Charter Arms Pathfinder .22 8 shot on the way

[FergusonTO35]

Went to the fun store today to see if the vultures had left anything. To my surprise, they had a little Charter Arms Pathfinder .22 snubnose with 8 round cylinder in stock. I've been wanting a small .22 for awhile so I put it in layaway jail. The Charter website doesn't show an 8 shot version. An internet search reveals that Charter seems to have made these sporadically over the years but not as an officially catlaogued offering. Anyhow, looking forward to getting it out!

 

[srb08]

Although I've never owned one, I've shot several.
I was not disappointed. They're good shooters.
I've got a Ruger SP101 in .22lr. I'd take the Pathfinder in .22lr over it.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I've had a few Charters, and always found them to be as good as anything else in their price range. The company itself has had alot of ups and downs over the years but seem to be making good products now. I was really hoping Ruger would come out with a snubby LCRX in .22 LR but they didn't so Charter gets my money. Taurus is bringing out a new .22 revolver as well. They had alot of problems with the previous one, hope they got it straightened out because they look really nice.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Got paid for a side job yesterday and was able to bail out the Pathfinder early. I took it out to my little range when I got home with the ammo I had in my toolbox, W-W Power Points and Remington Thunderbolts. The Power Points shot great, as well as I can do with any other handgun. The Thunderbolts were problematic, one or two rounds would always bind up the cylinder. From what I can tell, this revolver has pretty minimal barrel to cylinder gap and endshake. I 'spose the rims on the Thunderjams are a bit too thick. Hopefully I can try it out again tonight with Aguila and Federal.

 

[srb08]

Got paid for a side job yesterday and was able to bail out the Pathfinder early. I took it out to my little range when I got home with the ammo I had in my toolbox, W-W Power Points and Remington Thunderbolts. The Power Points shot great, as well as I can do with any other handgun. The Thunderbolts were problematic, one or two rounds would always bind up the cylinder. From what I can tell, this revolver has pretty minimal barrel to cylinder gap and endshake. I 'spose the rims on the Thunderjams are a bit too thick. Hopefully I can try it out again tonight with Aguila and Federal.

I look forward to your thoughts and pics.
W-W power points are good ammo. Getting pricey too. They hit hard and have above average accuracy, at least in my guns.
I've not had good luck with Thunderbolts. I bought one of the bulk packs and after it was gone, decided I wouldn't be buying anymore.

If you're interested, Killough shooting sports has Eley Action SV .22 ammo on sale pretty cheap. 300 rds for $16.50. Eley doesn't make any junk ammo.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Power Points cost about the same as any other decent .22's around here. They get decent velocity in handguns, 1000 fps out of my Glock 44. Surprisingly, the W-W Xpert 36 grain lead hollow point is a good bulk pack substitute for them. They have plenty of energy to operate an autoloader and shoot pretty much the same in my guns. Thunderjams along with Federal Lightning were among the better cheap ammo when I was a kid, I put thousands of 'em through my Marlin 995. Unfortunately that is no longer the case.

Will post pics soon, haven't had good enough lighting for my camera phone lately.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Took the little Pathfinder out again today at 10 yards. It shoots as good as any other revolver I've ever tried. I tend to pull handgun groups to the left.



One thing i noticed, the empty cases are bulging where they contact the extractor. They eject easy and don't rupture. Is this common on .22 revolvers? I've never had a double action before, just single actions and autos.

 

[srb08]

Took the little Pathfinder out again today at 10 yards. It shoots as good as any other revolver I've ever tried. I tend to pull handgun groups to the left.

View attachment 236667

One thing i noticed, the empty cases are bulging where they contact the extractor. They eject easy and don't rupture. Is this common on .22 revolvers? I've never had a double action before, just single actions and autos.

View attachment 236668

That looks really nice. It looks like it would be perfect for a back pocket gun.
I've never seen that happen with any of my DA .22 revolvers.
Is it the same with all chambers?

