What's the deal with Charter Arms?

I try to shoot my .44Special Bulldog once a month. Put around 30 rounds down range for re-familiarization. I have my Ruger .44 Special flattops for the normal workload... I like the little gun for it's intended use of CC.... Not a target gun, not a hunting gun, not even a woods gun (have my Single Actions for that) ... just a light small .4x revolver, handy when you may need it for personal/home defense. And that is why I have a Charter Bulldog (made 2010).
 
I've owned 3 of these babies over the decades past, still have 1, and still kicking myself in the behind for selling the others. Unfortunately, other needs were greater. I LUV THESE THINGS. Nice triggers (nicer than the triggers on my 2 S&W revolvers), amazing accuracy, easy handling, low recoil, light weight, and that great big hole at the muzzle is reassuring. NO, you won't get enough velocity out of a .44 Special with a 3 inch barrel to achieve dramatic bullet expansion, and so what? It's already a .44 (.429) and smaller calibers have to work real hard just to make it that far. And that 246 grain bullet isn't going to get any smaller.

I own lots of fighting handguns including 1911, S&W, Colt, Luger, Walther and Webley models, but the gun in my nightstand is my Charter Bulldog. I will be acquiring another one (again!) soon.
 
Post #6...

I agree with post #6.
Charter Arms has a rich history as part of the "gun valley" of well known firearms makers. $$$ problems & a few QC issues in the 1990s & 2000s led to a downward spiral in US sales and the line's quality.
In 2013, Id say a few models like the .44spl Bulldog are worth a serious look but for the $, I wouldn't trust my life & safety to the .38spl or .22LR DA revolvers.

S&W(without the lawyer lock), Ruger, Dan Wesson, Colt, etc would be better.
 
My take on it was that Charter Arms 44 was built to both a price point and a use that was not intended to be heavy or target.

Not sure if it was EK who said carry lots, shot little but that describes my CA 44. I bought it for a reason as it had the pop in those days others lacked and I could keep it reasonably concealed, throw in a glove box and cart around and not worry about messing up a fine gun.

It always was reliable though. The grips shift a bit which is disquieting to S&W and Colt users and the like but it doesn't affect the gun use any.

It was funny my wife could shoot it better than I could and I was a pretty good shot back in the day.

I have gotten rid of all my low cost guns but that one. I keep it around the house as a grab gun.

Modern SD ammo has negated the advantage of the old low slow led slugs but its also still a good go to gun. Not the prime one but no qualms about grabbing it if its the nearest one.

I have to get it down to the range and shoot it a few times again though!
 
I've shot one my friend owns. His (a 3inch tapered bbl 44spl) shoots great at 15 yards. Its all shooter. Some will blame the trigger or the gun but it's a nice light weight carry gun with plenty of power.
 
the deal is easy. its a go from home to work, to store, to home again kind of car. its not fancy but it gets you around.

there is no big club, you wont find 130 dollar books on the amazon shelf devoted to the history of Charter like you will for colt or sw. youll never have to pay an extra 3-400 dollars just because it says colt or sw, or was made in a particular year or decade.

its the hi point of revolvers, as long as you treat it well, keep it loaded, it shoots.
 
I've never had a bothersome problem/malfunction with any I've ever had and I've owned eight or ten (I've given most of them away over the years to friends and family; a definite plus for their relatively low cost).

My bulldog is a frequent carry. Here in a Don Hume slide at about the 4:00 position, easy carry, easy conceal. BTW, the .44 Bulldog at a bit less than 22 oz. loaded weighs less than 4 oz. more than the .38 undercover.
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I like mine.

Will
 
Just received my new Bulldog yesterday. I will be going out this afternoon and running some mild reloads thru it. From my first impression, it will be a very nice carry gun. It's fit and finish are nice for what it costs. Timing is dead on, trigger pull is a bit heavy, but from what I have read, will get better. I was looking for a small 44 that I could carry in my pocket, and the Bulldog fills the bill.
cwmoss
 
They are usuable budget level guns. Its like the person who buys a pietta SAA clone, you want a gun, that works, and doesnt have a price tag like a colt does.

