I would like to hear about owner’s experience with Charter’s 9mm Revolver. I’m not looking for a target gun. Just something for plinking at the Range and for carry. How is the recoil compared to shooting a lightweight Smith 38spl. I need soft grips on the lightweight for Range time. Is it comparable shooting the lightweight 38 S&W or are the 9mm in Charters much hotter? Are the Charters fairly easy to load and reload at the Range? Would it be a good pocket gun for backup carry? I shot a Taurus 9mm Revolver 30(?) years ago but, all I remember is I hated the moon clips.
Charter Arms 9mm Revolver
- Thread starter Haywood
- Start date
Their spring retention/ejection system intrigued me so I picked up a used Pit Bull in 40 S&W a while back.
Neat system and it does work, but the 40 is a bit snappy in such a light revolver, I might've been better off with the 9mm.
One thing I would note is that it is very easy to allow a cartridge or case to drop below the ejection 'star' if not handled carefully.
Because of that fact I don't believe their Pit Bull series is a good option for carry.
Then again, even though I religiously carry a speed strip, I don't really ever expect to have to reload my daily carry in a pinch, but who knows?
I hope to never have to draw my daily carry in self defense, much less reload it.
Anyhow, I do like the design and it is a decent revolver at it's price point.
Oh, and yes Charter will sell you a spurless hammer for I think about $25 for any of the models they sell and it is a simple swap.
Neat system and it does work, but the 40 is a bit snappy in such a light revolver, I might've been better off with the 9mm.
One thing I would note is that it is very easy to allow a cartridge or case to drop below the ejection 'star' if not handled carefully.
Because of that fact I don't believe their Pit Bull series is a good option for carry.
Then again, even though I religiously carry a speed strip, I don't really ever expect to have to reload my daily carry in a pinch, but who knows?
I hope to never have to draw my daily carry in self defense, much less reload it.
Anyhow, I do like the design and it is a decent revolver at it's price point.
Oh, and yes Charter will sell you a spurless hammer for I think about $25 for any of the models they sell and it is a simple swap.
i had a charter arms pitbull 9mm revolver, and sold it off after 3-400 rounds. c.a. is poorly made to begin with and 9mm was too snappy out of it. like other revolver guys i was looking for cheaper 9mm as opposed to38sp. i have ruger blackhawk convertibles in 45lc/acp and 357/8/9, which are superb platforms. i will never look at charter arms revolver again.
And there is this one:
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A cheaper to shoot snub for fun at the range (not for carry)
The Taurus 905 or 9mm SP101 are both good choices. I own both and enjoy shooting them more than most traditional revolver cartridges.
www.thehighroad.org
Tallball
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I have the 45acp version. It had to go back to the factory once, but they fixed it correctly and it works fine now.
If you buy one and it goes bang X amount of times, enough to satisfy you, it would probably be fine.
If I thought that the "combat reload" of a revolver in my daily life might be likely, I might not carry a Pitbull because of the funky ejection system. I don't carry a reload, though, so that doesn't really matter to me.
I have various 9mm revolvers: Taurus 905, Ruger SP101, Ruger Blackhawk convertible, SAA/1873, and even an Alfaproj.
You don't have to use moonclips just to plink with them. The Taurus and SP101 moonclips are similar and easy to use.
For carrying or practicing for my 'real' revolvers, I like the Taurus just fine for a snubby.
The single-action 9mm revolvers are fun, but not what the OP is asking about, I take it.
And yeah, 9mm has more recoil than 38 special. You can even tell in something larger like the Blackhawk. In a snubby it's definitely more "brisk" than 38 special. Not as snappy as a 357, though. IMHO it feels closer to a 38 than to a 357, but that's just me. I can shoot 50 rounds of it through a snubby with no ill effects.
A pic or it doesn't exist:
If you buy one and it goes bang X amount of times, enough to satisfy you, it would probably be fine.
