I have been carrying a Charter Pug since 1987. A 200 gr Gold Dot or Corbon load is all you need. The rubber Pachmayrs may be ugly to some but they DO take a lot of the sting out. With wood grips it feels like a completely different gun. A 200 gr. load @ 900 fps. is plenty of cowbell and won't beat up the gun as fast as the heavy loads. I've never pushed mine beyond that and it still locks up like when it was new.I have shot some IPSC and pin matches with it did great (even though everyone was laughing). It'll take pins off the table if you do your part (you just can't miss one).