Charter Arms Rimless revolver

[Foxxtrot]

Hopeful this comes out in the next month or so. 9mm revolver for me and the wife.

http://charterfirearms.com/products/Charter_Firearms_products.html

[Doublebass73]

It looks like it might be a good concept to sell to law enforcement agencies as a backup weapon chambered in the same caliber as a duty weapon. The same goes for people who CCW semi-autos and would like to have a backup in the same caliber.

[coyotejoe]

To me it looks like just a needless complication, more things to go wrong. There is nothing a 9mm can do better than a .38 special. I'd like to see a revolver with LESS stuff to go wrong. I'd like a solid frame revolver. By that I mean eliminate the swing out cylinder and simultaneous ejection, just pull the base pin, drop out the cylinder and use the base pin to eject empties. That would greatly reduce the cost of production and improve reliability and probably accuracy as well. Pocket pistols are not the kind of gun one will reload in combat, few people who carry a pocket gun even bother to carry extra ammo. I do have a speed loader for my .44 bulldog but I don't carry it with me.

[jhm]

A few yrs. ago Charter Arms came out with a revolver chambered in 9mm federal, I picked one up real cheap  thinking I would be able to make it work, well no ammo, no brass avail, and no longer do I loose sleep looking for any.   Jim

[Brett]

I think that a 5 shot, 9mm snubby has some merit if you carry a 9mm auto as your primary carry gun.  No worry about grabbing the wrong box of ammo.  If your auto breaks you can strip rounds out of your auto's magazine for reloading your revolver.   Plus 9mm ammo seems to be easier to find and a little less expensive around my neck of the woods.  If it works with the 99.999% reliability of rimmed .38/357 ammo in a revolver I would consider it. 

[coyotejoe]

A few yrs. ago Charter Arms came out with a revolver chambered in 9mm federal, I picked one up real cheap  thinking I would be able to make it work, well no ammo, no brass avail, and no longer do I loose sleep looking for any.   Jim

Jim, I have heard but cannot confirm that some brands of .38 S&W ammo will chamber in the 9mm Federal revolvers and that 9mm Luger will chamber and fire though you will have to punch out the individual empties. Perhaps .38 S&W brass resized in 9mm Luger dies and loaded with 9mm bullets?
  When the .338 Federal was introduced they claimed it was the first round to bear the Federal name. I guess they were glad to forget the 9mm Federal.

[jhm]

CoyoteJoe:  I heard all that also but I never gave it a chanch, the best I recall there was some differences in them sizes of it all around, have a tool maker friend and we both looked at him making a set of dies, but it wasnt going to be worth it, Im aware of some ammo needing to be delt with in many fashions to shoot but in that case it just wasnt going to be worth it, I traded it off to a fellow who thought he could make something work, he didnt or couldnt so he got rid of it, someday it will be 100 yrs old and never been fired.   Jim

[cybin]

Look at reloading specs--the 9mm and the .38 special is neck and neck--not a nickels worth of difference.

cybin

[coyotejoe]

True, not a nickel's worth of difference in ballistics but a whale of a difference in chamber pressure. 9mm is not far behind .357 mag in pressures. I assume the little Charters can take it, but for how long remains to be seen.

[Merle]

To me it looks like just a needless complication, more things to go wrong. There is nothing a 9mm can do better than a .38 special. I'd like to see a revolver with LESS stuff to go wrong. I'd like a solid frame revolver. By that I mean eliminate the swing out cylinder and simultaneous ejection, just pull the base pin, drop out the cylinder and use the base pin to eject empties. That would greatly reduce the cost of production and improve reliability and probably accuracy as well. Pocket pistols are not the kind of gun one will reload in combat, few people who carry a pocket gun even bother to carry extra ammo. I do have a speed loader for my .44 bulldog but I don't carry it with me.

Actually H&R (and probably others) used to make just such a revolver. I bought one in the early 80's chambered in 22 LR and it shot pretty well. Dirt cheap too.

 

[coyotejoe]

Yes, the first handgun I ever shot was my Dad's old H&R 922. That's exactly the type of revolver I'd like to see made in larger calibers, something like the old Bulldog revolvers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought up to date with modern materials and chambered for modern cartridges, even auto pistol cartridges. By eliminating the costly machining for the cylinder crane and latch and all the small precision parts involved in the swing out cylinder and simultaneous ejection the production cost could be greatly reduced, the frame strengthened, cylinder to bore alignment improved, reliability and durability also improved.
There would be fewer openings for dirt and foreign matter to enter the works. If the manufacturer then used some of those cost savings to concentrate on improving the quality of interior parts and fitting they could produce a very fine revolver at a very reasonable price. So it would be slow to reload,  Who cares? Manufactures seem to sell a lot of "slow to reload" single action revolvers, why not a compact double action?

[handi270]

I have been following this for about one year. Going to appear in 2nd quarter of 09.  Then later in the year.  Then all the patents not nailed down. Then too busy making current models.

Not railing against Charter, that is just my story in following the CARR.
I followed it because I want one. Supposed to be made in 9, 40, 45; with the 9 and forty first and the 45 acp later.
I want one in 40.

We'll see. Thanks for bringing this back up. I had been on their website recently and did not see the notice or maybe it has just been updated.

noel