Charter Arms .357 Target Mag 5" barrel ?

Kraco

Kraco

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I've been struck by an urge to by a handgun lately, I don't own any yet, and been attracted to wheel guns for some reason. Of course S&W was my first stop, and then ... well.. Ruger, Alfa Proj, Taurus. Then I stumbled on Charter Arms. The attraction is it's 5" barrel. Endless nights researching YT and forums, trying to figure which would best suit me, for shooting paper exclusively. Yeah, I know 357 mag for paper, but my coin my choice. I haven't seen too many recent reviews on this per say gun, I am hopeful some of you guys might chime in with some constructive criticism, about the gun that is. Compare it, bash it, praise it ..

Thanks a bunch,
 
Years ago , a lot of these where floating around, O.K., but not in the class of the "good one", plus they are a hard sell.
Newer ones I can't say, but I will say , that 50+ years of playing with handguns, pay for the good stuff, otherwise in 6 months you will be looking for something else.
Mind you , you can never have too many, unless you have a wife.
BTW, I do like 4 inch guns, or shorter, just got a 2.5 in ruger that is neat.
 
I looked at them and then I held one. Very light. It just didn't feel anywhere near the gp100 or 586/686 or even the alpha proj which felt surprisingly good in my hand
I'd check out a store that has several models or ask at a gun club to see if someone will let you shoot theirs first
 
The Charter Arms Bulldog in .44 Spl was a cult classic for the CCW crowd in the 80s. Their .22 revolver called the Pathfinder, was also a hit as a camping/trail gun.
But that's in the USA....

I actually didn't realize CA was still in business! Their guns always reminded me of starter pistols.
 
I have had a few with 6" barrels and I have to agree that the shorter barrels are somewhat easier and more pleasurable to shoot...unless it is a single-action, then I like the 7 or 8 inchers. Not sure why the preference, I don't think about it much, I just recognize it for what it is. Anyway, you can get a S&W with a 5" barrel. Not sure if they make them now, but they have in the past and they come up from time to time. Otherwise, I would recommend a 4.2" GP100 or S&W K/L/N frame.

Good luck. Let us know what you settle on.

Edit: The 6" guns I had were both full underlug...GP100 and 586. That might be why I don't care for them quite so much. Both really nice guns, but muzzle-heavy (for me). Sold them both and much prefer my model S&W 27 with 5" barrel and not much under the barrel.
 
If you are set on one, ask the dealer who the warranty center is for them. For the longest time CA was sold by distributors without any support as nobody was interested in taking on the role of service depot. They may have found somebody to do the work now, but I expect they're pretty busy :)
dB
 
Thank you everyone, I much appreciate all your comments. Same for me NVshooter, I don't care much for the full underlugged 6" barrel, but I will go handle one first and then decide. GP100 and 686 are in my crosshairs now. The 686+ pro looks ###y with a 5" barrel, but the price is a bit out of reach, at least where I have looked. As for the Alfa, a K frame, I figure dishing out a few more brown bills, get a bit heavier gun, and not look back.

Again, thanks for your honest comments guys.
 
"you have chosen wisely Grashopper"..:)
You would be very happy with either the 586/686 or the GP100. The GP is built like a tank..Try them on for size. I am surprised at how much Rugers have risen in the past year. Almost as much as the S&W's for new.
dB
 
I don't want to hijack my own thread, buuuuuuuut, yeah the Model 66 was the one "I almost bought" had it not been for the 686+ pro that crossed my screen ... from there on to the GP100.... and so on. I rather buy new, and only once, as many have stated on this thread. You guys are making this pretty easy for me, retailers not so much. I've seen some S&W 686 on sale at a few places, kinda bumps the GP100 to the back burner, and of course it was, as of the passed 20 minutes, my choice no. 1. I will again follow your advice, and go handle some over the week end.
 
Kraco said:
I don't want to hijack my own thread, buuuuuuuut, yeah the Model 66 was the one "I almost bought" had it not been for the 686+ pro that crossed my screen ... from there on to the GP100.... and so on. I rather buy new, and only once, as many have stated on this thread. You guys are making this pretty easy for me, retailers not so much. I've seen some S&W 686 on sale at a few places, kinda bumps the GP100 to the back burner, and of course it was, as of the passed 20 minutes, my choice no. 1. I will again follow your advice, and go handle some over the week end.
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You can never have only 1 revolver. Eventually you will buy another and another so don't over think your first purchase.
 
Here's my opinion; I just bought 5 Charter Arms revolvers for use in the delivery of the Restricted Safety course. I got 2 Target Bulldogs and 3 Target Pathfinders for $100.00 each because the shop was getting out of Charter Arms (and I now know why). While $100.00 each may sound cheap, I figure that it's actually about $49.95 over what they're worth !!!

I wouldn't actually fire a single one of them as none of them are timed very well and lock-up (using range rods) leaves something to be desired ! They haven't broken down on me yet, but after 2 courses the ones I used sure rattle and closing the cylinder on one of them can be tough.

Not a single person has left the course saying "I can't wait to get my licence so I can buy a Charter Arms" !! Most say the opposite when handling a S&W, Ruger or Glock ! YMMV
 
jperos said:
... so don't over think your first purchase.
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Sound advice, thank you.


BJP said:
.... the ones I used sure rattle and closing the cylinder on one of them can be tough...
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Seems the be a consensus all over the internet, but I thank you for confirming. I kinda doubted the gun's integrity following hours of viewing YT reviews. The only attraction of this gun to me was the price. It has it's own look, but so does S&W, Ruger, ... 5 round capacity, shy 1 compared to most other popular models out there. 5" barrel vs 4.2" - 4.25" ballistically speaking, as far as I have read, is marginally better in the best case. So nothing really outstanding basically.

CGN feedback carries a lot more weight in my mind then anything else out there. Posts 15 and 16 just nailed the coffin on this model for me. Thanks guys.
 
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