Charter Arms Mag Pug Revolver 357 Magnum Review

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, which thunderous snub-nose revolver is the smallest of them all? The answer to that question depends on which parameters you use to measure out size. I've worked with diverse large-bore revolvers with short barrels that were among the most meaty in their class, including the Thunder Snub BFR .45-70 Gov't, the Smith & Wesson 460XVR, and the Smith & Wesson Model 69. But these big bores are still fairly large with only the Model 69 coming close to being a concealed-comport choice.

If we really want to become for pint-size-to-power ratio in a daily concealed-carry revolver, I think well-nigh of us would agree that the 5-shot .357 Magazine. wheel guns like the Smith & Wesson 640 Pro Series (23-oz.) and Ruger SP101 (26-oz.) would exist among the well-nigh compact hot-potato revolvers available. And if the all-steel .357 snubbies are likewise heavy for your liking, reduced weight options similar the Ruger LCR (17.1-oz.) and Smith & Wesson 340 PD (eleven.8-oz.) are as well available for your wrist-bending consideration.

Merely a couple of years agone, Charter Arms took its famous v-shot .44 Special Bulldog and enlarged the frame and cylinder just enough to adapt the increased pressure levels produced by .41 Rem. Mag. revolver cartridges. Stuffing this stiff round into a snub gun isn't a wholly original idea. Taurus USA briefly offered the Model 415, a two.5" butt five-shot bachelor in steel and titanium frames. That model has been out of production for several year so, every bit far as I know, the Charter Arms offer is the merely .41-cal. curtained-deport revolver currently in production.

Dubbed the .41 Mag Pug, this stainless-steel revolver sports a 2.5" barrel and a one.60" diameter cylinder. That makes the Mag Pug 1.05" longer and 0.25" wider than the .357 Mag. version of the SP101. However, the Mag Pug weighs 3-oz. less while launching larger bullets at like magnum-level velocities.

This information alone fabricated it articulate that this item Charter Arms wheel gun was going to be a real handful. Probably more than so than the Smith & Wesson Model 69, which is a real humdinger in the felt recoil department. Nevertheless, in my restless pursuit to test drive big-bore snub guns of all shapes and sizes, I requested one for evaluation.

Other than the mentioned changes in cylinder and frame dimensions, the .41 Magazine Pug lifts its pattern cues straight from the Charter Arms Bulldog playbook. The barrel has a total underlug which shrouds the ejector rod. The stock-still, serrated front sight blade is paired with a milled-in foursquare notch rear sight. The 5-shot fluted cylinder rotates clockwise and swings out to left side of the frame when the cylinder release is pressed forward towards the muzzle.

The exposed hammer is serrated for improved purchase when cocking it for unmarried-action fire. A transfer-bar safety prevents the revolver from firing if dropped. The grooved, curved trigger is housed in a traditional rounded trigger guard. Although Charter Artillery revolvers cost less than the competition, the visitor produces guns with smooth, light trigger pulls.

The double action trigger pull of a snub gun tin can be 12-lbs. or heavier, but the .41 Mag Pug weighed in at x-lbs. 9-oz. Manually cocking the hammer for single-action fire dropped the trigger pull to three-lbs. 5-oz. This model ships with a paw-filling, full-size black rubber grip with molded-in checkering and finger grooves for improved purchase. The grip frame is compatible with other grips Charter Arms offers including hardwood and meaty rubber options.

Cartridge history buffs will call back that the .41 Rem. Mag. was designed to fit correct in between two of the almost popular calibers in use by law enforcement during the 1960s. It was a more potent alternative to .357 Mag. that didn't require the added bulk of the larger revolver frames used for .44 Mag.

But despite being a terrific cartridge, it flopped, because those who were used to .357 Mag. said the recoil was too intense. If there had been a .41 Special option, or a reduced ability .41 Mag. load bachelor, information technology might have caught on. Instead, it was relegated to handgun hunting applications in long butt revolvers.

