Charter Arms = S&W lockwork copy?

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dahermit

New member
I own a Taurus M85 and having seen the lock-work, I know that it is not a copy of S&W revolvers...not even close. However, I have never owned or seen the inside of a Charter Arms revolver, so I am ignorant as to if it is a S&W copy as far as the lock-work is concerned. I would appreciate it if someone who has a Charter Arms would take a picture of a Charter Arms with the side plate off so that I can see for myself what it looks like. The curiosity is killing me.
 
I don't think they're even close. Maybe more like a High Standard Sentinel, maybe.
 

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Charters don't have sideplates.

The lockwork is NOT a copy of Smith & Wesson as Charter uses (at least up through 1990) a transfer bar to transfer power from the falling hammer to the firing pin.

The Charter hammer does not rebound when the trigger is released, the transfer bar drops down.

If you want to get an idea for what the lockwork looks like, check out the exploded view on this page.

http://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/CAR/CAR-002/car-002.html
 
"I own a Taurus M85 and ... know that it is not a copy of S&W revolvers...not even close."

Actually of all the revolvers mentioned in this thread, the Taurus lockwork is the closest to the S&W, though no parts interchange.

Jim
 
"I own a Taurus M85 and ... know that it is not a copy of S&W revolvers...not even close."

Actually of all the revolvers mentioned in this thread, the Taurus lockwork is the closest to the S&W, though no parts interchange.
Click to expand...
No rebound slide for one thing.

It surprises me that inasmuch as patents for the S&W have long expired that companies like Taurus and Charter Arms did not just copy the S&W when they designed their "j frameish" revolvers. It seems it would have been a whole lot simpler to copy rather than engineer from scratch.
 
One reason is that the older designs, even when made with MIM or cast parts (vs machined as in the old days) would still cost more than competing designs. The newer Taurus models use a transfer bar, so a rebound slide is not needed; the Rossi and older Taurus models use the same system as S&W, though no parts interchange.

Jim
 
Douglas McClenahan, the founder of Charter was a former Ruger employee. He used a transfer bar design similar to Ruger's. Ruger never patented the transfer bar, believing it should be available to other manufacturers as an improvement in firearms safety.
 
Ruger also couldn't patent the transfer bar because it was existing technology.

Iver Johnson pioneered it in revolvers around 1890.
 
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