Charter Arms Trade

[Harry Callihan]

Yesterday I traded guns with a buddy of mine. He wanted a Taurus 9mm I had and traded me for a Charter Arms Undercover .38 special. This Charter Arms is a 5 digit serial number and made in Bridgeport Connecticut. This was the first generation of these. It's birth date is between 69-70. It's hardly been fired and the blueing is beautiful on it. I know these aren't worth much or very collectible but I think they are cool. Most were carried, used and abused being cheap guns. My buddy has had it since the mid 70s. It came with the larger bulldog grips which were an.option..

 

[Baxter6551]

I own two Charter Bridgeport Undercover .38s
They might not be as finely finished or have the same smooth action as a S&W - but they are completely reliable defensive revolvers.
I recently picked up the second Undercover which was in a presentation box dated 1970. It was like NIB similar to OP. It has the same Bulldog grips.
My earlier one (1964) has their magna grip style but I find with their grip frame I don’t need a grip adapter.
I also have a stainless .44 Bulldog with Stratford address and the same hand filling Bulldog wood grips.

 

[Erich]

Those early ones - well, I've never run across one that wasn't solid. Very nice looking revolver you've got there.

 

[Harry Callihan]

I'm looking for an image of what the original boxes looked like from this era.

 

[Baxter6551]

Here’s what the boxes look like

charter arms bridgeport box - Google Search

 

[DWalt]

A Bridgeport is the one to have. I’ve had several CAs, only one I still have is a .44 Bulldog which is close to the end of production at Bridgeport.

 

[pasound]

Charters are and were never "cheap" guns. They are just affordable, and reliable. I once had three - a Bulldog 44, an Undercover 38 and a stainless Pathfinder 22. Sold all when I was cash short many years ago. I miss the 22 the most.

 

[mk70ss]

Those early year Charters are great guns. Very under appreciated.

 

[ACORN]

I had a Stratford UC Off Duty that a coworker hounded me for until I caved.
Some say they’re ugly but I liked mine and would like to find another of the older ones

 

[kraynky]

Congratulations on the trade! I own a 3" Bridgeport 44 special Bulldog and think they are great little revolvers for the money. I've heard over and over that the Bridgeport guns were the best.

I'm content with mine so far, but I'm also aware that it's not a gun for continuous heavy loads. It is basically a J frame sized gun.

It's on top of a 638 in this photo.

 

[sceva]

Nice one. Those older Charter Arms were pretty good. A co-worker of mine had one back in the late 1980's and I gave him a pair of Herrett Shooting Ace stocks for it. Caused him to lose the Charter because his wife liked it so well with the Herrett's that she claimed it.

 

[mikerjf]

Recently got a Bridgeport Bulldog… it’s magic, like a J-frame with a 4! Really want a set of the old-style Pachs for it, if anyone has a set they’re not using?

 

[Valmet]

All of the Charter Arms stuff I’ve ever fired have seemed like very good guns. Yours looks like a nice early example and would likely be no exception. I’d trade a Taurus for a Charter Arms every day of the week.

 

[alwslate]

I had one of the early ones way back in the early 70s. Charter said the firing pin was beryllium copper and unbreakable. Sounded good to me. I was less experienced at handloading back then and I used some way hot handloads from the infamous Speer # 8 manual in it. I'm amazed now that it didn't blow up. Carried it for a few years and took it to a gun show and traded it for something else. Probably should have kept it. A very good gun for the money.

 

[S-W4EVER]

The bluing on that looks good. I bought a new production Bulldog Classic .44 a few years ago that is already plum-colored. You’d think they could a least get that right.

 

[catcher79]

I have a fondness for Charters Arms revolvers. Over the years I have had several. I have given each of my grandsons a Pathfinder .22's when they turned 12 (with their fathers permission), but I kept the Pocket Target for myself. I also kept a Bulldog .44 special and two of the .32 Undercovers. I always thought Charters were a good value for the money.

 

[jimmyj]

In the 1970s the Charter Arms .38s were popular as "Backups". The ability to open the cylinder by the frame thumb pierce or by pulling forward on the ejector rod was a "Plus". I used a .44 Bulldog 3" as my "Backup" to my S&W Model 29 4" service revolver back in the "Day". I still take My 3" Bulldog to the range, but I can only fired 2-3 rounds as the inside of the trigger guard splits the first joint of my trigger finger.

 

[max503]

With the proliferation of 9mm's these days I'd say you got the best of that deal.

And if it were mine it would get used.

 

[swagmeister]

Just like the current Charter revolvers and most newer manufactured revolvers, the pride in the workmanship produced and the quality of the weapon is just not there like it used to be. These days the standard procedure in production seems to be to crank them out as fast as you can and deal with any problems later. I agree with the earlier posts, the older the better when it comes to Charter revolvers.

 

[Ameshawki]

Owned a number of Charters over the years. Currently down to just my Bulldog. Very good value, they work, they aren't terribly expensive.