 

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks bro, its the perfect around the house and in the yard carry piece. It seems to happen with all chambers as all the brass has it. I'll send Charter a message about it and share the picture with them. If they say its normal, and it never gets any worse, I'm not going to worry about it.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

Never had that issue with my Smith & Wesson Kit Gun or any of the Colt or Ruger SA's I have owned . Have seen a very few autos that showed a very slight bulge but not in a revolver . Never owned a Pathfinder but I have owned several Bulldogs and still own the last one I bought . My son has the one my dad bought in the 70's and none of them has ever required any time at the gunsmith . The last one I bought had a polymer trigger guard which I did not like and rubber grips which I hate but I replaced both with earlier parts I bought off of ebay .

Contact Charter . I would think that they would want to correct that issue for you .

 

[srb08]

Thanks bro, its the perfect around the house and in the yard carry piece. It seems to happen with all chambers as all the brass has it. I'll send Charter a message about it and share the picture with them. If they say its normal, and it never gets any worse, I'm not going to worry about it.

It'll be interesting to hear what they say.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks, I'll give them a holler.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Called Charter this morning, they are sending a UPS box and label for it. Looking good so far!

 

[blades]

that cylinder is not bored correctly . you should never have a bulge like that above the rim.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks, hopefully it will come back straightened out.

 

[FergusonTO35]

The UPS box and label hasn't showed up yet so I sent Charter a message about it. I thought they were just going to have the UPS driver drop it off but they are actually sending a box and label from their factory in Connecticut. Seems like a redundant way to do it, but as long as the gun gets fixed I'm happy.

 

[FergusonTO35]

The box showed up saturday, UPS delivered the revolver to the factory this morning. So far so good, hopefully it will come back fixed right. I included a note stating that if they thought the older six round cylinder would be more dependable then they have my permission to do that instead.

 

[Dub11]

The box showed up saturday, UPS delivered the revolver to the factory this morning. So far so good, hopefully it will come back fixed right. I included a note stating that if they thought the older six round cylinder would be more dependable then they have my permission to do that instead.

I was at my local gun store they other day and told them about this and they guy was surprised and said that some quality service.

Kind of made me wonder if he's heard of people getting the run around from other manufacturers.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I guess I have been lucky, as every gunmaker I've dealt with has taken care of me right. Then again, I really haven't had to use them that much considering how many guns have passed through my hands. Small stuff I would much rather fix myself as long as I can get parts. My Glock 44 was shooting high even with the rear sight adjusted all the way down. I'm sure I could have sent it back, but I found an OEM taller front sight for cheap and problem solved. Taurus service has a really bad reputation, there are some indications that they are getting it turned around. I have one Taurus product, an 856 .38 Special revolver. So far so good with it...

 

[srb08]

I guess I have been lucky, as every gunmaker I've dealt with has taken care of me right. Then again, I really haven't had to use them that much considering how many guns have passed through my hands. Small stuff I would much rather fix myself as long as I can get parts. My Glock 44 was shooting high even with the rear sight adjusted all the way down. I'm sure I could have sent it back, but I found an OEM taller front sight for cheap and problem solved. Taurus service has a really bad reputation, there are some indications that they are getting it turned around. I have one Taurus product, an 856 .38 Special revolver. So far so good with it...

I had a problem with S&W a couple years ago. I bought a M57 mountain gun in .41 mag. The SA trigger pull was a little under 5lb and the barrel looked like it had been rifled with a file. I sent it back to S&W to get sorted out. When I got it back, the trigger was good and they replaced the barrel. Unfortunately the barrel hadn't been properly indexed and the front sight was cocked to the left.
I had a local gunsmith straighten it.
Now, I don't order guns. I'll only buy a gun I can go through before the purchase.

Ruger quality is hit and miss. I've passed on several guns I wanted because the fit and finish was horrible, or the cylinder throats were not the proper or a consistent diameter.
I've measured the cylinders on .45C Blackhawks that were .003-.004 smaller than the barrel. Also seen cylinders that were the same amount larger than the lands.
I guess it's cheaper to fix the ones that come back, than tighten QC at the factory.
I've also looked at Ruger revolvers that were perfect from the factory. It's a crap shoot.