Taurus vs. Charter Arms

T

testuser

New member
I have a desired to own a big bore snubnose revolver. Criteria...

- .44 special (or .45 ACP...NOT .45 Colt)
- Double Action
- Barrel Less than 3 inches
- Weight less than 25 ounces

Ruger is definitely out, all they have are cowboy guns and 40-45 ounce .44 magnums. I'd normally look to S&W, but aside from the discontinued and hard to find 696, the only option seems to be the 329 Nightguard a nice gun, but it's $800! (Currently own a 4 inch Model 29...cost to convert to round butt and cut down the barrel was more than a new handgun.)

At this point, I'm almost ready to give up entirely...

Anyway, the only two companies that make anything close are Taurus and Charter Arms.

I still hear some quality control issues coming from Taurus. I've heard some postive things from a few owners, but none with more than a few cylinders of ammo through their guns.

I don't know anyone that owns a Charter Arms, but my "Buy American" side wants to like them. Still...I hear the "shoot a little, carry a lot" mantra and it scares me a bit. The weapon doesn't have to go 100,000 rounds, but if falls a part after 500, then that's definitely not good.

I have NO intention of shooting any hot loads out of either revolver. Nothing worse than standard pressure handloads and probably the Speer 200 grain round for carry.
 
I have owned two Taurus (.38 and .45 Colt) and Charter Arms .44 Special. My opinion is that you are far better off with the Charter Arms. Light weight and fantastic customer service. If you intend to shoot a few hundred rounds a year, the the Charter Arms should last a long time. They are not built like tanks/Ruger but current production is very well made. I will not buy another Taurus.
 
I have both but older generation guns. I would only use standard pressure for both. Both need Pachmayr/Mikes/Butler Creek style grips for shooting comfort. Neither are long term use range guns. The Charter gets my nod for carry for personal defense due to weight and handling to my tastes.
 
IMHO, Taurus = Trouble

Go with a Charter

dscn0772c.jpg


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I own one of each. I prefer the Charter for one real simple reason. My Charter Bulldog is one of the Alloy Frames. The Taurus is Blue-Steel. The Taurus weighs almost twice what the Charter does. other than that they shoot about the same (at my skill level it would be more "ME" than "GUN" affecting the accuracy in a comparison).
My Charter Bulldog
12077.jpg
 
The Charter uses a steel frame. The GRIP frame is alloy. I have heard of all of the problems with the newer Taurus' but there are quite a few of the older models out there. I would not hesitate to buy one after checking it out to be sure some foolish handloader had not tried to make a Magnum out of it. I used to work for a shop that sold a lot of Taurus guns in the 80s and 90s. We had very few problems with them and they were very good guns for the price. I wholeheartedly agree with Chesster, I carry an older Charter Bulldog Pug. They are a "carry a lot - shoot a little" gun. But there's nothing wrong with that for a CCW gun. If you want a gun to take to the range every week don't consider the Charter. They're built for carry, not long service life. I have had one since 1987. It won't fall apart after 500 rounds unless you feed it +P high pressure- high velocity loads steadily. The Speer 200 gr. Gold Dot is a VERY effective load and will do anything you need without beating the gun to death. I use either the Gold Dot or a hard cast 215 gr. SWC in mine and it's still tight.
 
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I've only owned 3 Taurus guns and havent bought a Bulldog, though I'm seriously considering them right now.

FWIW - - the first Taurus I bought was when I didnt know anything about revolvers (had only semi-autos). Its timing was so terrible that a noted gunsmtih in the area said there was nothing he could do about it. Gritty trigger & sometimes it would mis-fire (da or sa - it seemed to happen randomly). I traded it off.
I have a Taurus Titanium Tracker in 41 Mag and its a nice little gun that I sometimes carry when fishing up at mountain lakes. Its trigger isnt as good as on my Smiths or d.a. Rugers, but its been a good gun. I also have a 5" barrel Raging Bull in 454 Casull and that has also been an excellent gun which I picked up slightly used at a very good price. Both these guns are more than 5 years old. I don't know how their current production guns are.

I checked out a Bulldog recently and liked the fit and finish of the gun. And, I like the trigger much better than on the Taurus guns I've tried. I've thought about this same question and am going with the Charter Arms.

In either case I would pay particular attention about checking the guns out very thoroughly before putting up the money. Good luck
 
Too bad you don't want 45Colt as my Taurus M450Ti. Titanium snubbie is a wonderfull gun. Not made any more . If you ever come across one. BUY IT. No one makes an all titanium gun anymore...too expensive. Also came in 44 and357.

images
 
A carry a lot and shoot a little gun...

