Charter Arms

[chrisb]

I'm in the market for a carry gun for my wife. she saw and liked the Charter Arms "Lavender Lady" which is a snobby 38 spcl with a purple frame. I've seen there guns on Gunbroker and at shows are pretty reasonable prices, but I know the you get what you pay for school of thought as well. Anybody own one? Have experience with one? Seeing as how my wife will be carrying this around for protection it's important to me that the gun is of high quality. Anything else you can recommend that won't break the bank?

[littlebuf]

go with a S&W 686. it will cost more but if its for carry then your assuming at some point your wife's life will depend on it. whats that worth to you?

[littlebuf]

i think 686 is the wrong model number, i think thats the big one. the one im talking about is the little 38 J frame

[littlebuf]

this one

[chrisb]

So other than the name recognition that adds to the price what makes a S&W so expensive? There are others made in the USA that don't cost as much and there are even semi auto's that don't command that price. having never owned one I don't really know much about S&W's so i'm just not sure why they cost what they do compared to other makes.

[littlebuf]

well the one pictured you is a little spendy because of the crimson trace grips. nice feature but not necessary.other than that like you said you get what you pay for. the J frame is a proven pistol. it will go bang when you pull the trigger.

[MtnMuley]

Never heard anything positive about those airweights.   I do know that they have more recoil than a standard frame.....and for a lady???

[chrisb]

The Charter Arms she liked is like $350ish and i even saw a Taurus for like $450. So why is the Smith $700 even without the crimson trace grips?

[littlebuf]

Never heard anything positive about those airweights.   I do know that they have more recoil than a standard frame.....and for a lady???

recoil doesnt mean much when your defending your self. and most ladies dont want to lug around a heavy gun just because it will cut down on the recoil the few times she will probably shoot it at the range.

[high country]

I have a set of those grips for a round frame if anyone is on the hunt for em'......too painful with my 329pd.......oh, and go smith.

[littlebuf]

check fit finish and weight of those pistols side by side. the smith will win hands down. it rings very true with women that if its a chore to carry around it probably wont be carried on a regular basis. there not into the macho thing like us. these air weights are easy to carry

[high country]

I had a taraus 450ti which is their lightest pistol in 45lc+p.....it took the recoil of that beast very well, but the lock up was pretty sloppy compared to my smiths. I sold the 450ti and bought a 329pd which is night and day better finish and lock up. ask around and you will hear that smiths warranty dept is fast and free. send them a gun that is wore through the blue or has a bum sight and you will likely have a new looking piece in a few weeks.......now ask about charter or taraus' turn time....not that fixing a hiccup should be the deciding factor.

the airweights are pretty rough on the recoil no doubt, but if you load them right with light bullets they are gravy to practice with.....add some snort to your cary loads and you will have agun thatis a pleasure to carry and packs a walop

[littlebuf]

charter and Taurus make good revolvers, i wouldn't count on them for a carry piece until i had shot them allot. the smith i would shoot to make sure there are no factory defects, carry and shoot as i normally do for practice.

[MtnMuley]

recoil doesnt mean much when your defending your self. and most ladies dont want to lug around a heavy gun just because it will cut down on the recoil the few times she will probably shoot it at the range.
[/quote]   If that's case you might as well go with the biggest caliber airweight their is.

[littlebuf]

recoil doesnt mean much when your defending your self. and most ladies dont want to lug around a heavy gun just because it will cut down on the recoil the few times she will probably shoot it at the range.

  If that's case you might as well go with the biggest caliber airweight their is.
[/quote]

agreed i would carry the 357, but thats a lot more expensive

[high country]

recoil doesnt mean much when your defending your self. and most ladies dont want to lug around a heavy gun just because it will cut down on the recoil the few times she will probably shoot it at the range.

  If that's case you might as well go with the biggest caliber airweight their is.
[/quote]

prolly not. my 450 would buck so hard it would pull 300gr and up bullets even with a lee factory crimp die......that sum bitch was evil bad.....especaily loaded with 360gr hardcast beartooths

[kbyers]

My mom(59 years old) bought a S&W airweight. First pistol she has ever owned, or shot more then once.  She had no problem with the increased recoil over a Ruger security six, and the weight difference between the two is significant.  Look around for a used one.  She picked hers up for under $400 out the door, with less then a box through the barrel, but she always finds good deals like that.

