Charter Arms 38 Spl
 

a freind of mine just bought a charter arms 38 spl offduty model he shot a box of ammo through it the first day out .out of that box of ammo there were about 6 rounds that wouldnt fire ,the cylinder wouldnt spin to lock in place .we found out the lead on the round was touching the beginning of the barrel .after looking the lead was not seated all the way.we blamed it on the ammo. day 2 totaly new box of ammo ,even a diff brand same thing again .when the cylinder spins the lead touches the barrel flang.any one else have this problem?

Charter Arms
 

First is the Charter new? What load on the ammo? 6 rounds that wouldnt fire? Any noise on these rounds? Is the primer dented? Seems alot of things going on. My guess-ammo. Try box of name brand jacketed bullet rounds. This only if NO safety issues exist.

hey billy yes the gun is new the rounds were reminngton 158 gr lead .no the primer had no marks on them the lead keep the cylinder from rotating enough to lock in place to fire. these rounds all happed at diff times never all at the same time .i thought at first the ammo wasnt crimped enough or the bullet wasnt seated all the way in so i checked the rest of it be for it went into gun but it done the same thing.then he went back out new ammo different brand and same thing . the lead of the bullet is out so far its hitting the barrel flange but the round was ok when loaded in the gun .some times it happens on the second shot some times the last it random. some times you can shoot 10 times without it doing it at all . thanks for the reply and any help you can offer ..

Charter problems
 

Pimp, your at this point: you have an ammo problem-or-you have a gun problem. I would look close at the free space between loaded round in cyl and the face of the cyl. With the Rem. 158lead, it may be fairly close. I would buy a box of 148 wadcutters, and check the still loaded rounds in the cyl after firing the adjacent rounds. With the low powered target rounds you should have no bullet jump(bullet move forward in a loaded round) I don't know your exper. with hangun, or your friends, but I do know that there can be problems with semi-autos with "limp wrist" shooting. Never seen it happen but this may have an affect on a revolver also?? You may have a 3rd party also shoot the Charter and see what happens? If ammo does not solve this condition, have your friend take back to place of purchase, and try for refund/exchange. Personally I would trade up to a S&W or Ruger. Good luck and let me know. I have a Model 60 S&W and use 148 wadcutter handloads for target use, carry Speer Short Barrel ammo (135 Gold Dot HP) with no problems whatever.

))))))) hey thanks again for all yer help billy i told him to buy some 130gr or lower and we would take it out again this weekend.he called charter they want him to send the gun back so they can check it out, may take a week to a month .we were just trying to rule out ammo before he did send it back .he asked about what kind of ammo to use they said any factory load just dont use +p which we werent.thanks again for the help ....

Charter problems.
 

Pimp, have your friend try 148GR. Full Wadcutter Target loads before he sends back. These rounds have the bullet seated flush with (or JUST a hair over) the case mouth.In other words, the loaded round is just a hair longer than a fired case.I really think your friend should take back to where bought NEW and have THEM replace the weapon! The chances of you getting that much junk ammo is slim, and the people at Charter said that it should shoot any non-+P ammo-right?? Again think about the trade-up to S&W/Ruger. Good luck:D:D

[QUOTE=BILLYBOB44;72349]Pimp, have your friend try 148GR. Full Wadcutter Target loads before he sends back. These rounds have the bullet seated flush with (or JUST a hair over) the case mouth.In other words, the loaded round is just a hair longer than a fired case.I really think your friend should take back to where bought NEW and have THEM replace the weapon! The chances of you getting that much junk ammo is slim, and the people at Charter said that it should shoot any non-+P ammo-right?? Again think about the trade-up to S&W/Ruger. Good luck:D:D[/QUOTE i agree about the trade up. this was his first gun and he didnt want to spend the extra cash for a top name brand gun but now he regrets it. we will have to try the 148 as you suggested. if we get back out this weekend ill let you know .thanks again for the help .

Send it back to Charter and have them sort it out. Don't waste any more money on ammunition for this thing. When it's returned, have your friend trade it in at the store for a Ruger or S&W revolver.

Charter Arms has been under various ownerships for many years. Their products as well as their quality control has been questionable in the past and seems to be even worse now.

If your friend plans to ever use the handgun for self or home defense, he needs to get a good one. It can be a used one if it's in good shape.

This is a case of how much is his life worth. In life, you really do get what you pay for.

Amen to that. A defense gun is the last thing I'd want to EVER own if I knew it didn't function flawlessly 100% of the time...