Any owner opinion of the charter arms snubby?

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ssgrock3

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My brother is considering one for his wife. I am referring to the current production, colored frame. I am aware of it looking like a toy and that risk. They have no kids.
 

aarondhgraham

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A lady friend of mine has one in normal stainless,,,
I think it's a very nice revolver,,,
She hates it.

Her problem is that she can't hit the ground with it,,,
I on the other hand shoot it as well as I do my S&W model 36.

It's a good gun but like any snubby,,,
One must practice with it.

Aarond

.
 

Rod Snell

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Over and over I say, she must shoot it first. It is an experts gun, and the most common mistake is buying the cute little gun for the woman that can't shoot it and does not know it will kick much worse than a medium sized gun. Picking out a gun for someone else without her trying it first is worse than buying her clothes for her. Good luck.
 

saddlebum

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I had one that went out of timing in less than a hundred rounds, you can find ruger lcr's around the same price or a s&w j frame for a little more. I also believe snubbies are terrible choices for novice shooters
 

fubarjohnnyr

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I got one of those pink framed 38's, with the little matching pink carry case for the wife 2 Christmas' ago. First and last Charter Arms I'll purchase. There were a list of things about it.

Neither the wife or I could shoot it worth a darn. The factory grips that it ships with simply do not line the bore up with the natural hand position it wants to sit in. Replaced the grips with a Pachmayr set and it alleviated that issue. Ejection rod binded when depressed, had to disassemble and emery cloth it. Spent cases would stick in chambers, had to buy a little flex 400 grit brush and hone each cylinder. While the exterior finish looked acceptable, there were several areas like behind the crane that obvious machining marks remained.

I don't know what their current production looks like, but this one was half assed done and rolled on out the door.
 

twoguns?

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I had one that went out of timing in less than a hundred rounds, you can find ruger lcr's around the same price or a s&w j frame for a little more. I also believe snubbies are terrible choices for novice shooters

You had one of those pink framend pistols?....;/

I had an older one for about 15 years.
I believe everyone I knew shot that thing, thousands of round
If you knew the aiming point, you just about couldnt miss at 10 yards or so
Shot it so much the grips broke, had to duct tape them back on, everyone said that helped reduce the recoil, I didnt notice it much
The only time it ever got cleaned, was when It fell out of my pocket in the creek, when I found it the next day, I shook the water out of it and it worked just fine
Everyone liked it so much, just about all of them wanted to buy it
I finally sold it about 10 years ago fo r$100...(he wanted it...)
A fine little gun, just dont baby it, but sparingly use the +p if at all
It was a stainless model ..."undercover .38 SPL".....around 1977 manuf date...Bridgeport Conn.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/images/34802_1.jpg
 

Junior Bonner

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I can't speak for CA .38 Specials and that line of 9mm that they are rolling out. But I haven't had a glitch yet with my two Bulldogs. One is brand new and the other I've had 7 years. I have under a box put through the new one, and around 800 rounds put through the one I bought way back when.


Edit: I did in fact have another CA which I didn't keep long. It was a .22 Pathfinder. I bought it to save on .44 Special ammo, but still get in good practice. It had a 4" bbl but still looked and felt like a Bulldog. It was grossly inaccurate and sometimes there were FTFs in which the .22 didn't have an impact signature on the rim. So I took it back to where I got it, sold it to the pawn shop and used the money to buy .44 Special ammo.
 
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Buzzdraw

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Over and over I say, she must shoot it first. It is an experts gun, and the most common mistake is buying the cute little gun for the woman that can't shoot it and does not know it will kick much worse than a medium sized gun. Picking out a gun for someone else without her trying it first is worse than buying her clothes for her. Good luck.
Let's amplify it a bit. Like buying wife a dress not knowing anything about her dress size, fit or preferred colors.

Too many snubbies are bought for and by people, both men and women, absenting the knowledge that they are tough to shoot well.

Some can be taught to shoot one well, especially once grips/stocks that work for that user are found. Others are in possession of a close range only tool.
 

saddlebum

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You had one of those pink framend pistols?....;/

I had an older one for about 15 years.
I believe everyone I knew shot that thing, thousands of round
If you knew the aiming point, you just about couldnt miss at 10 yards or so
Shot it so much the grips broke, had to duct tape them back on, everyone said that helped reduce the recoil, I didnt notice it much
The only time it ever got cleaned, was when It fell out of my pocket in the creek, when I found it the next day, I shook the water out of it and it worked just fine
Everyone liked it so much, just about all of them wanted to buy it
I finally sold it about 10 years ago fo r$100...(he wanted it...)
A fine little gun, just dont baby it, but sparingly use the +p if at all
It was a stainless model ..."undercover .38 SPL".....around 1977 manuf date...Bridgeport Conn.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/images/34802_1.jpg
Mine was stainless, don't think the finish had much to do with the quality. About 30 years ago I had a bulldog 44 special that was a great gun, but I don't think there is much relationship of the modern charter arms company and the one from 30 years ago
 

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