Charter Arms repair times....

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Reese-Mo
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Charter Arms repair times....

Post by Reese-Mo »

My daily carry was a Charter .44 "Boomer". I sent it in when it was new, couple of years ago, because it had a little misalignment on the crane. It came back just fine, and came back in 10 days time. As luck would have it, the crane broke last month. I'm guessing they applied some English and overstressed it. It's aluminum. At least it's not zinc. There is a circular retaining spring, on the crane and that's where it broke as the metal is much thinner there.

I sent it back, a month ago. Got a nice text message saying it was in queue, the repair number, how updates would be delivered. That was a month ago. I sent them an email yesterday and received a reply this morning. Current backlog is at least four months. Ouch. My guess is their suppliers, cannot deliver the parts.

Charter farms out quite a bit of parts, does final maxhine work and fitting in house. After talking to them a while ago, my understanding is they only make frames barrels and cylinders in house. Everything else is farmed out.

I guess that's the current state of affairs. It also explains why there's absolutely zero new Charters available.

I've got a 45 ACP Charter too, zero issues. People call them junk. I tend to think of them as workable, not highly refined, and perfectly adequate. My 44, would still shoot just fine, but when you opened the cylinder the cylinder was slide backwards. Only the grips kept it from falling off. Ah well..... :)
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HarryAlonzo
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Re: Charter Arms repair times....

Post by HarryAlonzo »

I owned a Target Bulldog for awhile, but it fell out of time. It’s very unsettling when you pull the trigger and it doesn’t move. I sold it. I would love to have a reliable J Frame chambered in 44 SPL, but that’s not the one.
Reese-Mo
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Re: Charter Arms repair times....

Post by Reese-Mo »

You mean the cylinder didn't turn when you pull the trigger
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HarryAlonzo
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Re: Charter Arms repair times....

Post by HarryAlonzo »

It would lock up hard. Trigger wouldn’t budge. Whacking the cylinder wouldn’t clear it.
Reese-Mo
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Re: Charter Arms repair times....

Post by Reese-Mo »

Cylinder bolt issue.

My 45 ACP has been flawless. The Boomer has been good except for the crane. Charter has a sleeve on the ejector shaft that is supposed to fit into the frame when the cylinder is closed. Mine was a tight fit, or wouldnt fit, when new. I'm thinking they whacked it to make it fit, fixing one issue, creating another.

I like it because its snag free. No hammer spur, no sights at all. Guess I gotta wait....
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Re: Charter Arms repair times....

Post by JimN »

Sorry to here that. I took apart old Undercover .38 a while back. It was from their Stratford plant, should have bought it. Granted they are not considered a top tier revolver, but I was pretty impressed with, I guess I would have to put it as, the effective simplicity of their design.
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Re: Charter Arms repair times....

Post by Reese-Mo »

Just remember... McClenahan's work eventually was called "Security-Six" when it hit the market, but it took Ruger 8 years to work around some patents, _and_ refine McClenahan's design. ;)

Charter is incredibly small as a company. I've called a few times parts/grips and gotten Dee or Nick Ecker answering the phone.

I also use a bobbed XL frame hammer in my Boomer, as the extra length allows for a smoother transition at the top of the frame for pocket carry. Hadda put the original back to send it in for service.
Reese-Mo
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Re: Charter Arms repair times....

Post by Reese-Mo »

Got an email from Charter. Boomer has shipped. Less time than their estimate, but still.... I've got a lower to pick up for a .22lr project, so....with luck I can shoot it and my Ruger GP-100/.44 all on the same trip.
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Re: Charter Arms repair times....

Post by Reese-Mo »

Surprise.... the Boomer came back earlier than expected, both in estimate and in shipping schedules. I doubted the shipping.... From Shelton CT, to Laredo TX, to Philadelphia PA, to Knoxville TN, to Tulsa OK, to Jacksonville FL, then to Orlando FL, then to W.Palm Florida, then to me. In a day's time. No wonder shipping prices are going up.

At any rate Mark D. did a good job, replaced the crane, checked timing, gap, headspace and test fired 10 rounds (its a 5 rd cyl), and touched up the finish just a little bit. I'm happy.
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