Sure they may not be robust as say a ruger, but 90 percent of the people who buy a small handgun of this size, dont do much shooting period.

SW warranty stipulates 50 years or 50,000 rounds. and they estimate 1,000 rounds a year through a gun. Sure not everyone is going to say that their scandium jframe will survive 50,000 rounds either. but they both should get past 3,000.
 
We - my wife mainly - have put around 500 rounds through an Undercover we bought last February.

A week or so ago it acted up on her - hanging up. She needs it next weekend for a live fire class, I called CA service and explained the situation. They turned it around in their shop in less than a day and had it on its way back to me.

Companies can talk about their warranties - but CA has demonstrated their dedication to service - at least as far as we're concerned.
 
With any revolver keep all the moving parts cleaned then lubed and they tend to work fine for many years. I have seen the star and paw dry on some newbes revolvers at a range stop working. A couple drops of breakfree and some function checks tend to clear up the problems.

My daughter has a charterarms undercover for a few years as her CC handgun. Its not had many rounds fired , maybe 800 but works fine .
 
I just picked up a 3 inch Bulldog Classic and put a 2 1/2 inch dao Bulldog on layaway. The Classic looks just like the first generation Bulldog and has a much nicer bluing than the other modern CA offerings. The classic will do hd duty and the dao will be carried owb this winter.
 
I am in the market for a .357 Mag Pug, and am considering selling my S&W M36 to get one at this point. My better half has the Lavender Lady in .38 Spec and we have never had an issue with it, it fires great and goes where you point it. She uses it as her CCW.
 
As others have said, the company has gone through several incarnations and gone by various names. The current company seems to be doing things right, as evidenced by one local gun shop owner saying he's sold a slew of them, yet only had one with a problem.

Of all their guns, I like their .44 Bulldog and their .32 Undercoverette in .32 H&R magnum. The .44 makes for a formidable defensive gun. What the cartridge lacks in energy it makes up for with pure mass. One owner I knew loaded his with a 200 grain full wadcutter pushing about 840 fps. I pictured one big hole left behind. Or as is fashionable to say today, Oh, that's gonna leave a mark.
 
I had some very favorable dealings with Charter Arms this week so I thought I would share some info. I broke the hammer block on my .40 Pit Bull and was not looking forward to being without the gun during the shipping and repair process associated with my returning the gun to Charter Arms. I called Charter Arms and explained my problem to the head of their customer service Dee Ecker. She sent me a replacement hammer block within a few days and I repaired the gun 15 minutes after the part arrived.
This .40 revolver makes a perfect back-up to my .40 STI and .40 Glock. Charter Arms has not only produced a CCW sized .40 revolver but one that works without moon clips.

As others have stated, Charter Arms makes a good usable product at a reasonable price. I will add my personal comments that their customer service and design innovations are outstanding.

Mark
 
The .44 makes for a formidable defensive gun. What the cartridge lacks in energy it makes up for with pure mass. One owner I knew loaded his with a 200 grain full wadcutter pushing about 840 fps. I pictured one big hole left behind. Or as is fashionable to say today, Oh, that's gonna leave a mark.
Click to expand...

Same ballistics as a .45 ACP. On paper, anyway.
 
I've owned a Charter Undercover from about 1990. It was my first SD handgun. It's not pretty like my Colt. It's not a tank like my Dan Wesson. It has however, served just fine since I've owned it. You want refinement or a great aesthetic experience? Great, prepare to pay accordingly. I'd recommend Charter Arms before Taurus (I've got one of them too.) For those that care, they are US built as well. Thankfully, Charters seem to function better than they look (The opposite of Taurus IMHO.)
This thread got me looking at their site. The Pathfinder series might need a closer look.
 
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