Charter Arms .357

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napg19

New member
Looking into one of these with the 2.2" barrel.
Any one have any reviews both good and bad about this revolver. Curious since the cost is very affordable for this caliber. Thanks.
 
No experience with the 357, but I am very happy with the 44 Special Bulldog I got a few months ago. With such a positive experience with this Charter Arms revolver, It's only a matter of time before I have a 357 Pug, and a 22 Pathfinder to keep my Bulldog company.
 
my new production bulldog 44 is a keeper. the .357 version of this gun should be nice as well, especially since it comes factory ported.
 
No experience with the .357. Broke the transfer bar 3 times in my .38, sold it off the last time it came back and bought a S&W.
 
I have a Charter Arms 32 and a 44.

They both feel kind of cheap to me, but I haven't had any problems with either one.
 
I've got the .44 Bulldog. Made in February 2015 (AKA this year).

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I absolutely love it, and it's been 100% rock solid from day one. Devastating stopping power in a small and compact package. Charter Arms is now making some EXCELLENT guns for the money.
 
OP, one thing I should mention is that if you have a problem, Charter Arms WILL take care of you. Their customer service is peerless.
 
I don't know about the 357, but I bought a Bulldog and blew it up. I called and told the girl what happened. She said Send it in. They sent me a new gun. I was shooting some one else Reloads and I made it very clear.

I like the bulldog. Its NOT a smith or ruger, but a GREAT carry gun and I can hit with it.

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David
 
I have a friend who has a (Charter) Pit Bull....the 9mm version. The transfer bar broke not long after he got it. He has still never fired it. He decided to totally strip down the revolver and replace the part himself....then got stuck and couldn't get it back together. He finally decided to send the gun in to Charter, so they could replace the transfer bar....and put the darn thing back together, etc. Charter said they'd take care of all of it, no charge (even though he screwed things up).

Apparently, Charters are not easy to disassemble and reassemble - nothing like S&W's or Rugers.

He just heard from Charter. They say that the 9mm Pit Bulls are having extraction problems.....so they offered to replace the gun with another model of his choice. So, they are sending him a brand new .357 mag snubbie (whatever model that is)....as a replacement.
 
The transfer bar broke not long after he got it. He has still never fired it.
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I suspect the part needs to be redesigned for greater strength, and/or made of better material. I broke three, in a year and a half. Liked the gun well enough, and was very happy with how easy the service dept. was to deal with, but I couldn't trust it for carry.

I wonder how many transfer bars their repair dept. replaces.

He decided to totally strip down the revolver and replace the part himself....then got stuck and couldn't get it back together.
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BTDT. The trigger and associated parts (trigger spring, trigger bushing, hand and transfer bar) are a 3 hand PITA to get back together.

last time in, Charter offered to send me a transfer bar for me to install. I laughed.

Apparently, Charters are not easy to disassemble and reassemble - nothing like S&W's or Rugers.
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Oh,they're fairly simple. And easy to disassemble. It's the trigger spring that causes the diffiuclty. It has to be looped around and under tension, wile the hand and transfer bar are in just the right place, and the trigger assy is slid into place and the trigger pin tapped through to hold the whole thing in place.

They say that the 9mm Pit Bulls are having extraction problems.
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Interesting. Well, no one's gotten that to work well yet.
 
@napg19,

No experience with them, but I would buy one before I bought a S&W or a Taurus.
(I hope I don't start a war here):)
I'm a Ruger freak myself. And while CH-A may be a little rough around the edges who else does certain calibers without the need for moon clips. And now they just came out with the .45 acp (no moon clips) You just got to love that.

They've had their ups and downs but from everything I have read are back on top of it and will stand behind it just like Ruger will.

Go for it. They own the patent so it's doubtful my beloved Ruger will ever do the big 4 anything. They got 9mm in the LCR line but I ain't doing no stinking moon clips. (plus the 9 don't appeal to me) I even fired off a email to the CEO at Ruger last year about it cause he has an open line to talk directly to him. Doubtful they could compete with their own design cause the Charter Arms is a solid design. And like you mention it's a good gun on a budget.

I just may get me a Charter Arms, never know. It's all good.
Happy Shooting
 
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