[MtnMuley]

That sounds like the "stopper" I need under my bed, high country!

[high country]

That sounds like the "stopper" I need under my bed, high country!

I would suggest you borrow one before you buy one.......I used to be all about big nasty hard kicking guns, but that thing was a trip to the orthpedic surgeon waiting to happen.

[Gutpile]

Never heard anything positive about those airweights.   I do know that they have more recoil than a standard frame.....and for a lady???

What do you mean? It's a great pistol. You don't have to load ultra hot +P loads. It doesn't kick as bad as a KelTek 9mm. I love mine, fits right in my pocket and carries great. I've never heard anything bad about them other than recoil with +P but if that is a concern don't use +P ammo.  

Mine's a S&W 642. Same as the one pictured but without the laser grip. I do plan on getting one.

[chrisb]

Thanks for the feed back everyone. I'll have to get to a rage that rents and have her try one out and see what she thinks. I don't suppose there is anyone on here looking to trade one away for an AK?

[ICEMAN]

One more vote here for smith airweight.

[AWS]

Used to carry a Charter Arms 4" round butt when I used to work the rail yards in Seattle at night,  I shot it alot and found it very comforting to have along, never had to use it though.  My B in L an ex sherrif carried a Taurus 2" 38 for an off duty gun, still carries it, he trusts it.

AWS

[Shootmoore]

The one to get is the one she will shoot to get profficient with.  The one she will carry and the one that will go bang when you need it to.

Best gun in the world isn't worth spit if you dont have it when you need it.

Shootmoore

[taylorpz]

The one to get is the one she will shoot to get profficient with.  The one she will carry and the one that will go bang when you need it to.

Best gun in the world isn't worth spit if you dont have it when you need it.

Shootmoore

Excellent advice.  First rule of a gunfight is to have a gun.

Don't know if anyone recommended it yet, but it would be worth the money to find a range where they rent guns and she/you can try out a few.  Gun isn't worth anything if she won't spend a little time at practice and she won't carry it. 

I've owned a variety of smaller guns and carried them extensively (backup as a cop in both uniform and plainclothes as well as off-duty).   I prefer Smith's.  The 640 is the all-steel 5-shot that can handle magnums and is a decent shooter, but it is heavy (relatively).  The 642 (Airweight) is lighter but more of a handful to shoot (for practice) because of that reduced weight.  The 300-series (Titaniums) are super-light and absolutely suck to shoot.

If you're not overly committed to a revolver, I would also check out the Kel-tec product line. They make super-compact autos in .32, .380 and 9mm.  I think they're a lot of value and reliable shooters (plus American-made).  Very portable.

The cold reality is no one gun can do everything.  You have to find your balance point between operability, lethality, concealability and portability.  But it still comes down to the most awesome cannon isn't very helpful if its sitting at home or you consistantly miss with it or can't keep it ready to fire.

[MikeWalking]

The Charter Arms she liked is like $350ish and i even saw a Taurus for like $450. So why is the Smith $700 even without the crimson trace grips?

The S&W wont fall apart after a few boxes of ammo like my Taurus did.

Charter Arms? Heard'em compared to doorstops. What's 300+/-$ if it breaks the one time your life depends on it?

[MHWASH]

You should be able to pick up a S&W 642 with out the laser grips for arpund $469. There are several on GB for that now. Evenone with pink grips.

[Buckmark]

Wades in bellevue has rentals simular to what your looking for, not sure if they have a smith though, tauras they do.
My other half has a S&W J frame ladysmith you can have her shoot if you want, there is a range near us in arlington, Aimpoint, not sure if they have rentals.

[Shootmoore]

An addition to Taylorpz's post, If your interested in something other than a wheelgun I would also take a look at the Glock 26 in 9mm.  About the same size of small frame revolver, just thicker at the front and back.  Very concealable and leaps and bounds above a snubby for accuracy.  I carried one for 5 years plainclothes.  I still carry it today as my concealed and at this point have not found anything I like better for a deap cover or concealled carry gun.

