This should be the start of something fun !

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IMO, Charter makes a good economy revolver. Probably won't hold up for more than 30K rounds, but WTH?
Taurus, in general, may be problematic. They have fans and detractors, some have good luck with them, some not.

I had an older model with a 3" barrel. I carried it as a back-up gun in an ankle holster. It was light and easy to carry and was fairly easy to shoot. The recoil wasn't especially bad, but I had Pachmayer grips on it. Not a bad gun and well worth the money I paid and sold it for

I think it is too early to make a decision on Charter Arms. It is an established name, but a fairly new company with little track record. They make some interesting guns and they are priced attractively. The reviews have been generally very positive.

Taurus makes some interesting weapons that are nicely designed and the revolvers I've seen have had a gorgeous finish. But they seem to have an "attention to detail" issue that makes them suspect. All the pieces seem to be there to make a fine weapon, but they can't seem to get it all assembled right.

If you get a good one, I think you are fine. If not, be prepared for a lot of lengthy back and forths with the factory.

I think this is much less likely with other manufacturers. All of which would not be much of a tragedy if they were designing lousy weapons, but as I said above they have some very appealing designs that I won't buy because of the assembly issues.

19-20 years ago I bought a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special & a S & W .38 Spec. Air Weight. I have never cleaned either of these revolvers. The S & W has preformed flawlessly. I never keep track of how many rounds I've fired, I'll guess & say under 1000 from each. Both these guns sat for years {14-15?} without being fired. When I first got the Bulldog I remember having to send it back to the factory for something {been so long I don't remember what}. I mentioned the guns sitting for years without being fired, well when I tried to fire them the S & W was flawless. The Bulldog, on the other hand, didn't work so well. The cylinder was stuck & wouldn't open & upon inspection I saw that that 5" or so long shaft that holds the cylinder shut wasn't coming out far enough to let the cylinder open. I can pry it out to get it to open. I then tried firing some re-loads from a store & they wouldn't fire. But maybe bad ammo, there were dents in the primers but not very deep. Bad ammo? Bad firing pin? I haven't messed with it to try to get it fixed yet... Myself I would NEVER buy anything for self-defence other than name brand, S & W, etc... I noticed someone about said something about Charter not being around that long? So maybe their a new company now? If so, then disregard what I said if buying new. BUT don't buy an older one! I don't remember exactly but I'm thinking the Bulldog was under $200 & the S&W was over $400. I got what I paid for!

I've owned two new Charter snubbys (a Undercover .38 from the 1980s and currently a .44 Pug) While I agree they are not in the same class of fit and finish as a S&W, mine have always gone bang when I pulled the switch.