Charter Arms Undercover Lite Off Duty 5 Round 38SP +P 2"

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.