Any Charter Arms people around?

I've stumbled across a Charter Arms Undercover .38 Special. It's a Bridgeport gun, exposed ejector rod, plain wood grips with medallion, spur hammer, and 2-inch barrel (or possibly 1.8-inch) It's pretty beat up, finish wise, but it's also pretty cheaply priced.

The serial number is 274092. Anyone have any idea about what year it might have been manufactured? I'm drawing a blank searching for an online serial number database...but I'm thinking this is a pre-1974 gun, since Charter moved to Stratford in that year.

Any input will be appreciated.

Can't help you with real life experience but I will say I almost bought that same model last year before settling on a S&W J frame. I have to say that gun felt really good in my hand.

Not a lot of help but I know the Undercovers made at Bridgeport between
1966 and 1974 ranged in Serial numbers from 13,500 to 315,000.
I have 17,303 and I'm guessing 1971 for it.
The Bridgeports were known to have a nice finish and and smooth
action. I know mine does.
129,xxx was in 1972 so yours would probably be 1973 or 1974.
Mark David Chapman used one to kill John Lennon in 1980.
They fit most all J Frame holsters.

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

I had one many years ago. Decent shooter, but nothing to brag about. The problem was that those tiny grips wore a blister in the web of my thumb in just no time at all. Couldn't find anything in aftermarket grips at the time. So I sold it.
If the newer rubber grips will fit, it might be worth buying.

I held Mark David Chapman's Charter Arms .38 back in 1986. It was in the NYPD ballistic section along with Son of Sam's .44 special, also a Charter Arms weapon.

Have you tried contacting Charter Arms? They might be able to pinpoint it for you.

Here's my vintage 1971? Undercover (on the left) and
a newer Undercover on the right. Those Altamont stocks
will work with the older Undercover also. A lot more to
hang on to than those little wood stocks.

Attached Images

SAM_0356.jpg (58.6 KB, 89 views)

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and help! I'll actually go take a second look at it this afternoon. The gun appears to be seriously finish challenged...and I do mean seriously, but I'm seeing no rust or pitting...just finish wear. But old softie that I am, I may buy the thing just to give it a good home.

If it's cheap enough, pick it up ! A friend of mine, a woman, had one a few years back, and she liked it pretty well. Too small for my paw, but seemed well-made and reliable.

Larry

Carried one back in the 70's in my duck hunting kit. It's a serviceable weapon. It feels better in my hand than a stock J-frame, mainly because of the wide trigger built into the Undercover from the start. Charter cuts the sight notch way deeper and better than fixed sight J-frames. It has cheaper build quality than a Smith, but what doesn't?

My two EDC revolvers are Charters-a 25 yo Bulldog 44, and a newer "on duty" I like their light weight while being very rugged design. Also, their hammer block was the original, IIANM, and the design I prefer-very safe and dependable piece IMV.

My two EDC guns are a 12 ounce off-duty 38 and a 20 ounce 6-shot 38 police special. The police 6 shot special is an awesome carry gun. I pocket carry it and i have installed a factory D/A only hammer conversion so no snags. The hammer conversion was maybe $20 and easy as pie. Charter people are some of the best to deal with you will ever find in the gun business. And BTW i own various S/W, Ruger, Kahr, and Kel-Tec semi-autos and revolvers.

My Charter Arms is the stainless 2" made in 1967.
It is still in pristine condition.
The grips are Pachmayer rubber and just wonderful.
It was an issued revolver that was issued to us.
A great "back-up" gun. It was several years ago when I last shot it.
I did notice that the Plus "P" rounds were a handful and the blast noise was deafening. It was a great "ankle" gun, but I wear shorts these days!

I've got an old Charter stainless snub from the late 70's... still unfired in its factory box. Sounds funny now but I bought it to study along with a number of other handguns in my quixotic quest to become a decent amateur gunsmith by age 30. But reality hit me hard and fast with divorce and my dreams evaporated along with my income and family. All these years later, I've still got it just because there were always better guns available for less than what I could get for it. Unlike old Smiths, there is no collector demand for old Charter Arms handguns.

Your comment about how good they are to deal with jogged
my memory. When I bought the newer Undercover, several
years ago, it had the little rubber boot grips on it.

I called Charter real early one morning. A man answered.
I asked if they had any bigger grips for the Undercover.
He suggested the full size with finger grooves. Then he said
I'll just send you a set. I said can you do that? He said
I think so, I'm the president.
When the package came He had also included a set of
Barami hip grips for the Undercover. No bills, no charges,
just excellent customer relations.

__________________
In Omnia Paratus

I've got three CA revolvers and like'm big time.

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C & L

I like that .44!!

What's your favorite load for it, and is it both your shooting and carry load?

If you carry it, what holster do you prefer?

My favorite shoot/carry load is 215 grain solid base wadcutters from Matt's Bullets over 6.0 grains of Unique.



I also like the 250 grain solid base wadcutters in the original picture over the same load of Unique. I bought these to load in .44 magnum but have not got around to doing so. I've got plenty of 240 grain lead SWC's but have not loaded/shot any in the Bulldog.

I've shot a variety of factory ammo in it...Federal SWCHP's, Win. Silvertip. PMC JHP, Speer Gold Dot, etc.



I carry it in a Galco Combat Master holster (made for a J-frame but perfect fit) and use a Galco cartridge pouch. Herrett's Shooting Ace grips are my favorites.

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C & L

There's extensive info online about the Charter Arms production,
"through the ages", that allows positive identification of when &
where, along with specifics on the quality variations that came
and went.