If I thought that the "combat reload" of a revolver in my daily life might be likely, I might not carry a Pitbull because of the funky ejection system. I don't carry a reload, though, so that doesn't really matter to me.
I have various 9mm revolvers: Taurus 905, Ruger SP101, Ruger Blackhawk convertible, SAA/1873, and even an Alfaproj.
You don't have to use moonclips just to plink with them. The Taurus and SP101 moonclips are similar and easy to use.
For carrying or practicing for my 'real' revolvers, I like the Taurus just fine for a snubby.
The single-action 9mm revolvers are fun, but not what the OP is asking about, I take it.
And yeah, 9mm has more recoil than 38 special. You can even tell in something larger like the Blackhawk. In a snubby it's definitely more "brisk" than 38 special. Not as snappy as a 357, though. IMHO it feels closer to a 38 than to a 357, but that's just me. I can shoot 50 rounds of it through a snubby with no ill effects.
A pic or it doesn't exist:
I have not shot a Charter 9mm, however I did have a Charter and an SW j frame 5 shot 38 spl and now have a Taurus 9mm. In those guns a 38spl produces about 200 foot pounds of energy the 9mm Luger about 300 ft lbs. That makes a pretty snappy increase in recoil. The moon clips that came with my Taurus 905 are soft and easy to load and unload anywhere, they are too soft to carry in your pocket, they are so soft the bullets pretty much fall out if bumped. You don’t need them at the range, most fired cases will fall out of the gun if you bump the gun butt with the muzzle pointed up. Any that hang up come out if poked with a dowel. I believe these are good for pocket carry if the hammer spur is removed. I plan to remove the spur on mine. The SW I had was the shrouded hammer type, it worked well as a pocket carry. I liked the SW and I like the Taurus better than I liked the Charter. I have had several Charters up to 44spl, I prefer the other brands. You may find you like them.
Oninotaki
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I don't have the Charter Arms in 9mm, but I do have it in .380 acp and it uses the same retention system.
Positives:
It is a fantastic plinking gun. The recoil is mild, it is easy to load, and it was easy to mark the front sight to where I need to hold it to achieve point of aim for me. Grips are comfortable for the caliber, and ejection is fine.
Negatives:
Reloading is slower than most other swing out cylinder revolvers but not as slow as revolvers with loading gates. This is fine for me at the range and actually is an enjoyable process with a satisfying click when a round is loaded. The case retention system can scratch a line in the brass as you break it in/learn how to load it.
Would I carry it? Only as a back up, and it's a big back up. The reloading system is too slow and finicky for a life or death situation and the caliber is not one I would only want 5 shots with. For a new York reload it's just fine, but as a primary solitary firearm the combination is just not for me. I would imagine I would feel the same about the 9mm model.
Positives:
It is a fantastic plinking gun. The recoil is mild, it is easy to load, and it was easy to mark the front sight to where I need to hold it to achieve point of aim for me. Grips are comfortable for the caliber, and ejection is fine.
Negatives:
Reloading is slower than most other swing out cylinder revolvers but not as slow as revolvers with loading gates. This is fine for me at the range and actually is an enjoyable process with a satisfying click when a round is loaded. The case retention system can scratch a line in the brass as you break it in/learn how to load it.
Would I carry it? Only as a back up, and it's a big back up. The reloading system is too slow and finicky for a life or death situation and the caliber is not one I would only want 5 shots with. For a new York reload it's just fine, but as a primary solitary firearm the combination is just not for me. I would imagine I would feel the same about the 9mm model.
jmorris
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TTv2
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How does that .45 CA shoot? I always keep a passive interest in a .45 ACP only snub as .45 Colt snubs are almost unobtanium, even the Charters.I have the 45acp version. It had to go back to the factory once, but they fixed it correctly and it works fine now.
If you buy one and it goes bang X amount of times, enough to satisfy you, it would probably be fine.
If I thought that the "combat reload" of a revolver in my daily life might be likely, I might not carry a Pitbull because of the funky ejection system. I don't carry a reload, though, so that doesn't really matter to me.
