S&W 642 vs. Charter Arms Off Duty

For the past six years my nearly EDC 642 has no finish issues.

My 642 (bought in 1994) stays home more often these days and my .44 CA Bulldog takes up the slack. I've had the Bulldog two years now.

I like them both.

Rock185 said:

I had the opportunity to handle and examine an older Charter Arms Undercover revolver. Seemed like a decent little revolver to me. That being said, I've never personally owned one.
FWIW, years ago Jeff Cooper reported in "Cooper on Handguns", on CA revolvers. He thought the .44 Bulldog was the best concept in pocket revolvers to come along, but reported it was unfortunately produced as a "cheapie". He further expressed the opinion that the CA snubbies were produced to undersell S&W's similar revolvers. He commented on the CA's rough action, crude finish, base pin socketed at only one end, and a yoke design that seriously reduced axial rigidity. Since I have't owned CA products, I don't know if current CA production suffers any of these issues. It does appear that the yoke design Cooper mentioned is the same on current and older CA revolvers.

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DESPITE THE FACT THAT I WAS ENAMORED OF THE CA .44 BULLDOG, I NEVER PURCHASED ONE, NOR WAS I TEMPTED TO......

ALL OF THE GUN WRITERS OF THE TIME, SEEMED TO ECHO COOPER'S OPINION. AS A RESULT, I NEVER DEVIATED FROM THE COLT OR S&W BRANDS, IN MY CHOICE OF REVOLVERS......

NOW, TOO LATE IN MY RUN, AND WITH SO MUCH DEPTH IN MY EXISTING LINE UP, I WILL NEVER OWN A CA FIREARM......

IF I WAS A YOUNGER MAN, EARLY ON IN HIS GAME, I WOULD CERTAINLY GIVE CHARTER ARMS A TRY.......

You're probably about my age (74)...never to late to play a hand or two in the game.

On an Undercoverette, Police Undercover and a Pathfinder the lockup is quite similar to my M640 and M642. With 50 percent or less trigger release there is free movement of the trigger, at 55 to 60 percent release pulling the trigger will advance the cylinder but not fire, at 65-70 percent it will not move at all but if you release and pull it will advance and fire. Over 75-80 percent everything is normal. This was only five guns YMMV.

C****** A**** revolvers IMHO function every bit as well as the Smiths which I prefer.

With the exception of a Stainless Steel .327 Patriot which had the fit and finish if a Smith (and a matching price tag) they did not have the fit and finish of a steel frsm S&W. (I prefer the steel frames.)

I think CAs occupy an important place in the market. For the difference in cost at a LGS, compared to a comperable Smith a newcomer or someone on a limited budget can obtain a decent CA and 10 to 15 boxes of ammo to help them become proficient in its use.

I saw so many charter arms needed repair during my time working at the gun store. I personally wouldnt trust them.

I noticed no one has mentioned the trigger problem on the Charter Arms that I mentioned above.

bmcgilvray said:

Hah dandyrandy! You can send me my image usage fee later.



Here's the other side of the Model 642 that lives around here.


And, a photo of the revolver with the choice of "totin' " ammo.


At the end of the day I'll take the Smith & Wesson J-Frame rendered in steel over any alloy-framed revolver. Shot a circa 1980 Charter Arms Undercover .38 Special on an occasion years ago and it was alright though not as good as the Smith & Wesson J-Frame. Don't know about current Charter Arms Off Duty.

Don't really care for the Model 642 for that matter. Think they are overrated and oversold. But, my wife came to love the revolver in the photos.

My personal notion of the best 5-shot .38 Special revolver is the Smith & Wesson Model 49 or Model 649.

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Naw Im good on that and too heavy on the above stated all steel models. Especially when there is similar size 9s or 380s that are probably a lot lighter and carry more ammo.

TomkinsSP said:

On an Undercoverette, Police Undercover and a Pathfinder the lockup is quite similar to my M640 and M642. With 50 percent or less trigger release there is free movement of the trigger, at 55 to 60 percent release pulling the trigger will advance the cylinder but not fire, at 65-70 percent it will not move at all but if you release and pull it will advance and fire. Over 75-80 percent everything is normal. This was only five guns YMMV.

C****** A**** revolvers IMHO function every bit as well as the Smiths which I prefer.

With the exception of a Stainless Steel .327 Patriot which had the fit and finish if a Smith (and a matching price tag) they did not have the fit and finish of a steel frsm S&W. (I prefer the steel frames.)

I think CAs occupy an important place in the market. For the difference in cost at a LGS, compared to a comperable Smith a newcomer or someone on a limited budget can obtain a decent CA and 10 to 15 boxes of ammo to help them become proficient in its use.

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I tried out all my Charters and it looks like ALL of them present the same double action trigger issue for me. I will try out my S&W and see if there is a similar trigger issue when shooting. I doubt it though. Im thinking that comparing the two I am going to come to the same conclusion that they are both very different.

Old cop said:

CA was a fairly new entry into the market when I was a young cop in the late '60s, but our range officer would not approve them for off duty/back-up carry.

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Did he say why?