This does not just refer to the quality or poor quality of a gun.

My S&W 342, a very high quality gun, is definitely a "carry a lot and shoot a little gun".

I carry it on duty and off whenever my Colt 10mm is too large and as a back up to the Delta Gold Cup.

No matter how high the quality it is, you want to shoot the 342 just a little because it is a miserable little beast to shoot.

From my research the Charter Arms seem to be the same way, you limit your shooting with them not from fear of wearing them out but because shooting them much is not pleasant!!!

Taurus seems to have made good guns in the past but have been having severe QC problems for several years. It may be an exaggeration but it seems like you only have a 50-50 chance of buying a good Taurus and ZERO chance of getting a defective one fixed...

T.
 
MasterBlaster - - I wish I bought that 45 Colt snubbie when it came out !

(Should start a new thread on guns I wish I bought - but thought I could always pick up one later)
 
I had one (Taurus .45 Colt Total Titanium) and it functioned well. +P rated and 21 ounces. My issue was the porting, no good reason to port the gun and made shot shells off limits. In low light it puts on a show. I'm sure someone is very happy I sold mine but I don't miss it. My Charter Arms .44 Special - that I really liked and it was the same weight. Will be getting another Charter Arms in .44 Special.
 
I thought Taurus also made an all steel 45 Colt snubbie version without porting ? Its been a long time since I looked into this, and I haven't found where they post specs on old models, though.

(Prefer longer barrels when possible & no porting.)
 
I stand corrected on the use of alloy's in the Charter. Thanks for the updated info.

To make a visual comparison, here is a shot of my "Pair" of 44 Specials.
Both work fine and shoot pretty well. I say that because I find my hands aren't as strong or steady when dealing with the bigger caliber guns these days. So it is my issue not the guns.

12145.jpg
 
Al's pair are newer than mine. My Charters are the old 3" and Taurus are the Model 431 3" I believe. In fact, I have blue and stainless versions of both being a .44 Special fanatic.
 
Either gun company's item will work well.

If it's a .44 Special you want the Charter Arms Bulldog is a class item from what I've seen here and at other forums.

The only new .44 Special that Taurus makes is the new 445 Ultralight. Here's the specs. www.taurususa.com

Model: 445SS2UL

Finish: Stainless
Status: Available
Caliber: .44 SPL

UPC: 7-25327-60966-7

Capacity: 5

Barrel Length: 2"

Action: SA/DA

Order #: 2-445029UL

MSRP: $539.00

The Charter is a 3 inch barrel. Here's the specs.
44 Bulldog Classic



Model:

TBD



Finish:

Hi-luster blue



Frame:

Stainless steel



Grip:

Walnut-checkered



Barrel length:

3" tapered



Capacity:

5-shot



Caliber:

.44 Special



Hammer:

Standard



Weight:

21 oz.

Sugg Retail:

TBD
www.charterfirearms.com

If you want the longer barreled Charter Target Bulldog it would be a good pick.

I've got older Taurus 431 and 441s that have 3 inch barrels. Nice,dependable, and durable.

Which ever gun meets your needs and fits you is the one to go with.
 
My new CA 44 is a pleasant shooter, I handload 240 gr jacketed lead flat point bullets, with a 10-15% reduced standard Bullseye load. Put 50 thru my NIB CA 44 yesterday, mild recoil.

For those who don't handload, the mild Black Hills 210 gr flat point lead (a cowboy load) is available.

My challenge with the CA 44 is accuracy. I am getting sub-1 inch groups with a S&W 396 NG, an L-frame with same barrel length, but not with the CA 44. See pic.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=83111&d=1344792907

Any advice much appreciated.

PS: I prefer the look of the CA 44 to the Taurus, also CA do not use an internal lock, whereas Taurus does.
 
Charter Arms is coming out with a moon clip-less 45ACP snubbie revolver very soon. Been slow coming. The 9MM and 40 are out already. i'm waiting.
Click to expand...

I would hope so the link is dated 2009. If not out yet its a real long time coming
 
Bulldog

"The Charter is a 3 inch barrel."

That model might be 3" but Charter has several models with 2.5" barrels in addition to their "Target Bulldogs" with 4" and 5" barrels.


"I would hope so the link is dated 2009. If not out yet its a real long time coming"

Some people don't understand what it takes to come out with new products.

For a company as small as Charter to come out with 3 completely different models (9X19mm, .40 S&W and now a .45 ACP) in addition to countless variations of current models in that amount of time is a major accomplishment!

T.
 
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