Old Model Charter Arms Undercover .38 Special

I had posted a brief blurb about this pistol 2 months back after I had first bought it. Now for some detail.

This is the old model Undercover revolver in .38 special with the exposed ejector rod.

With the exposed ejector rod, you could grasp the rod and pull it forward to open the cylinder to load or unload the revolver.

The reason why you would want to do something like that?  Look at the cylinder latch.  It's rather small, flat, and has a screw there, which if you weren't practiced with, you would spend minutes pushing on the screw instead of the latch, tearing up your thumb in the process, and if you were in a situation you had to reload fast, I doubt you could do it under stress.

The grips that come the Undercover from the factory are good for concealment purposes, but not that good for comfort if you plan on doing a lot of shooting.

Therefore I got a pair of Pachmayr Presentation Grips for it.  Yes they are larger and hard to conceal, but they are much more comfortable to shoot with.

They were a little hard to find though, as the newer Undercover models have a slightly different grip geometry, meaning they don't "Quite" fit this old model.  Through E-bay, I was able to find a pair of the old style grips which fit perfectly.

In this pic you can see the cutout and the placement of the post which witnesses and helps to hold the grips in proper alignment.

You can see my Barsony IWB holster I've gotten for it until I can have the chance to get a custom holster made for it, along with 2 six round Bianchi Speedstrips.

It actually fits inside the Barsony Holster very good.  My only complaint with the Barsony holster is that I prefer some type of thumb break for better retention.

Next to my old EDC to show you the size difference and why I like the Undercover for CCW.  About my only complaint I have with the Charter Arms Undercover, of this vintage is that I cannot use +P velocity ammunition through it unless I want to run the risk of stretching and damaging the frame.  Newer Charter Arms Undercovers don't have this issue, however you still want to be careful with a diet of +p ammunition.  I would recommend practice with standard velocity ammunition and the +P's for carry.  That was one of the reasons I carried the Taurus for as long as I did and the old Undercover I used to own was a Back Up Gun (BUG) only.  I could run a diet of 100% +P's through the Taurus with no problems and I have put several thousand rounds of +P's through the Taurus.  I just won't do it with my new to me Undercover.

I've already put several hundred 130 gr TMJ's through this Undercover and I am currently carrying Hornady 125 gr XTP's in it.  I just picked up a box of 158 gr XTP's I'll be using to reload my once fired brass which will probably become my carry load in this revolver.

Does anyone make a laser grip for

a Taurus model 82?  I've looked at their site and because of my security settings and all the various fonts and scripts and other junk, their site looks like a tennis game to me.  As in I have to scroll over from one side of the page to the other trying to read what it says.

My mother, cousin and daughter each have one of the Taurus model 82's we did a group buy on from J&G Sales, and I really want to make it so it is easier for two woman who are in their 60's and my eldest daughter to be able to use these pistols accurately.  Plus the very fact there IS the laser may dissuade some individual who may have criminal intent from their actions.  Making the firing of a shot unnecessary.

Now the Taurus Model 82 can use the grips from a S&W Model 10 Square butt with some small modifications, and I don't know if the modifications would make it so the laser couldn't be zeroed properly.

Anybody have any ideas?  Or does any manufacturer want an honest test and review?

S&W and Taurus Revolver tear down and maintenance

For other Midway Gunsmithing Videos go to the Youtube Page.

I had posted photos of when I tore down the Taurus Model 82 Revolvers I and several family members bought from J&G Sales in an earlier post. Since then I've had several hundred hit from people looking for information on how to disassemble and reassemble the Taurus Model 82.

The above video shows how to disassemble and reassemble the S&W revolver which is basically the same as the Taurus. If you notice the revolver he is using is actually two different revolvers. It switches between a standard S&W with a hammer nose or firing pin on the hammer, to a S&W revolver with a transfer bar safety which is what the Taurus uses.  The Taurus does use a slightly different trigger spring which you can see in my picture below, it is not that hard to remove however.

A revolver with a firing pin or hammer nose on the hammer is a good revolver, however a hard strike to the back of the hammer can fire a round in the cylinder. A revolver with a transfer bar safety, that can't happen. As the trigger must be pulled fully to the rear to raise the transfer bar up where it can be struck by the hammer and "transferring" the force from the hammer to the firing pin.

The red line in the pic above points to the transfer bar safety. It is attached to the trigger, so it cannot raise until the trigger is pulled. You can see with the hammer locked back and the trigger to the rear the bar is raised. Pulling the trigger to release the sear and the hammer will allow the hammer to fall onto the transfer bar and the bar will strike the firing pin, driving it forward through the firing pin hole in the frame to strike the primer of a round in the cylinder.

While many people put down Taurus firearms, I have had very good experiences with them and now own three of them. My first Taurus Model 82 was purchased before Taurus even gave them a model number. It was just called a Satin Nickle Bull Barrel .38 Special in the Davidson's Catalog when I had my ex father in law order it for me at his gun shop. I have put several thousand rounds through it both standard velocity and +P's without any problems.

So while the Taurus may not have the fit and finish of the S&W, I have complete confidence in mine.

Range Report from 7/25/2013

Since I live way out in the county, I can shoot on my property without any legal issues other than being sure I have a good backstop.  On the property where my house is, I don't have a backstop, so we only shoot the air rifles here.  When I want to shoot the larger calibers I have to either go over to my family's other property about 200 feet away across the back, or drive several miles and pay a range fee.  For just plinking or teaching someone how to use a handgun, we just go over to the other property where the back stop is a large drainage ditch that we shoot down in to.  That is what I did today.