As for the the trigger "issue" it probably wouldn't affect me as I am a full release guy with almost every gun I have.

I don't know all that's been said above but, I have 2 of each and as far as CCW? the 642 wins.
I like them both and feel well protected by either, but the 642 is the easier to conceal.
At the range that either are made for, there's not much difference,

dandyrandy said:

I noticed no one has mentioned the trigger problem on the Charter Arms that I mentioned above.

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i have 3 charter arms revolvers...been shooting them for years....never had a trigger issue...not one...ever

comiskeybum said:

I saw so many charter arms needed repair during my time working at the gun store. I personally wouldnt trust them.

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I feel you on that and thats why Im doing this to see if those concerns are valid.

washerman said:

i have 3 charter arms revolvers...been shooting them for years....never had a trigger issue...not one...ever

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On the Charters there is an very audible and felt in the shooting finger click at the very end of trigger release that gives a false positive and it is VERY close to actual full trigger release.

STCM(SW) said:

When it comes to small frame revolvers, I'll match my M638

or M640

up to any CA. Had a .44 CA bulldog long ago. Not even close to a S&W in any way.

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I liked my 638 a lot but the internal lock bothered me to much so I had to send it on down the road and the all steel S&Ws feel to heavy in my pocket for my taste. They all stayed at home because of that and thats does me no good.

Cocked & Locked said:

Image Usage Fee...good idea. I've had that happen several times myself.




Meanwhile...

My 642 (bought in 1994) stays home more often these days and my .44 CA Bulldog takes up the slack. I've had the Bulldog two years now.

I like them both.

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I carry those two a lot. Love em both! Did you shine up the cylinder on that 642 or is that from wear?

Shiny cylinder on my 642 is from wear

Im actually still evaluating both guns... So far the S&W 642 has had flawless operation and well the Charter Arms Off Duty is a different story. These would be considered carry pieces. One of the tests I do thats probably the most important test of them all is after a few months of carrying around the revolvers Ill randomly go to the range and leave them exactly how they been. Speaking of carrying the Charter Arms does feel just a bit liter in the pocket. Thats always nice... I set up my target and draw the guns like I was at the Okay Corral and see how they run. The Charter worked okay if I remember. The trigger still acts weird. I think during the reload and fire I had a hang up and only shot off two rounds.
I contribute this to the atrocious trigger on the gun. Also the gun stopped working all together! Come to find out it was a lead round nose sticking out too far from the case hanging up the cylinder but thats not the fault of the gun. Just something to be aware of... On the S&W it had no problems at all! It even shot all the wonky lead round nose 158 I had that were unusually too long. I would put my money on the S&W but thats just me... I still carry the Charter though but not as much as the S&W.

Even though they are not my my favorite go to gun of all time. Dont be too quick to bash the little Charter. There are some really sweet things about them. They pretty much take all and except all S&W J frame type holsters and equipment. They have pretty much every pistol caliber taken care of in some form of a revolver. They even have a 45 ACP and 40 S&W revolver. They probably have one of the only large caliber revolvers that actually works for me. That being the 44 Bulldog. I love that revolver! The Bulldog is light on the feet but still packs a big bark and most importantly its shootable! Only downside is the Bulldog ammo can get crazy.

They are very easy to work on and easy to disassemble and assemble. I pretty much figured out how they work and fit together without looking at the manual or watching instructional videos. Also those shooters that are into Ruger revolvers should find the Charters construction familiar. Thats because a gun designer from Ruger started the Charter company back in the 60s and pretty much stuck to that similar Ruger design which is arguably one of the toughest revolver designs ever. They are quite tough little guns! The Charters are also one of the safest carry guns of all time. They were one of the first to design the firing pin block safety on a revolver. They also put the firing pin in the frame of the revolver as opposed to S&W at the time putting the firing pin on the hammer which could possibly break after time.

They do require some maintenance from time to time just to make sure nothing has come loose but other than that the old and new guns seem to be good! You can also get them on the cheap cheap! All the bubbas should perk there ears up on that... Especially on the older guns which are also some of the BEST quality revolvers out there.

Looks for Stratford Shelton or Bridgeport makes on the barrel. Stay far away from the ones that start with an "A."


They got the saturday night special prices but they are not the cheap un-reliable quality that comes with the saturday night special. Its safe to say that a Charter revolver will more than likely outlast all of you thats for sure... The new guns do have a life time warranty and heres a bonus! I have to say the customer service is TOP NOTCH! Especially during these trying times where customer service reps care more about there facebook messages than your gun quality. Give em a try! Its money well spent I promise and it wont break the bank!

Charter Arms shines in the customer service area. Here is an example
I have posted before, but in case you missed it:
I bought an Undercover, but didn't care for the boot grips that came on
it. I called Charter Arms, not noticing that it was very early in the morning.
A man answered. I told him about not liking the little boots. He said I
will send you a pair of full size grips, and asked for my address. I asked
can you do that? He said I think so, I'm the president.
When his package came it had the full size grips, some smaller wood
grips, and some Barami "hip grips".
I don't think that would happen at S&W.