The Charter Arms/Charter 2000/Charco company and their .38 snubs have had a tortured past. The company has often been perceived as producing revolvers whose quality control fluctuates from workmanlike to well below average. This is generally an unfair tag as most of the poor guns were produced during the short-live “Charco” production years. While never a workhorse like the Ruger SP101, the Charter Arms guns do fit a needed niche. When bought used they offer an adequate value at a below average price and will arm a shooter who might otherwise be priced out of the market. Though occasionally demonstrating loose parts and a rough finish, the guns can often be stored in or carried under conditions that an owner might hesitate to subject to a gun with a more polished look. Many Charter Arms guns produce reasonable accuracy at practical distances and a few will occasional out perform their owner’s skill level. They should be checked every few hundred rounds to ensure that the exposed screws and the ejector rod are still tight. Options for improving the base gun are limited and I know gunsmiths who complain that they can do little with them due to the poor quality of the materials involved. Regardless, I have seen some that are decades old and are still keeping up with their higher priced competitors. I admire Charter Arms determination to produce a working revolver at a reasonable price and have often found their staff dedicated and their customer service helpful.

One of our blog readers asked why I favor the blue steel snubs over the stainless steel guns.  I thought I would share my answer.

Dear Victor:

You asked about my choice of blue steel over stainless steel and sugested that it may have been about the blue steel’s low profile color. You are not too far off.

 Here are a few reasons why I prefer the blue steel over the s/steel (in no special order):

- Being dark it is less likely to get spotted by the police, other good guys and the bad guys

- You can (sometimes) draw it without being observed by the bad guy

- Frame vs.  frame (and produced with the same cylinder material), the blue steel guns are lighter than s/steel guns

- Blue steel guns are slower to heat up and quicker to cool down

- In *some* models when s/steel guns heat up they will bind their action

- In bright light it is easier to find the blue steel sights than the s/steel sights

- Too many s/steel gun owners think “stainless” means “stain-not” and never clean or maintain them.

Now there are lots of good reasons for the s/steel guns and I have in the past recommended s/steel .38 K-frames and s/steel .357 Rugers to many shooters – notably to folks with money, boats and minimal interest in developing shooting skills – but for me I will stick with the blue alloy .38 guns and blue steel .357 guns.

For what its worth. 

I hope that helps.

Yours,

Michael de Bethencourt

Almost any snub you currently possess is a good self-defense gun if only because you can readily put your hands on it. Alternatively, for a shooter looking for that ideal optimum snub there isn’t one. There are of course several manufactures who offer their version of the basic functional snub. And among these models there are some that will work better as self-defense weapons than others. Specific recommendations are difficult to offer due to the various factors that need to be considered: Practical price range, local legal limits, prior advice, new manufactures options, personal aesthetics, owner’s hand size, where the snub will carried, what common cover garments the owner will be wearing to name just a few. While is it difficult to make any definitive recommendations I can offer a few generalities based on my personal experiences with some models.

Snub revolvers are bought by all types of users for various uses. From the sportsman’s classic kit gun to the instructor’s training tool for new shooters to the legally armed citizen’s ubiquitous self-defense carry weapon. Because the needs of these shooters vary, manufacturers tend to build their snub revolvers around some amorphous multi-function goal. The result is that few manufacturers expend much care or attention on producing a dedicated out-of-the-box self-defense snub.  That job invariably falls to the snub owner. When building a self-defense package based on the small concealable revolver, shooters need to begin with an understanding that the snub is in fact an ensemble unit and that the whole is composed of five interconnected elements: the snub, the stocks, the holster, aftermarket gunsmithing and the ammunition. Each customization element requires careful consideration before being applied to your weapon. A failure of any single element may lead to a failure of the whole.

Lay advice involving the judicious use of deadly force is filled with both criminal and civil pitfalls.  Law students spend three years studying just the foundation of the law and then spend the rest of their legal careers learning its nuances.   A few sentences from me cannot do justice to this complex topic and any shorthand I might offer could too easily leave you with a dangerously mistaken impression as to what the law is and is not. Fortunately there are many well done and dedicated resources available on the subject.  Some fill entire books, video tapes, DVDs and lectures.  The great ones include the multimedia works of Massad Ayoob, the texts and lectures of Massachusetts attorney Andrew Branca and Indiana attorney Manny Kapelsohn, to name only three. These experts conduct regular self-defense and the law programs that are both timely and State specific. Additionally you can check with your own state’s NRA affiliate organization. Many of these state organizations have in-house gun-law savvy attorneys who conduct regular self-defense and the law style programs. Remember though that all law resources have their limitations.  Any “this is the state of the law” material is by its nature subject to obsolescence by both new legislation and evolving case law. For that reason the professionals offering judicious use of deadly force training should be contacted and their programs attended on a regular basis.  Their seminar fees will be much less costly than their legal fees.

