Although Charter Arms started with all steel revolvers, many models can be had with aluminum frames (even colorful ones) for a few additional dollars.A revolver is especially good for those people who aren’t likely or able to practice a lot because it is about as close as you can get to a foolproof. No manual safety to disengage, no magazine to accidentally disengage, and a trigger pull that means you really have to want to fire it. The double action.38 snub is my most commonly carried ff-duty gun. A.38 snub of one type or another has served as my backup gun while working in uniform.

• Charter Arms Undercover 38 Special Serial Numbers 448876

Charter Arms is one of the snubbie brands I’ve carried. Charter Arms RevolversCharter Arms has been manufacturing innovative compact revolvers since 1964. Charter’s main claim to fame has been its five-shot.44 Special Bulldog, a compact powerhouse featured in the movie “Manhunter.” The good guy FBI agent Will Graham carries it loaded with Glaser Safety Slugs. He uses it in the end to great effect to take out the serial killer he had cornered.As a firearms instructor, I would rather have somebody learn to be extremely accurate and comfortable with a.22LR revolver, than to be apprehensive and inaccurate with a.38.Today Charter’s manufactures (in the United States) a wide line of snub-nose revolvers for defensive and sporting use. They are lower priced and a bit more innovative in certain ways than those offered by their competitors. Innovative RevolversHow innovative? Charter revolvers, like Ruger double-action revolvers, can be field stripped down to their basic component parts — cylinder, frame, and trigger group assembly — something not readily possible with other brands.

This is because the Charter Arms also shares with Ruger revolvers solid side-plate construction. This allowed early Charter revolvers to withstand higher pressure.38 Special rounds (+P) than the Colt or Smith & Wesson snubs available at the time.

One other big point with me is that Charter revolver cylinders always lock up bank vault tight, something not always seen in other small revolvers.Why have Charter Arms revolvers always been cheaper than their competitors in spite of their innovations? The answer is twofold: First, the innovations that benefit the end user also make the gun cheaper to manufacture. Second, the exteriors are not finely finished. Charter guns are not roughly made; most of the models take advantage of matte finishes. The finishes are useful, rugged and designed to hold up during rough use.

Fine finishes are nice but not necessary for good functioning. Charter Arm’s Exposed-Hammer Revolvers ReviewI decided to get three of Charter Arm’s exposed-hammer snubnose revolvers for this review. Each was configured exactly the same way: stainless steel with a 2-inch barrel. The models were the six-shot.22LR Pathfinder, the five-shot.32 H&R Magnum Undercoverette (can we change that 60s moniker please?) and the five-shot.38 Special Undercover. Sights on all three were fixed and the grips were oversize rubber.One of the first things that I noticed about the.22 Pathfinder is that it is heavier than the.38 Undercover or the.32 Magnum Undercoverette.

The smaller diameter bore and cylinder holes mean more metal in the gun. The.32 and.38 each weighs 16 ounces while the.22 tips the scales at 19 ounces.Not everyone can handle the harder-kicking rounds in a revolver this size. As a firearms instructor, I would rather have somebody learn to be extremely accurate and comfortable with a.22LR revolver, than to be apprehensive and inaccurate with a.38. These folks will find the.22 LR Pathfinder a delight to shoot. The recoil is minimal. At one point I took off the factory oversize rubber grips and installed an original set of 1980s-era thin wood grips on the Pathfinder to make it even more concealable. The wood grips also make the Pathfinder look more refned.

Unfortunately, Charter Arms no longer makes this model of wood grip, so you will have to find another source. Charter Arms’s.22 PathfinderI started with the Pathfinder, deciding to work my way up the power scale. The wide smooth trigger, common to all three revolvers, made shooting easy. Test firing revealed one surprise.

I had intended to recommend Remington Yellow Jacket semi-wadcutter hollow-point loads as a good defensive round for the Pathfinder. However, my test firing revealed that, likely due to bullet design, half of the Yellow Jacket rounds struck the paper target sideways. Even close-range accuracy wasn’t what it should be.Using quality components and tailoring them to the caliber and weapon at hand, Buffalo Bore ammo makes some of the very best defensive loads around.Conventionally styled CCI Mini-Mag and Federal high-velocity hollow-points struck the paper square on, thus illustrating why one should always test fire any load intended for defensive use. Other than that, I had no problems. Function, ejection and firing went off without a hitch.

The.32 Magnum Undercoverette &.38 Special Undercover RevolversFor test firing the.32 Magnum Undercoverette and the.38 Special Undercover, I obtained some great sample loads from Buffalo Bore. While one tends to equate this company with hard-hitting hunting loads, it has made big inroads into the defensive ammunition market.Using quality components and tailoring them to the caliber and weapon at hand, Buffalo Bore ammo makes some of the very best defensive loads around. This is because of owner Tim Sundles’ extensive big game experience. He knows what works on dangerous animals and applies that knowledge to defensive handgun loads for use against dangerous humans.When the.32 H&R Magnum was introduced in 1984, it made the.32 caliber revolver a serious defensive tool. Guns so chambered can also fire the.32 Smith & Wesson Long.