Its never had a fail to fire or malfunction with 1000's of rounds down the pipe.  Very forgiving in the maintanance department.  I consistantly shoot low to mid 500's in the 60 round 600 possible PPC course.  Its a struggle, for me anyways, to even shoot a qualifying score with a 5 shot snubby.  Another nice thing about the 26 is if you have the option of carrying a Glock 17 mag as a second giving you an additional 17 rounds with a 2 round extension on the 26 mag that gives you 13 rounds loaded with a second 17 as backup.

Just some thoughts on different options. My first post is still the main things to consider in my opinion

Shootmoore

[demontang]

Supprised noone said ruger sp101. They are a great gun for the money. I will say smith makes some of the nicest revolvers.

[MikeWalking]

Supprised noone said ruger sp101. They are a great gun for the money. I will say smith makes some of the nicest revolvers.

Good Point.  I had an sp101 in .357  Still kicking myself for selling it and the S&W629 and....oh ouch..

[DOUBLELUNG]

I started shopping for a j-frame snubby 3 months ago with the intent of buying a Smith airweight.  I like the Smith quite well, but found the Ruger LCR lighter, more comfortable grip and better trigger than the Smith.  I completely agree with the recommendation that she end up with whatever she is most likely to carry all the time. 

The Ruger LCR is very impressive on the range.  Very comfortable to shoot, my 10 y.o. son enjoyed shooting it (standard velocity wadcutters).  It definitely barks with +P, but still handles well.  I was able to shoot sub-3" 5-shot 7yd groups and 7" 25 yard groups first outing (standing, 2 hand hold, no rest); rapid-fire was worse but still acceptable - and lethal - at both ranges.  With more practice I expect to tighten those up by 1/3 to 1/2.

[Gutpile]

The Charter Arms she liked is like $350ish and i even saw a Taurus for like $450. So why is the Smith $700 even without the crimson trace grips?

They're not. I paid $420.00 or so for mine in stainless at White Elephant in Spokane.

[Huntbear]

Unless you have to have new, go find a used Colt Det. Special.  Great carry weapon, and accurate as they come.  I am still kicking myself for selling mine!   

[chrisb]

The Charter Arms she liked is like $350ish and i even saw a Taurus for like $450. So why is the Smith $700 even without the crimson trace grips?

They're not. I paid $420.00 or so for mine in stainless at White Elephant in Spokane.

According to the S&W website they start at $640 and go up from there.

[Gutpile]

MSRP is always way higher on the Factory websites. Like I said, I bought mine for right around $420.00. The Blue model was in the $350.00 range.

[Gutpile]

Supprised noone said ruger sp101. They are a great gun for the money. I will say smith makes some of the nicest revolvers.

Me too. I was going to buy one in 327 mag but couldn't find one. It's a bit bigger than the S&W642 but definately worth a look. Better choice than a charter.

[rasbo]

sp 101 is a great gun,love mine

[demontang]

The ruger is a great gun and it does bark when you use full power 357 loads but im sure any short barrel 357 would.

[yorketransport]

I don't think that the Charter Arms are bad guns. Maybe just not as durable as some of the others. I had a Bulldog  for a while and i liked it. To me the Charter Arms guns are the type that you buy to carry a lot and shoot a little. Buy the gun and 3 boxes of shells. Shoot 2.5 boxes to get a feel for the gun, and save the rest to use when carrying.

I know that this goes against the logic that everyone should shoot their carry gun until they can hit quarters at 25yds blind folded, but not everyone who carries is a "shooter". Some people just don't have the time, money, or desire to shoot that often. For them, I don't think that they would really notice the difference between a Charter Arms, Taurus, Smith, or Ruger.

Andrew

[Bofire]

I love my SP 101 357, but the little 38 special snubbies are much smaller and lighter. I want one!
Carl

[mazama]

I have owned a charter arms bulldog in 44special, i use shortened 44mag cases mainly use it for backpacking the gun is accurate but is brutal to shoot with heavy loads. But for real firepower i like the Glock m29 in 10mm it has a lot of firepower and is compact. I also carry a Barreta 22 in the back pocket in wallet holster.

[uncoolperson]

I have a non-airwieght charter arms detective model something in 38 somewhere (impulse buy), the right grips and she's a blast to shoot.