Charter Arms Undercover Lite Off Duty 38 Special Revolver - 5 Rounds, 2" Barrel, Polymer Grips, Blue/Black, 3-Dot Sights

Buds has been a champion in this situation so far.They made not accepting this firearm and returning it from my FFL a breeze, (will up date this if necessary once all is said and done). Being a revolver enthusiast I know what to look for before accepting a firearm ie. tolerances. Right out of the box the barrel was canted undertightened. If this is subtle and the factory catches it sometimes they mount the sight off center to correct it. This is a fixed blade front sight revolver so that's a no go. Just that alone would require a trip back to Charter. The cylinder was not locking up consistently after the sear engaged albiet being a shrouded hammer a little trickier to gage, it seemed like it had possibly a weak cylinder stop spring, it would have most likely failed. This is fixable as well but requires a trip back. The over all assembly and appearance of this firearm was rough at best. It is a budget revolver, I get that, but ouch pretty rough. I wanted to give this company a chance, make in America, and all that. They are also at the forefront of things like creating the hammer block safety. But cmon man assemble something with a little care and quality. It doesn't have to be perfect but it should work out of the box and for a lifetime. Too bad I expected more and was going to get a Bulldog but I have lost confidence.

the Charter Arms light off duty is a great gun. I really like the trigger on it and got some nice wood grips for it. Comfortable to carry and shoot.

good weapon priced 100 us dollars more then it should be s@w the 442 better grip better timing better weapon do s@w

Great little pocket revolver. It's extremely light so it has significantly more recoil than most J-frame size revolvers. I keep it loaded with non +P ARX ammo.

everything was perfect start to finish

This is my third Charter Arms revolver I’ve bought recently. I’ve become a bit of a fan. I once owned a Smith & Wesson model 640 Centennial hammerless revolver but I never did warm up to it. It was too heavy in my pocket, too light for a .357 and too small in my hands. I had to be careful with the way I placed my left hand or it would interfere with my ability to even pull the trigger. This gun is nearly half the weight and half the price of the Smith and it fits much better in my hand, while somehow managing to be slightly smaller overall. It rides in my coat pocket like it isn’t even there. The weight of this gun is only half an ounce more than S&W’s very expensive scandium model 340, and while both guns are rated for +P ammunition the recoil can be pretty unpleasant in either gun. I’m using full-power double-ended wadcutters in mine and that seems just right. This load follows more of a handgun hunting concept of two holes and lots of bleeding rather than the defensive ammo theory of “energy dump”, and I think that’s fine when there is not a lot of energy to spare. Standard-pressure hollowpoints out of a snubnose still cannot be counted on to expand properly, and an un-expanded hollowpoint acts just like an old-fashioned round-nose lead bullet: not very effective. Wadcutters will cut a nice, clean hole up to 15” deep and will do the job. Plus there are better internal ballistics involved, such as improved expansion ratio and reduced barrel friction compared to a jacketed hollowpoint that result in more velocity with less recoil. Charter had a bad run ten to twenty years ago, but I would recommend the new ones without reservation. It isn’t quite as pretty as the Smith and the trigger is not quite as good but mine shoots better groups than should be expected from a double-action only revolver, is safe and snag-free with its hammerless design, is very reasonably priced and is stone reliable with any ammunition and under circumstances that might jam a semi-auto, such as being fired from inside a pocket. What more could you want?

I took a chance. It's very light weight and feels good in my hands. I'm a medium glove size. It's very accurate. The trigger is a little harder than my Smith and Wesson model 640 pro. I let my sheriff buddy shoot it....he was impressed. I'm very happy with this purchase. Buds Gun Shop Online does it again with competitive pricing and excellent customer service. It arrived at my FFL in two days. I'm in Texas. I shoot a lot primarily snubnose.

I've shot about 100 rounds of 130 grain FMJ and JHP through this revolver and it shoots great from about 7 yards in (typical self defense range). I didn't expect tack-driving out of a 2" snub nose barrel, but I was hitting sub-2" groups at 5 yards. American made, simple, rugged design, accurate, and affordable - can't beat it.