Charter Arms Range Report

[TheTman]

My daughter and I picked up Charter Arms Police Undercover .38 Special today, and went to the indoor range to check it out. She was pretty nervous at first, but calmed down after a shooting a couple of cylinders. I was pretty impressed with the overall quality of the gun, the double action was smoother than I expected, no grittiness, or rough spots, just a smooth pull then bang. Single Action was very nice and very light. Both of us are pretty happy with it. Accuracy was acceptable. We were shooting pretty close range. It's been awhile since my daughter has shot a pistol and I wanted to build up her confidence. It shoots low at 5-7 yards. I imagine it would be closer to point of aim at 10 or 15 yards. My daughter was shooting to the left, so we worked on how she was pulling the trigger, and got her shooting much more towards the center of the target.

I only shot a couple of cylinders, here is a picture of my best group of the two. I was aiming above the 7, single action. The shots hit a couple inches low. It was only about 5 yards so nothing to brag about, but it was off hand.
http://kartalk.pccomps.com/CAgroup.jpg

[DavidR]

Nice report. How was the recoil?

[TheTman]

Recoil was pretty tame, the extra weight of the gun (compared to a S&W Airweight), and those big rubber grips help soak up a lot of it. My daughter had no problems with it, she did notice when we switched to +P that the recoil increased some, but not to an uncomfortable level for her or anything. I don't think most people would have a problem with the recoil, except perhaps someone that was extremely recoil sensitive, would have a problem with it. Even someone like that would probably not have a problem with standard non +P rounds.

[DavidR]

It makes sense that those 3 fingered grips would make the CA easier to shoot then snubbies that you can only get 2 fingers on.

[TheTman]

I think it makes a great gun for ladies or men. I wish I had my older .44 special to compare the action with, but it was very smooth on the 38, with no grittiness or hangups at all. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. $328 at Bud's, but they will sell it for 5 bucks less on the make an offer thing. Insured shipping knocks it back up to 328 though. Now I can't decide if I want another .44 Bulldog Pug, or another .38 Police Undercover, with 6 shots instead of 5. Probably go with the .44 since that's about as close to a .45 ACP in anything that size.

[ltxi]

One of the original '60s Charters was my first snub .38. Best sights available at the time, accurate, and lightweight. I carried it with bulldog grips and shot the hell out of that thing. Still have it. One of my never part with guns.

[gun papa]

My $50 garage sale first gen "pocket hammer" Undercover. It was unfired. It was one of 3 snubbies for sale, $50 each. The others a Rossi and a S&W Mod 12.

When I heard the price, I broke into a sweat. I took them all home. I kept the Undercover.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y131/gunpapa/photobucket-5554-1337146546869.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/user/gunpapa/media/photobucket-5554-1337146546869.jpg.html)

[LawDoc2]

Through the 80's I carried a Charter Arms Off Duty .38 (+ speedloader) when working UC and as a back up on my ankle when doing search warrants. Changed careers since then but still have my Off Duty.

itxi-I agree there are some things you should not part with; like you, the CA is one of mine-just too much history.