Charter 2000 .38 snubbies

W

Wade

New member
Anyone own/had the chance to shoot one of these? A local shop has several and they appear to be pretty decent, but I would like to hear some opinions. I tried to search the archive, but it was down at the time. Any and all opinions appreciated, as always. :)
 
The reason Charter keeps coming back from the dead is that the original 1970's era designs were really, REALLY good.

I own a late '70s production "Undercover" .38snubbie. The frame has no sideplates, instead it's an unbroken circle of metal around the cylinder. At the rear, it "forks" and allows the grip frame, hammer, trigger and trigger guard assembly to slide up inside it. Follow? It's a somewhat radical departure, and some gunsmiths comment that it's kinda "funky" to tune one. But it allows a steel primary frame (unbroken with side plates or similar) to surround the cylinder and an aluminum grip frame and trigger guard. Combined with a steel-cored aluminum barrel, total carry weight is halfway between an all-steel and an early all-aluminum snubbie. The Charter snubbie is considered +P rated and may be among the strongest in it's class.

(Mine was WELL tuned by a good gunsmith before I bought it used, barrel gap is .002" and the trigger is a dream...so they CAN be tweaked.)

Now, if by that description you can go back to the gun shop and determine that this new 2000 is using the original design concepts AND it seems to be put together well, then sure...give it a try. Check all the usual stuff regarding cylinder slop, gap and timing (let me know if you don't know how, or I may post a separate "how to check out a revolver" thread).

Jim
 
I have had one for about two years (500-700 rounds through it). It is not the best available, but it has served me well, and fit my budget better. Accuracy is decent for a snubbie. I keep about a six inch group at 25 feet. Sometimes I even get a 4" group.
Be careful taking it apart. There is a small spring in the latch button. If you take the latch apart this spring likes to go flying. It is not a critical part, but it can be difficult to reinstall. I had get a replacement as my took a trip into a pile of stuff on my desk and I never did find it.
 
Wade, bought one last spring after the third trip back to the factory for misfiring and spitting lead,they finally replaced it after numerous phone calls to disconnected numbers,cell phones that were turned off etc. Probably the worst factory service I've ever had on the worst gun I've ever owned. I'll never have another. Melvin
 
Jim Burton: you almost certainly weren't dealing with the new "Charter 2000" corporation, were you? Not if you had the gun for a couple of years. The design was good, the real question is whether or not this current company is any good. What you describe fits the old "Charco" (or late Charter Arms) to a "T".

Cuerno: the Undercover has a steel primary frame and cylinder. All accounts I've gotten is that if a particular specimen is OK, it'll handle a modest diet of +P at a minimum. By "OK", that means Charter Arms production except for maybe their final product before dying. Mine is a damn fine critter :).

Jim
 
Yes, mine says Charter 2000 on the barrel, however, I live in Huntsville, AL. I left an email message on the Charter Arms web site and received a reply from Larry's Pistol and Pawn, here in Huntville. Apparently they were handling the service for Charter. It took about a month before I got a reply, but all I had to to was to go down to Larry's and pick up the parts.
 
Yuck!

Well Jim, I have to agree, that's a damn fine reason NOT to buy one.

What a shame. Why is it sleazeballs keep buying up the design and tooling?!?

Sigh.

Still, it's worth it for the original poster to find this out.

Jim
 
Gun Tests checked it out a couple of months ago, and gave it a Best Buy rating, comparing it with, as I recall, the 442PD and several other lightweight snubbies.
 
Prior to Gun tests, American Rifleman tested one,they couldn't even finish the tests on the first one,had to return it to the factory for another test gun. Was told by Charco that they had shipped a pre-production by mistake. I'll bet!!! Modelmaker
 
There are two manufacturers who have earned a permanent place on my SUCK TO THE MAX List. One is Mossberg, the other is Charter Arms. This is based on extensive personal disappointment in their products. They are irredeemable. They must die.

The tragedy is that Charter Arms had some good designs, but the Fanner Fifty cap pistol that I had as a kid was better made.
 
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