# Charter Arms .38



## Grey (Jul 25, 2015)

Scanned through this forum so I may have missed this topic. If I am re visiting the topic my apologies.
Looking for a snub nose 38 for a stash gun in my house. Opinions on the Charter Arms products?


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

We have an old Charter Arms Bulldog, .38 Special, five shots. It was a gift from the founder of the troupe with which my wife was a dance mistress for many years.

It came to us having been fired only once (that is, one shot).
It exhibited bad cylinder end-shake that would keep the cylinder from rotating as several successive shots were fired.
The problem was corrected in about five minutes, with a small shim (a washer, actually) from Brownells.

Now that it works as it's supposed to, we find that it has an exemplary trigger action.
Both SA and DA trigger pulls are light and smooth, and the SA pull is crisp.
Also, it's quite accurate.

If you are willing to pay for an inexpensive tweak or two, our experience says that Charter Arms makes pretty good pistols, well worth their prices.
Besides, the one you buy today will most likely not exhibit cylinder end-shake.


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## packrat (Jul 30, 2015)

I have shot a coworkers .38 (by Charter Arms) it was an older model. We had no issues with it, I don't remember the 
trigger being that great (or bad). They are somewhat of a handful. I know cost is always an issue but a Ruger sp101 will 
do the trick and you can step up to threefiddyseven.
:smt1099


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## berettatoter (Sep 1, 2011)

I have no personal experience on them, but have handled them in the stores and read up on them. Charter Arms seems to be doing pretty good with them now. They seem to run reliably, but don't have the attention to detail you would find with a S&W or Ruger.


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