Who has a Charter Arms .45ACP Pitbull?

That appears to be quite an overcharge of powder to blow the whole top strap completely off. Usually you see one end blown with the other still attached. Maybe the gun is designed so that the top strap blows off to save the shooter's hand on the light weight gun.

Bill
 
Carmady said:
I'm going to email Charter Arms a little note with a bunch of pics with circles and arrows and give them a chance to make this right. The workmanship on this gun is pathetic, and I now believe that they must ship seconds to online dealers for cheap. I'll spare them anymore badmouth for the time being and give their CS department a chance to swap it out for one that looks and feels like it was made by people who make firearms for a living.

Charter Arms doesnt build museum quality firearms. They never have. They never will. What they do build is solid, accurate, dependable revolvers, at budget prices. There may be some tooling marks. There may be some blotches in the finish. If you want beautiful firearms, get a Smith & Wesson, and pay more than double. If you want a solid, American made revolver, that you can depend on, and want to save a few dollars, then Charter Arms probably has something for you. If you thought for $350, you would be getting a polished, hand fitted, heirloom quality revolver, you made a mistake. What you did get is a revolver where everything that really matters is done well, has a lifetime warranty, and is assembled by a company that will take care of any issues, quickly, cheerfully, fixed right the first time, and at no cost to you.
 
Nicely said weblance. It's all relative. The rifling on my 2 year old 44 Pug isn't pretty, and I'll admit being a S&W and Ruger owner, I was a bit taken back by the machine marks. But that thing is accurate as heck, goes bang every time, and is a joy to carry. Over 2000 rds through mine and counting.
 
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weblance: "...What you did get is..."

You have no idea what I got. You haven't seen this thing. You haven't checked it for lock up. You haven't swung the cylinder out. Etc, etc, etc.
 
I got a Bulldog about 6 months ago, it had to go back to the factory to fix a timing issue.

Other than that, it's been a good gun and I shoot it with Buffalo Bore and Corbon hot .44 special ammo, with no ill effects so far. A very powerful revolver for it's size with those warm .44s in the pipes.
 
Nobody makes a light weight 44 special snub.

I have a beautiful Life long Smith that was bought new by my dad around 1987. I have it now.

I do not carry it for self defense.

After my Dad had this 44 for a while, one day we were shooting in the back yard. He handed me 6 hand loads. He said "Try these". I fired 3 rounds and handed it back to him and said "No thanks"

I think one of those other 3 rounds found its way into the Charter 44.

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Dad did not like the red ramp, so he had it replaced with Black.
My dad shot pins with it for a few seasons.
Web lance is correct, This 44 used is worth 2 to 4 Bulldogs and this smith weighs about double.

Please tell me if I am getting to far off topic.

David

So when I came home from a bicycle ride a dog charged me in my own yard. I fired at the dirt in front of the dog to scare him away. It left a big furrow and the dog took off. Which 44 did I have ? Yup the charter.

More edit, the Bulldog I have is quite accurate.
The first one that blew up shot a little low right. This one is right on.
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Carmady said:
weblance: "...What you did get is..."

You have no idea what I got. You haven't seen this thing. You haven't checked it for lock up. You haven't swung the cylinder out. Etc, etc, etc.

IF you got a defective product, thats different, and Charter will make it right. I have 5 Charter revolvers, so I have a pretty good idea what you got. I know you said you wont comment further until Charter gets a chance to make it right, and thats fair. Have you shot it? Lock up is important, but there will be some play. The way the cylinder feels when it swings out is irrelevant to the way the gun functions. Tool marks, and issues with the finish wont be corrected.

Defective products do happen. When you send the revolver back to Charter(if thats what you decide to do) make sure you write down all the issues on the printable form off the websight. Just telling the people who answer the phone at Charter isnt enough, that info might not get to the repair department.
 
After speaking on the phone Charter Arms sent me a return shipping label, and I'll send it back. They'll get exactly what I got, uncleaned, unloaded, unfired. They'll also get a honey-do list.
 
The current .45acp thread reminded me about this, so I figured an update might be of interest to some.

About a week and a half after receiving the gun they offered me a refund if I supplied them with a copy of my invoice. I complied and they sent me a check.

And that's just swell with me.
 
at least they bought back a junk gun instead of half assing some sort of patch work fix. many gun companies seem to employ parts assemblers but few gunsmiths. this seems to be the reason many guns turn out to need kitchen table "gunsmithing" on the buyer's part.
 
It IS possible that the 45 Pitbull isnt quite ready for Prime Time just yet. They certainly aren't flooding the gun store shelves, or Gunbroker. That happened with the 9mm Pitbull also. They announced its release, there were a few floating around, and then nothing for quite some time. Only recently have they become somewhat available.

Charter Arms WILL get things sorted out, and then things will improve, as far as availability. It might take some time. It only took 7 years for the 9mm...
 
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