A problem with Charter Arms references is imprecision. There does not seem to be much, if any, reliability and consistency in dates. One record says CA moved from Bridgeport to Stratford in 1976, but other information says 1974 or mid-1974, at a SN around 315xxx. Both dates can't be right, but both can be wrong. Pick one. Most references say the .44 BD was first produced in 1973, yet that CA reply says "around 1972." I suppose you could say that 1973 is "around 1972." I did find one reference saying that the first run of .44 BDs was made in 1973 in the SN range of around 175xxx. Not verifiable, so you can believe it or not. But I can sort of believe that, even though there is no substantiation. Too bad no one at CA at that time was acting as a company historian and keeping archival documentation records of important changes and dates as what SN information you can find from an internet inquiry is not to be trusted.

Aside from my .44 BD, the only other CA Revolver I have owned was a .38 Undercover I bought used in the mid-1990s then sold to a friend who needed it more than I did. It was a nice one, near-NIB, and I fired no more than a couple of boxes through it prior to selling it.