Special, 17,000 psi
.38 Special +P, 18,500 psi
.357 Magnum, 35,000 psi.

Iow, the limit for .38 Special +P is less than 10% higher than the limit for .38 Special.

And the limit for .357 Mag is a little over 200% (twice) the limit for .38 Special.

Those are limits, and not indicative of common loads.
 
I wouldn't call .38+P "really hot ammo" but I guess that definition is broad depending on who's loading that ammo.
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter what you call "hot" what matters is what the gun its shot in calls "hot". ;)

I have a Colt Agent, (alloy frame) and Colt officially rated them for +P, HOWEVER, Colt also said that they should be sent back to Colt after 1,000 rnds to be "checked".

That "support" is long gone, and I think there isn't much support for the old Charter Arms, so "rated" or not, I wouldn't feed them a steady diet of +p, just in case.
 
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