Charter has a long history in revolvers. That said, I've sold them for my employer and have spent some time handling the different models. First off, I'd have to say they are terribly "gritty." From opening and closing the loading gate to cocking the hammer and pulling the trigger these guns feel cheap. If I had to have a gun and didn't have much money to spend I'd buy a Charter over a High Point any day! If, however, you want some quality in your piece, I'd suggest stepping up one price point to the Ruger SP101. Whatever you do, at least handle one before you buy. We had one come into our shop that the hammer would fall randomly without trigger contact when pulled back to single action. I'd only trust them as double action onlys now -if I had to use one. That's my two cents worth.

A couple of weekends ago, I handled one of the red and black models in .38 Special. I don't know if it was typical of Charter Arms products (it's the only one I've ever seen/handled), but I gotta tell ya, it seemed to me to be a piece of crap. The cylinder kept locking up and wouldn't open. Plus, it simply felt cheap. Just my 2 cents...
Tony

I think with charter arms it is hit and miss. the wife and I went looking for her a snub .38 for her defense when I'm at work and she fondled the charter arms and the taurus and an old s&w model 36. that being said I picked up the charter and it seemed ok for the price range but I have a buddy that his is just an expensive paperwieght and the guy at the store was carrying one as we shopped so apparently quality is not consistant. needless to say I would have prefered the taurus over the charter and we ended up taking home the model 36. if you don't want to budge on price I'd go with a taurus over the charter. if your willing to budge go with the sp101 or budge a lot and go with a s&w. my .02 hope this makes sense.

I've seen good ones and bad ones. They seem to shot pretty straight but the action sometimes feels pretty rough. That's not a big deal to rectify though.

Thanks for the information folks! The price is too good to be true, so I guess I should have known...