The Federal brand.32 Magnum 85-grain JHP load scoots along at around 1100 feet per second (FPS) with 230 foot-pounds of energy. The Federal 95-grain lead semi-wadcutter version starts out at 1030 FPS and produces 225 footpounds of energy.

Charter Arms Undercover 38 Special Serial Numbers 448876

The.32 Magnum is a superb and under-appreciated round capable of energy levels at the low end of the.38 Special range. It does so with much less recoil, thanks to the lighter weight bullet.WITHOUT EXCEPTION, I recommend the double-action revolver as a starting point for those just entering the arena of serious self-protection.

I don’t care if the guns will be kept at home or legally carried on the street.Buffalo Bore boosts the power level of the.32 Magnum well beyond basic factory loads; the rounds are labeled as +P. The labels on the box also warn shooters not to use their loads in original H&R.32 Magnum revolvers. Their 100-grain JHP load roars out at 1300 FPS, producing a whopping 375 foot-pounds of energy.The other load supplied was its 130-grain hard cast Keith Semi-Wadcutter.

This round exits the bore at 1125 FPS and produces 365 foot-pounds of energy. We are talking two very serious defensive loads that are edging into.327 Federal Magnum territory.Shooting the Buffalo Bore loads gave a whole new feel to the.32 Magnum Undercoverette. The recoil level was more than standard.32 Magnum loads but not quite as stout as hot.38 Special rounds. Accuracy was more than suitable for defensive purposes. I only wish that Charter Arms made the Undercoverette as a six-shot revolver instead of the five-shot configuration.

It seems to me there is enough metal in the cylinder to accommodate one extra chamber.Smith and Wesson once produced a J-frame.32 Magnum revolver with a sixshot cylinder. Stoked with Buffalo Bore ammo, I would choose a six-shot.32 over a five-shot.38 any day.

But since the Undercoverette is a five-shooter, the choice is more difficult. If you want much less recoil than a.38 Special, use Federal’s factory loads. You will lose 100 foot-pounds of energy but still have a capable defensive tool. The Charter Arms revolvers will all fit in the same holster.

Depending on whether you want a.38, 32, or.22, you could easily afford to buy the smaller caliber for training and the larger caliber for carry.Buffalo Bore sent five of their premium.38 Special self-defense rounds for use in the Undercover. The.38 Special “Standard Pressure” lead-free round is loaded with the 110-grain Barnes TAC-XP™ solid copper hollow-point.

Velocity for this load is 1000 FPS and energy is 244 foot-pounds.The Buffalo Bore 125-grain Short Barrel Low Flash load is rated at 900 FPS which provides 224 foot-pounds of energy. The Heavy 125-grain +P load is rated at 1050 FPS and 306 foot-pounds of energy.

The Buffalo Bore 158-grain Lead Semi-wadcutter Hollow-point load produces 850 FPS velocity and 253 foot-pounds of energy. Favorite Test Load — 150-Grain Hard Cast WadcutterMy favorite load in test lineup was their standard pressure 150-grain Hard Cast Wadcutter with a velocity of 850 FPS and 240 foot-pounds of energy. I like this round because it will cut its way through tissue with its sharp edge, severing important parts as it travels. Any of these are great loads and represent the best ballistic potential the.38 snubnose has to offer.The 110-grain Barnes TAC-XP was the easiest recoiling and fastest load tested. The 150-grain Hard Cast Wadcutter cut nice clean holes in the paper.

Recoil was noticeable with all the test rounds. Definitely keep the rubber grips in place. Accuracy for the Undercover was more than adequate for defensive use. Recoil-sensitive shooters will likely prefer the.32 Magnum Undercoverette or the.22LR Pathfinder over the.38 Special Undercover.

A double-action revolver is a perfectly viable self-defense weapon. Charter Arms makes a fine one.When one carries or keeps a defensive gun ready at hand, spare ammo is needed. TUFF Products has a wide line of speed-loading strips known as Quickstrips. These dlexible polymer strips allow for flat, discreet carry of spare ammo. To carry the strips, TUFF makes double pouches that can carry two strips conveniently in your pocket or on a belt.TUFF Products provided me with two sample strips for each caliber.

The.38 Special strips held five rounds but six-rounders are also available. The.32 Magnum strip was a six-shot model. In.22LR, the strips hold ten rounds. Quickstrips allow you to load one or two rounds at a time, and pretty darn fast at that.

Quickstrips are one of the best ways to carry spare ammo for any concealment revolver. ConclusionsAlthough Charter Arms started with all steel revolvers, many models can be had with aluminum frames (even colorful ones) for a few additional dollars. Double-Action-Only Hammerless versions of standard revolvers are also available.With an MSRP of $369, the Pathfinder is a great option for those who want a compact, reasonably priced and easy shooting defensive (or trail) gun, which, like its two siblings, will fit in almost any holster made for J-frame Smith & Wessons. The.32 Magnum Undercoverette as tested and the.38 Undercover have an MSRP of $378 and $331 respectively.

Any member of this trio will provide the owner with a lifetime of service, safety and satisfaction.