CharterArms 380.

[Mags]

I have on order a CharterArms 3in Stainless Pitbull in .380. This will be my .380 plinker so that I don't have to police brass in grass. It's 6 round DA/SA. The extractor has lugs on it that grip the 380 case base notch. I waffled on whether to buy the 9mm version in 4in or 6 in. But those are 5 round and cost a bit more. Also 9mm would be a new caliber for me. Besides, With lugs holding the cases I might be able to shoot 9mm in the 380 if the cylinder depth allows for it.

[North Country Gal]

Good for you. I've never owned a 380, but I did get to shoot a friend's Ruger auto in 380. Very nice cartridge to shoot. Enjoyed it. I think that's pretty cool about the Charter not needing moon clips. Have I got that right?

[Mags]

Good for you. I've never owned a 380, but I did get to shoot a friend's Ruger auto in 380. Very nice cartridge to shoot. Enjoyed it. I think that's pretty cool about the Charter not needing moon clips. Have I got that right?

That is correct. No moon clips. I also have the Ruger LCP II Auto in 380, and I agree it is fun to shoot. It just sprays brass every direction.

[North Country Gal]

Thanks. Can't wait to hear a range report.

[Hatchdog]

Congrats on picking up a very interesting revolver.

[Mags]

Got notification that it has shipped. So likely delivery next week sometime.

[Mags]

I have it. Stay tuned for more....

[daytime dave]

I'm looking forward to it. The Smith and Wesson 547 I had didn't need moon clips either.

[DsGrouse]

i'd love to hear how it shoots.

[Mags]

Out of the box experience. First blush, nice gun. Appearance wise the only thing I dislike is the HUGE and in all caps "PITBULL .380" etched into the left side of the barrel.
The frame is 7075 Aircraft Aluminum. The barrel, hammer, trigger, cylinder, crane and ejector parts are stainless coated steel, matte finish. They aren't stainless steel, just a stainless finish. Grips are black rubber. Fixed sights. Blade on the barrel, top notch in the receiver.

The 6 spring lugs in the extractor (for holding rimless cases) are a bit tough on the brass case side walls when loading the cylinder. Hopefully with some wear this will lesson. When extracting most cases drop out readily, but sometimes those closest to the sidewall of the receiver get hung up and require some fiddling to get to them to come free. There is a flyer that came with the revolver that describes an ejection technique to deal with this. Just have to practice it and remember it down the road.

Not surprising, chambers are too tight to accommodate 9mm.

Before shooting it I cleaned the barrel and chambers. Lightly oiled exposed pivot points.

Quick shooting outing. Wife and I shot 20 rounds between us. Aguila 95gr FMJ. Two handed hold stance. Started at about 100ft uphill from the target stands. It's a bit steep and I didn't want to walk down and back up. We did anyway. At 100 ft nether of us could hit the target (10" gong). I can hit it about half time with my Ruger 380. At 20', she still missed and I got 5 out of 8. Gonna take some practice and under better lighting conditions. We were shooting into deep shade. And painting the gong blue didn't help with the lighting.

Trigger pull in DA feels like about 10lbs with a little bit of pre-travel, maybe 1/8" before the hard pull to fire. In SA there is no pre-travel. Takes about 3 lbs to fire. There is no half-cock stop. To spin the cylinder, have to hold the hammer in a half-cock position.

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