Dog Grooming: Charter Pitbull .40

[SCCY Marshal]

A buddy has too many projects going and called in a favor. He wants his forty caliber Charter Arms Pitbull "carved-up like you do to half your revolvers before the car has cooled off from the gunstore." I'm not refusing an open invitation to get freaky!







So, we have a cheap snub with too-much grip to look right. What ever will we do?











Proportions look much better, now, and we have room to take more if desired.

Now I'm packing up to see if I can shoot the Werner-Hayes 5^5, run three loads over the chronograph, and group each at 15 yards in moderate snowfall.

I'll get into some context, size/weight comparisons to better guns, plans for the hammer spur, reloading considerations, and handload planning in later posts to follow soon. Bud is headed off on a vacation so I have a couple weeks to get everything done and write-up a report for him.

Input welcome and I'm no Charter fanboy so feel free to offer open disdain.

[SCCY Marshal]

Chronograph:

Federal 180 grain FMJ, aluminum case
- 888fps average
- Note: These have hard primers that my HKs and Berettas hate. The Pitbull set them off in both single and double-action.

180 grain cast powder coated flat point over some amount of HS-6
- 828fps average

180 grain cast powder coated flat point over Trail Boss
- 464fps average

Very low point of impact with all three loads. Recoil in the full power was about like .38 +P in a J-frame or shooting a GLOCK 27. The Trail Boss load was a powderpuff.

The chambers have no patience for dirty ammunition in addition to a very fine cylinder gap. Will be moving on to plated bullet handloads, aiming for a 750-800fps velocity. Something easier on the gun and cleaner for reloading it.

Reloading the Pitbull from a 38 caliber Bianchi speed strip works a treat, assuming no lead or excessive powder fouling. Will be trying the magazine to a compact or subcompact auto, next.

The trigger is better than when he picked it up but far from smooth and will never be a Smith.

For holster fit, my much-hated Galco C819 L STO 158 works fine in the appendix position. But it is a godawful gunsock which no one should ever buy.

[SCCY Marshal]

Grinding Projects for Tonight:

Hammer Spur
- While a very nice size, the corners are a bit sharp. I plan to aggressively round them. I may radius them to the point the tip of the spur is semi-circular. While the snub cleared leather fine, it could stand to be a touch less snaggy. Reducing the chance it eats undershirts and cover garments is also a goal.

Trigger
- Is a little wide and, more pointedly, sharp-cornered. I will be relieving the corners and subtly rounding the trigger face more than factory.

Front Sight
- Will need to be filed down to regulate with the selected load/s. This will be approached conservatively over several range trips. It will then be given an obnoxious yellow fingernail polish highlight.

Rear Sight
- Will be blacked out. The current stainless-on-stainless has got to be improved.

[SCCY Marshal]

Bianchi speed strip demo:









The extractor tabs prevent cartridges slipping fully into the chambers. Anyone familiar with reloading a rimfire from strips won't mind running their thumb over case heads to finish seating. I also tested a reload with the muzle pointed a bit upward. The cartridges were held in partially-seated position by the tabs rather than fall out. This should not be the orientation for a reload but I was curious, regardless.

[Duelist]

Interesting little gun.

[Polecat]

Adopt a front sight with the ameriglo dayglo tritium ring combo, u notch rear, bob the hammer, cut right front trigger guard down ala Bill Jordan, chamfer charge holes.

[lee n. field]

A buddy has too many projects going and called in a favor. He wants his forty caliber Charter Arms Pitbull "carved-up like you do to half your revolvers before the car has cooled off from the gunstore." I'm not refusing an open invitation to get freaky!

...

So, we have a cheap snub with too-much grip to look right. What ever will we do?

[

Nice mod on the grip. I may try that, and see if iI can make my Bulldog possibly pocketable.

Are they using the plastic grip frame in that Pitbull?

Proportions look much better, now, and we have room to take more if desired.

Now I'm packing up to see if I can shoot the Werner-Hayes 5^5, run three loads over the chronograph, and group each at 15 yards in moderate snowfall.

I'll get into some context, size/weight comparisons to better guns, plans for the hammer spur

If you're interested, Charter will sell you a spurless DAO hammer. It's not even expensive. Installing it is literally a 5 minute job.

, reloading considerations, and handload planning in later posts to follow soon. Bud is headed off on a vacation so I have a couple weeks to get everything done and write-up a report for him.

Input welcome and I'm no Charter fanboy so feel free to offer open disdain.

"it is what it is."

I had 2 Undercovers 10-ish years ago, and picked up a used .44 Bulldog with "some issues" early in the current panic. Each has broken the transfer bar at least once. Charter's video makes the replacement look easy. I never found it so.

I'll be interested to hear how it goes.

[SCCY Marshal]

Nice mod on the grip. I may try that, and see if iI can make my Bulldog possibly pocketable.

Are they using the plastic grip frame in that Pitbull?

The grip frame seems to be cast aluminum or ZAMAC.

As for the stocks, they are cheap enough to give it a go and be easily replaced if the results prove unsatisfactory. I cut them to make it a bit more concealable and fit in more jacket pockets. While Charter sells boot grips, they look both hideous and too small versus the nicely increased trigger reach and girth on these. Plus the covered backstrap being a forty.

[jeep45238]

I'll be honest, I sort of like it.

[willie]

Keeping chambers dry will lessen case setback which this design can't tolerate. Two screws must be kept tight: one in front of frame securing crane and the thumb latch screw. If action locks up, opening cylinder requires pushing forward against lip on end of extractor rod. My lgs recently did a transfer to a customer for a Charter 357. After it ceased working, returning it to factory was on his dime. Some work, and others don't. My opinion is that they do not withstand high round counts. When Taurus fires a tech, he hitch hikes to the Charter Arms factory where he's put in charge of quality control.