Charter 41 Magnum revolver

[Tamara]

Now I'm tracking. From their perspective, can you blame them for not wanting to spend good money shipping a revolver that probably has had over 50% of its service life used up?

Longer ago than I'd care to admit, I met a man in The Piggly Wiggly parking lot, and traded him an AMT Hardballer for a Charter Arms Bulldog Pug. The best thing I can say about the Pug is, unlike the AMT, it could be depended on to go bang five times in a row. The Pug was one of the two firearms I've owned in my life that I shot to the point of unserviceability, and it didn't take all that many rounds.

Both Charter and Taurus make guns, like small framed .44 Specials and .45 Colts that I wish Smith or Ruger would make, but there's probably a reason Smith or Ruger doesn't make them...

This right here. All of it.

[mtnbkr]

You don't want wrist x-rays like John Taffin?

I'm actually considering selling my Redhawk 44mag because the only thing it does that my 629 doesn't do is handle the hot and heavy rounds (think 300gr+ at 1200fps+). I simply do not have a desire to shoot that stuff anymore and much prefer my 38s, 32s, and 22s. I do have 100-200 rounds of buffalo stompers left loaded, so I suppose I'll shoot those up first to make sure I'm ok with the decision before I take action.

Chris

And it's going on the chopping block.

I took it to the range today. I warmed up with some 44special-level loads, then moved into the heavy stuff. After 24 rounds, I could feel it in my elbow and the base of my thumb even with padded shooting gloves. More importantly, I simply didn't enjoy it anymore.

My elbow was still bothering me when I went to the gym after the range. Getting old(er) sucks.

Chris

[TheKuduKing]

And it's going on the chopping block.

I took it to the range today. I warmed up with some 44special-level loads, then moved into the heavy stuff. After 24 rounds, I could feel it in my elbow and the base of my thumb even with padded shooting gloves. More importantly, I simply didn't enjoy it anymore.

My elbow was still bothering me when I went to the gym after the range. Getting old(er) sucks.

Chris

To each is own. I'm almost 60 and have been shooting handguns since I was 16. Started geting some finger joint arthritis about 5 years ago. Shooting doesn't seem to bother it. Took my S&W 57 out today and fired 20 rounds of 210 grain barnburners down the pipe. Shoots beautifully at 50 yards. Glove helps. Shot my Model 29 8-3/8" two weeks ago with 310 grain boomers. 30 rounds of that was more than enough. I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk in .480... my limit with that is about 25 rounds but its a very accurate revolver.

Lot of Charter Haters here. I've had a boatload of Charters over the years, mostly Bulldogs. Still have several of them. My Classic 3" Bulldog and regular blue models have about 800 rounds apiece through them, including some stupid-idea handloads with 250 grain Keith bullets at 1000 fps. They are running fine with no issues. I have a couple two three Undercovers of various styles with about 600 rounds through each with no problems, including +P ammo. I actually like them better than the J frames. I will say that the high-polish models seem to have the best quality control - no problems with any of those.

Yes, I've sent my share of Charters back, but the factory makes them right every time. Had a 6-shot Police Bulldog 4" that handled like a Colt Police Positive. But after only 100 rounds, it went out of time and was spitting lead. Factory fixed it quickly and free, but I sold it, wasn't really a tack driver. I had a Bulldog Off-Duty lock up with the hammer cocked on a live round after only 25 rounds fired - that was some hairy range gunsmithing to make it safe to ship back. Factory fixed it. Tested a Pitbull XL in .45 ACP - really nice gun that shot 12" high at 15 yards. Again, factory fixed it quickly. Charter even repaired an older Bulldog that I bought used but was made under different ownership.

Have you seen what comes out of S&W and Ruger from time to time depending on what quarter we're in? It's laughable lack of quality. When Ruger came out with the Redhawk 4" I wanted one in worst way. I think retail was $589. Handled it at SHOT Show and had to run to the first aid station from the razor cuts I received from edges all over the piece. And this was a show gun. For a while - and intermittently still depending on their mood - all their revolvers were sold as dual purpose firearms and shavers. A few SHOT Shows later I was at Media Day at the Range and stopped by the Ruger station. Shot their new Super Blackhawk in .480 Ruger and one-holed it at 15 yards (ridiculous distance for that gun, but most gun writers cannot shoot very well)... I guess that's why I bought one when I got home. On the table next to it were three of their new GP-100 in 22 LR. I asked to try one and was told 2 stopped working, use the 3rd one. I couldn't get through one cylinder full before the 3rd one locked up from ratchet and hand binding. Again, these were show pieces.

S&W is no better. A few years ago, 3/4 of the new revolvers I examined over several months had canted barrels. This included Performance Center models. They must have hired some cock-eyed individual in QC. Also in the past few years I purchased a .41 Mag Mountain Gun that had a special safety feature - needed double trigger fingers to get it to cycle in double action. How did that get out door? And I haven't touched on their pistol disasters.

Because I was a shooting enthusiast, I didn't realize how little guns are actually shot until I got involved in the industry. Most buyers of handguns either don't shoot them at all, or buy one box of ammo, shoot half of it, and if it went bang, maybe they'll try it again in a few years. The manufacturers have all figured this out, and the bean counters that run things say it's more profitable to fix a repair and pay shipping both ways (at a considerable discount from FedEx that you or I don't get), than it is to make it right before it leaves the factory new. I wish I had a buck for every non-Charter firearm I've sent back for one defect or another.

And you pay for that too. That same $589 Redhawk is now an eye-popping $889. Really, almost a grand for what the S&W snobs used to call "a finely finished hammer"? Rename that gun Riphawk. Kimber will allow you to part with $1000 for a snub nose that uses industrial-grade and appearance hex head screws in the side plate - classy.

So before you keep ragging on Charter Arms, keep in mind the very modest price they sell for, their unique design and chamberings, the intended use, and the fact that they are not alone in QC-challenge department. Oh yeah, and when they work, they work.