I have various 9mm revolvers: Taurus 905, Ruger SP101, Ruger Blackhawk convertible, SAA/1873, and even an Alfaproj.
You don't have to use moonclips just to plink with them. The Taurus and SP101 moonclips are similar and easy to use.
For carrying or practicing for my 'real' revolvers, I like the Taurus just fine for a snubby.
The single-action 9mm revolvers are fun, but not what the OP is asking about, I take it.
And yeah, 9mm has more recoil than 38 special. You can even tell in something larger like the Blackhawk. In a snubby it's definitely more "brisk" than 38 special. Not as snappy as a 357, though. IMHO it feels closer to a 38 than to a 357, but that's just me. I can shoot 50 rounds of it through a snubby with no ill effects.
A pic or it doesn't exist:
Tallball
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The recoil on the 45acp Pitbull doesn't bother me. No worse than 38 special in an aluminum j-frame. For me it's about as accurate as any other snubby. It has the werid kinda toy-like Charter trigger, but I'm used to those. I would rate it far superior to 45 colt or 44 special just because the ammo is so much cheaper and easier to get. Those three all feel the same to me when I shoot them in similar revolvers.
It's a 21 ounce revolver shooting 45 ACP. It might not bother some people but any normal person is going to shoot it once and say that was good enough. After a few shots it feels like my wrist has been slammed in a car door. Even light loads aren't fun. The fact that it uses stainless steel rear and front sights molded into frame/barrel make for a poor sight picture, the trigger isn't that great, the loading system is novel but not easy to use. My S&W 325PD is just as painful to shoot at least has real sights and a decent trigger.
TTv2
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It's like there are no good options for a smaller frame big bore snub. I ask about the Charter .45 in general out of curiosity, but I still don't see it as something dependable.
With the Smith .45 ACP revolvers it's cost prohibitive.
Ruger, Taurus, and Colt are missing out on a pretty low competition part of the market with a .45 snub
With the Smith .45 ACP revolvers it's cost prohibitive.
Ruger, Taurus, and Colt are missing out on a pretty low competition part of the market with a .45 snub
W.E.G.
Member
Remember, snubnose revolvers are INTENDED to be carrried a lot, and shot very little.
If you get a snubnose for a "plinker," you probably made a mistake.
I don't find anything that produces .38 Special level recoil to be "fun" to shoot unless the gun is at least a K-frame size, and at least a 4-inch barrel.
If you get a snubnose for a "plinker," you probably made a mistake.
I don't find anything that produces .38 Special level recoil to be "fun" to shoot unless the gun is at least a K-frame size, and at least a 4-inch barrel.
Tinman357
Member
I had the charter 45 colt with an additional 45acp cylinder. Held up very well for many (unk) rounds.
Not a whole lot of fun to shoot all day as the savage little bastard was meaner than a skunk with a sore butt. But it stayed tight and acceptably accurate for the years I had it.
Not a whole lot of fun to shoot all day as the savage little bastard was meaner than a skunk with a sore butt. But it stayed tight and acceptably accurate for the years I had it.
TTv2
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And this is why .32 is the best caliber for a snub revolver.
halfmoonclip
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You beat me to it; real fan of pistol caliber revos, but the 325 wasn't as much fun as I'd hoped.
The small 9mms are more of the same. Spent years looking for a 940, got a nice one, and yes, it's rappy. Loaded some 147 9mms, and recoil was much more like .38s in a 640. That solved the recoil issue, but made me run odd reloads. Need to try them in some other things, for grits and shins.
Moon
W.E.G.
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By contrast, this looks like it would actually be FUN at the range.
halfmoonclip
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Without a doubt, 9s are more fun in larger revolvers than small ones. A 5" 986, or a 40DS Chiappa, are a lot more pleasant to shoot than smaller 9 revos.
One thought, looking at your hogleg...it's not clear if Sam'l Colt or George Luger would have a bigger kitten looking at a 9mm SAA.
Moon