Andy Branca, well known attorney and author of Self-Defense and the Law, reminds us that whenever you are carrying a handgun it is important to also carry a less-than-lethal self-defense option. Failure to do so, attorney Branca warns, leaves the legally armed citizen open to an accusation that he was acting the part of the vigilante, the proverbial hammer that went in search of a nail. Andy is an advocate for the small 2 oz can of pepper-spray because it is an effective duel level self-defense tool. In addition to the option of actually applying the aerosol, often its presentation alone can deter an impending assault. Few bad guys who have experienced a prior OC hit are in a rush for a second encounter. An alternative companion tool is the compact high intensity flashlight. As nationally known firearms trainer Andy Stanford has noted, a handgun without a flashlight is only a 12-hour tool. As Andy also point’s out, it is the wrong 12-hours. The flashlight is versatile and invaluable for both mundane chores and self defense tasks. It lets you identify both objects and people from a distance, it can light up dark holes where trouble can hide and it can be a very effective improvised Kubotan or Yawara for those trained in either of those weapons. A third possible companion tool is the small folding knife. A small lock-back folding knife can be both a utility tool and a self-defense weapon. When purchased in some non menacing color it is often overlooked as a self-defense weapon and can occasionally pass into an otherwise weapon free environment. If you do opt for carrying OC, a tactical light or a small folding knife be sure to first locate a qualified defense tactics instructor. Many nationally known firearms trainers are crossed trained as OC aerosol or pepper spray instructors. There are also many edged weapon, knife and counter-knife instructors who offer customized one- and two-day self-defense programs specifically using small (2-1/2 to 4-inch blade length) knives. The list of low light weapon skills trainers who accept legally armed civilians is short but some are available. Andy Stanford of OPS Training and Wes Doss of Khyber Interactive Associates are two notable examples. As companion items to your snub, an OC aerosol, a small tactical flashlight and a folding knife give the legally armed and properly trained citizen a remarkably flexible self-defense kit, the whole of which would fit in the palm of one hand.

Last and least on our Mindset list is equipment. Choosing either a specific snub model or appropriate after market features is only important after the issues of mindset, tactics and skills have been thoroughly attended to. I have my own theories about optimum snub models and important snub accessories and I will introduce and explain each of them throughout this monograph.  Keep in mind though that my snub choices and preferred after market options are not recommendations per say. My snub revolver set up addresses my personal requirements and individual skill limitations. Your personal and professional needs may require an entirely different set of options.

Physical conditioning is one of the most ignored aspects of the self-defense shoot’s training. Nationally known firearm instructors Clint Smith and Ralph Mroz have both written about the importance of physical conditioning in firearm training. To quote Clint Smith: “Physical conditioning, appropriate to your age and health … contributes to your survivability.” But where can you find the time? Consider that there are 1440 minutes in every twenty-four hour day. Dedicating only 1% of your day requires only 14.4 minutes (technically 14 minutes and 24 seconds) If every day you can’t find a single fifteen minute stretch for exercising then try finding three or four stretches in the day that will add up to fifteen minutes. Let me also recommend that you find a physical activity that is personally appealing and that will initially require no gym equipment. When you have picked out an exercise remember to start easy and plan for a training commitment that will stretch on for years. If it has been several years since your last exercise routine then consider restarting with a basic walking program. You can work up a number of tricks to promote a walking regiment. Consider making a habit of parking your car in spaces that are farther from the stores or businesses than you generally choose. Once you get accustomed to a longer walk to and from the entrances you can extend the distances. It is an easy default training method and you can remind yourself that you are improving both your physical health and (by extension) your gunfighting abilities with every extra step.

The ability to perform a martial skill well is the result of time, effort and energy. For the handgunner, the martial skills necessary to respond to a lethal assault is made up of several sub-skills: draw stroke, quick and variable sight pictures options, practical trigger control, movement with minimal disruption of the sight picture, and (if necessary) the ability to reload from unconventional positions. Each of these individual sub-skills requires a constant investment of training time. There are no short cuts to developing martial competence. Only a commitment to daily practice will produce a reliable level of fighting skills.

If one of your strategies (relaxed alertness) in support of your goal (to be safe) has helped you identify a possible threat then it is time to rehearse your best tactics (actions) for responding to the problem.   Tactics development can include a series of if-then drills that let you dry rehearse your response to a real emergency.  Tactics are affected by many things, most importantly the proximity of your family to either an approaching threat and/or their proximity to an ongoing or active threat. In the case of either of those situations I like to employ one of four possible responses:

      Tactic No. 1 – Swift decisive exit

      Tactic No. 2 – Wait then exit

      Tactic No. 3 – Wait and watch

      Tactic No. 4 – Violent dynamic action

How would you determine which tactic to employ and when? As an example consider a fictional situation in an area restaurant.  Two individuals come in and all the warning bells go off in your head.  If you are alone your obligation to your family is to leave at once. (tactic No. 1 – swift decisive exit)   If you are with your family maybe your best tactic would be to send them out to safety first while you cover their exit. Only after they are safely out of the area would you then promptly exit. (tactic No. 2 – wait then exit) If after you have gotten your family out safely the situation degenerates and getting up would draw a dangerous level of attention to yourself maybe your best (temporary) tactic would be stay and remain an invisible face in the crowd. (tactic No. 3 – wait and watch)  Finally, if despite all your efforts the problem is about to erupt and engulf you, then it may be time to act. (tactic No. 4 – violent dynamic action)