Kudos to Charter Arms…

Awhile back I picked up an old Charter Arms Undercover .38 Special, made about 1965. It was in good shape, worked OK, and it showed promise as a pocket gun.  It also shot pretty well with a good plinking/small game reload, using W231 and a 158 grain Hornady bullet.

Some 200 rounds later, it started developing misfires with CCI primers; admittedly the hardest primers out there. I checked the firing pin protrusion and got a shade over 0.040” which is well under industry standard. So I called Charter, explained the problem and asked to purchase some replacement parts. They eventually sent me a new mainspring assembly, extra-length firing pin and spring and they didn’t charge me a dime for any of it. This breathed new life into a decent little 38 snub.

Given the horror stories we hear of handgun manufacturers who blame service problems on the customer, demand the gun be shipped back on your dime--then return your gun with problem unsolved—this is exemplary service by Charter Arms, for a gun they made FORTY FIVE YEARS ago.

Some of Charter’s competition could take a lesson from them, on how to treat customers.