I couldn't pass it up $200 .357 Charter Arms ported 2.2 barrel

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That would be hard to walk away from.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

Heck Yeah! I'm a little over weighted with snubbies now but I'd have been on that like a duck on a june bug.

Glad you like it. I'm asking this not to bash but to learn. I read a lot of negative about Charter Arms. Why is it a good deal if the weapons are not up to snuff? Thanks.

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Who watches the watchers?

Same here and I just spent 3x that on a Ruger .357

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No surprise there. You have the Wiley Clapp version of an SP.

Close but a Gp100 with Crimsontrace grips

Let us know how it holds up!
Geoff
Who notes the Charters are not highly polished and their Quality Assurance is lacking, but functional ones are just that, functional.

How do you like the grips? I like the look, but don't need the laser. I wonder if they make them without it.

THe grip is outstanding. Similar to the rubber GP grips with the wood inserts

I had a Charter Arms Undercover .38 Special stainless with snubnose. Great gun, carried it everywhere in the back pocket of my jeans. Light, reliable, accurate. It was considerably cheaper than the S&W m60, and I like the sights of the Charter better.

Bought it in the early 1980s before I got married. Sold it after we had kids. Would love to have it back.

got 3 charter arms revolvers...38 special 5 shot and a 38 special 6 shot...just purchased a 357 magnum with a 4 inch barrel...all very nice guns and i would recommend them...all good shooters...the 38 6-shot police special is my favorite carry gun and i got quite a few revolvers and semi-autos to pick from including smith-wessons, rugers and kahrs...the charter arms can hang with all of them...and by the way, charter has the best factory grips in the business in my opinion of course

anyone care to address this issue?

I've seen Charters with crude fit and rough finishes but have never seen one that didn't fire when the trigger was pulled. This one is actually nicely finished. I didn't test it for accuracy but the ported Barrel made the recoil from .38s very mild.

You might not need the laser, but your kitty cat will love it.

"I read a lot of negative about Charter Arms. Why is it a good deal if the weapons are not up to snuff? Thanks."

Some here enjoy denigration of guns which are not made by S&W, even Colts, simply because they enjoy it. My personal experience with Charter Arms revolvers is limited to early ones, which I found to be entirely serviceable and well-made. I wish I still had one of my early Undercovers which I long ago sold or traded off. I have an elderly old maid neighbor who has one, and she has promised to sell me hers when she believes she can no longer handle it (along with a .410 Snake Charmer). She is now 82 and getting to that point. I would really like to find an earlier .44 Bulldog, but have yet to find one at what I consider a reasonable price.

Sure.

It's a bunch of baloney.

CA has made decent guns for decades now, and while the finish may not be as nice as a S&W/Ruger/Colt, they are perfectly functional guns.

Just picked up a Charter Arms 38 spec, undercover, one of the earlier models. Shot 200 rounds through it without a problem, not sure how many have been shot before I bought it. They had a quality problem after the company sold and the new company that bought them went bankrupt, but before the sale and after Charter Arms bought it again they are really reliable firearms.

OP that’s a great deal. I have the stainless mag pug and it’s been a great gun. I would by another at 200.

CA is a great company. I have been to the factory and was given a tour by Nick the president of CA. They are top notch operation. While there my wife and I got fire new guns, hang out with their master gun smith, check out the operation, and met boomer one of three golden retrievers. They named one of their .44 guns after boomer Nicks golden retriever.

I also asked about their supposed QA issues. Nick brought us to the repair room and showed us what they had to fix. There was like 6 guns and more than half were old models made years ago out of the Stratford plant.

I only wish they would make a 6 shot .357 with a 3 inch barrel.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Charter Arms revolvers. I think it stems from me being a little kid at the local hardware store and fogging up the glass on the display case checking them out. They were the closest I ever got to a real handgun as a kid. No S&Ws in the hardware store.

They are good guns and I think some of the bad rep comes from the Charter 2000 days. The new ones are good functional revolvers.

I've had a few Charters over the years. The first was an early .38 Undercover with those tiny wooden grips. It shot well, but the darn thing would eat blisters in the web of my hand in less than 50 rounds. At the time, aftermarket grips were near impossible to find. So I sold it. Now I wish I hadn't.
The latest was a 2" .22 Pathfinder. Felt really good in my hand, excellent trigger. I just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it. Its gone.
However, my 1985 3" Bulldog ain't going nowhere.

I have a target .357 bulldog with 4" barrel, 5 shot.

What is the difference between bulldog and undercover?

Thanks, opr1945

Couldn't have said it better or more succinctly myself.

I only own one - an early Bridgeport Bulldog in 44 special. Great carry gun. Light weight, compact, 3" barrel (my favorite length), decent trigger. What's not to like - or even love?

Very utilitarian self defense gun. I've been really tempted to get one of their stainless 45acp "pugs". If I could find one at anywhere near that good of a price it would come home with me, no ifs ands or buts.

Same for a 357 like yours - $200 is a price I couldn't say no to, even though I already have a J-frame in 357...

I own 3 Charter Arms and am pleased with them. They are functional, reliable shooters. I am sure I will end up buying more. I like them a bunch. They shoot well and the finish is not as nice as an S&W. That is why I probably end up carrying them so much.

The next one will be a vintage Undercover. I remember checking them out as a kid in the hardware store.

The Undercovers are .38 spl, but as I recall there are actually two frame sizes as they make a larger frame 6 shot .38 version called the Police Undercover.

The Bulldog is a larger frame .44 SPL that is a loose interpretation of the Webley British Bulldog. I don't think they currently sell the Bulldog in any caliber besides .44 SPL.

The Pitbull is the new offering in 9mm ,.40, and .45 with the cool proprietary system for holding cartridges in place without a moon ring. Again, at least two frame sizes as the .45 is much larger than the 9mm, and larger even than the Bulldog.

The Mag Pug is the 5 shot 357, but I'm not sure if the frame size is the same as the 5 shot Undercover. Anybody?

Snubbies are small, you can get 100 or 200 into a small safe.

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Certified Curmudgeon

IIRC all C*****r A**s have the same grip and trigger assembly made of aluminum. There are two frame sizes the (steel) Bulldogs in .357 and .44, Pitbulls in .45, .40 and 9mm. Police Undercover in .38. Last two are 6 shooters, first four 5 shooters. The small frames are of steel (Undercover) or aluminum (Undercover Lite) and come in .22, .32 H&R, 9mm and .38 special. (6, 5, 5 and 5 shots).

Its really kinda neat from a production standardization and efficiency standpoint. The company sells multiple types of grips on-line, one size fits all, as well as bobbed DAO hammers that can be swapped back and forth with the standard hammers.

One son has several big bores built on Bulldog frames. They don't have the fit and finish of S&Ws but his are all fully functional, accurate and hassle free.

Yeah, I would pay $200.

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Certified Curmudgeon

Mag Pug (5x.357) and Police Undercover (6x.38spl.) are built on large (Bulldog, Pitbull) frame.

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Certified Curmudgeon

I've owned at least a half dozen Charter revolvers over the years, both old and new. I always liked them, except as someone else said, with those tiny grips on the old ones they kicked like the proverbial mule, even with wadcutters. The newer Charter neoprene grips are much better, and will fit the older revolvers.

Kinda wish I'd kept one, but they were always good for sweetening a deal.

If I see one at the OP's price, I'll buy another one.

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John 3:16 .