My daughter's boyfriend Matt has fired a shotgun before but no other types of firearms and he really wants to get a handgun.  I'd rather he learn more about firearms in general before he purchases one for himself.  So today I loaded up several different types and calibers of handguns a couple rifles and some shotguns to start his firearms education.

First we went over to the property and set up the range.

Several disposable plates with orange stickers from Amazon, such as Carteach discussed on his blog tacked to wood shims then stuck into the ground.  Add some 3 liter diet coke bottles filled with water and you have the targets.

The firearms used for the training.  Yes there is a .22 Beeman Air rifle there.

I started him off by going over the 4 Rules, and proper handling.  Then I discussed proper sight picture.

I started with my Heritage Arms .22 LR Single Action revolver.  After 24 rounds over coaching and stressing proper sight use he got a nice target.

He got all 6 on target after his first 24 rounds.  Then we moved up to one of my my Taurus 82's.

He figured out how to use the sights properly and to take his time.

Then we moved up to one of my Tokarevs and my FEG.

Shooting the FEG

Shooting the Tokarev

Then I put 3 mags through my FEG.  2 Mags, 14 rounds at one target and 1 mag 7 rounds at another, to check just how accurate I can get with it.  We are about 25 feet away from the targets.

Rapid Fire 14 rounds, 1 shot double action the remainder single action.  You can see I missed with 1 round and clipped the outside edge of the plate, one of those holes is actually two.

Rapid Fire 7 rounds, 1st round double action the rest single action.  Distance 25 feet.  I'm pretty sure that one round on the bottom right is my first double action round.  I wasn't trying to be super accurate, I was just trying to get all seven on the target as quickly as I could.  I think I did ok, so the FEG is now Designated EDC.

I've never claimed to be an expert pistol shot, I'm much better with rifles and shotguns, but those are 9 inch disposable plates at 25 feet.  That is Center Mass.  I'm happy.

Next up, my daughter wanted to shoot some shotguns and the Sears/Savage .22 Pump rifle.  So we got those out.

Here she is with the Maverick 88 with an ATI folding stock so it fits behind the seat of the truck.  No Taktikewl attachments, although I might be putting a mount for a Mini-Mag light with a remote touch switch base.

Here I am shooting my Rossi Side by Side 12 Gauge.  I LOVE this shotgun.  I really need to find a place to learn how to shoot Trap and Skeet.  My only complaint is it only has an extractor, not an auto ejector like my other Rossi and my New England Firearms single shots.

Below is a demonstration of Hydrostatic Shock I gave to Matt to explain the lethality of a firearm.

After Matt finished his soda I had him fill it with water, then I used the Sears/Savage .22 Pump to shoot it with 1 round from 25 feet away.  This is the result.  I explained to Matt, how most of the damage from a bullet is from the Hydrostatic Shock causes damage to the internal organs of the body through the shock wave propagating in the body tearing and damaging blood vessels and organs.  He thought the .22 would just punch a hole in the can, not rupture it and send it flying 6 feet.  This was not a sealed can of soda, it was just a can we filled with water.  So the fluids were not contained, and still the can ruptured.


A weird jam we had today.

Yes that is a Winchester .45 ACP case stuck in the chamber BACKWARDS.  A cleaning rod and my daughter Mary's multi-pliers took care of it real quick. and we finished off a 100 round box of Winchester White box.

So today I introduced a young man to shooting, the 4 Rules and how to correct a Malf in the field.

Now I just need to get him some more practice as the ammo situation allows before he decides which firearm he buys for himself.


Any day I can go out and shoot with my daughter and help someone else on the road to responsible Firearms Ownership is a Good Day.

Taurus Model 82 Part III

Well I finally had some decent enough weather, even with a small tornado, to take the kids and get some shooting in. I shot a box of Remington 158 gr LRN out of my new to me Taurus model 82.

Links to previous postings about this pistol are part 1, part 2.

Now I normally shoot at 10 inch pie pans, however I didn't have any so today I shot at a 9 inch paper plate. Please excuse the Happy Birthday on it. My birthday was the other day.



It's hard to tell from the front but that's 17 out of 18 rounds into a 9 inch paper plate at 21 feet. That is acceptable accuracy to me. I haven't been able to shoot in several months so I'm a little bit out of practice, but after firing several thousand rounds through an almost identical pistol, albeit with a set of Pachmayr gripper grips and a satin nickle finish,over the last 18 years, switching to standard grips wasn't that much of a big deal to me. The recoil did seem to be a little sharper, but nothing uncomfortable. I'll have to load up some 125 gr JHP +P's to see if it is still manageable, if not I'll get a set of gripper grips for this one as well.

All in all, even with it's heavy holster wear it is mechanically sounds and reasonably accurate.

The Remington 158 gr LRN ammo on the other hand is extremely dirty ammo compared to my Winchester White box or Remington Golden Sabers. I'm not sure exactly what powder they use for these LRN's but it is significantly dirtier than what they use for the Golden Saber +P's I normally carry.

I understand others who have purchased these pistols from various dealers have gotten problem pistols, however I purchased mine from J&G Sales in Arizona, and I have purchased from them in the past, and have never had any issue with any firearm I have purchased through them. YMMV however, but I personally have had no complaints or problems with them.

FTC Notice: I have received no remuneration of any type from J&G Sales, or Remington Ammunition. I did this test on my dime no one else's. I just happen to like J&G as they have some nice deals on firearms, and they haven't sold me any junk yet.