I've never owned a Charter Arms, but I have had a Taurus 605, 82 (a medium frame .38) and I have a 85CH (factory bobbed hammer). I also have a Taurus 856 that I bought recently, and a non-Taurus S&W 442 (similar in that it is an inexpensive 5-shot small frame snub) and a non-Taurus but Taurus made 2" Rossi 461 (unreliable and part of the recall over safety issues) and 3" 461 (part of the recall over safety issues).
My preference is the aluminum lightweight 856. I don't have enough range time to say it is reliable yet, but it is barely any larger than the 5-shot J-frames, Charter Arms, or Taurus 85 or 605 (and much smaller than the Rossis) but have 6 rounds instead of 5 (20% more). I have the aluminum one so it is very light, thus suitable for pocket carry. Personally, I'd rather have 6 rounds of more controllable .38spl or .38+P in that size gun than 5 rounds of .357mag which will be much slower to bring back on target. The only carry revolver I have that I like better is my 3" new model Colt King Cobra (and saying it isn't in the Charter Arms/Taurus price range is an understatement- I could buy 3 of the Charter Arms or Taurus for the price of the King Cobra).
That said, I have had some trouble with Taurus and don't fully trust them. My Rossi 461 (made by Taurus but an older Rossi design) has been unreliable. Both Rossi 461's are subject to the Rossi safety recall. My Taurus PT140 Millennium Pro had a major failure several years ago (I still need to return it for repair, I'm not in a hurry) that could have caused an AD and/or chain fire easily (the firing pin is stuck in the firing position). And of course, it was also subject to a safety recall.
Both are less reliable than options from Colt, Ruger and S&W. So, why do I recommend the Taurus 856? I figure that in the worst case, if one gets a bad one, it costs about half what you'd pay for several competitor guns and at least 1/3 less than the cheapest competition, so you can get two for the price of one of most of the competition, and you aren't very likely to get two bad ones in a row. That was my thinking when I got my 856, likely enough to be a good one, 6 rounds, and I was on a budget (just bought a few guns in the past few months and had several unexpected expenses just before I bought it).
Now, for what you are considering...If you definitely want to go with a .357mag and don't mind 5 rounds (we are all different and value different things) it seems like a wash to me. I haven't had a Charter Arms, but for the right gun I would be willing to buy one. I like the basic design of the Taurus better, and there seems to be more aftermarket support if you want different grips, or you need a holster, etc. The Charter Arms seems to have better customer service. Which is more important to you?