Loading and managing the .41 Rem. Mag. ammunition was made easier with a set of 5 Star Firearms anodized aluminum speed loaders. I go on coming back to this company for its top-quality twist-knob loaders considering they're well-fabricated, reliable and durable. And in addition to loading options for popular revolvers, the 5 Star catalog includes models for less common and hard to observe revolver configurations like this i.

This gun proved to be utterly reliable with all of the loads fired with no mechanical problems of any kind. Just as anticipated, touching off fully charged .41 Rem. Magazine. cartridges in a .38-cal. size, 23 oz. revolver was, well, adventurous. Because the chutzpah of this gun and ammunition combination, I'm a bit surprised that Charter Artillery didn't port the barrel similar they did with The Boomer .44 Special model. Then over again, ports in such a short butt would make the gun quite loud and possibly reduce bullet velocities.

The burning question of such an unusual revolver review is how did the .41 Mag Pug perform? Since .41-cal. snub guns are wholly uncommon these days, in that location are only ii ways to size information technology upward. One is to compare it to .41 Rem. Mag. revolvers with longer barrels.

Double Tap Ammunition makes this first measurement fairly easy since the company uses actual handguns to examination its ammunition, non laboratory-type bench mounted exam barrels which are unremarkably longer than typical commercial handguns. The company provides three loads topped with bullets in light, center and heavy weights for the quotient. I've included the listed factory data for these loads which was generated using six.5" or 7.v" revolver barrels. But equally you lot can run across in the following table, all of them are total-ability options.

As is commonly the instance, firing these handgun hunting loads intended for long butt revolvers from a snub gun resulted in a significant reduction in bullet velocity along with energy levels measured at the muzzle. In this case, the use of a 2.v" barrel resulted in velocity drops between 310-fps. to 401-fps. for a muzzle energy loss of 381-ftlbs. to 452-ftlbs.

But how does this ability reduction measure out upwards to other big-bore snubby revolvers? That, I retrieve, is the more useful slice of information. Remember that the .41 Rem. Magazine. was designed to operate at power levels in between the .357 Mag. and .44 Mag., and that's definitely the instance with full-size revolvers. But does it maintain the middle ground when fired from snub guns? To observe out, I was able to chronograph a 3" barrel .357 Magazine.

Lease Artillery Professional 6-shot revolver, which uses the same frame and cylinder as the .41 Mag Pug. Information technology was the closest I could become to testing the same gun in two different calibers. Charter Arms doesn't currently offer a short barrel .44 Mag., so I went alee and borrowed my results from the 2.75" barrel S&W M69 to comprehend the .44 Mag. angle. The butt lengths are all a scrap different, so this is not an exact functioning match upwardly but it does have the do good of comparing three existent-world guns fired nether similar outdoor testing weather.

As the tables show, when fired from shorter barrels, the .41 Rem. Mag. still maintains its middle-weight functioning levels. It generates between 125- to 150-ftlbs. more muzzle energy than the .357 Mag. while plumbing fixtures into a similar size frame. It doesn't quite reach .44 Magazine. ability levels with some loads, just this footling 5-shot revolver is definitely punching to a higher place its weight.

The Charter Arms .41 Mag Pug has earned the title for beingness the about compact and light weight large-bore revolver I've worked with so far. However, it generated some of the well-nigh intense handgun recoil I've experienced as well. Shooting a snubby .357 Mag. packed with ability house loads was relaxing past comparison. If you are looking for maximum power in an easy to bear package, then this slick stainless steel revolver fits the pecker. Just be prepared for a bit more excitement than yous might exist used to when yous pull the trigger.

Specifications:
Manufacturer: Charter Arms
Model: .41 Mag Pug (74120)
Action: Double-Activeness Revolver
Caliber: .41 Rem. Mag.
Stop: Matte Stainless Steel Frame and Cylinder
Grip: Total-Size Blackness Rubber
Front Sight: Fixed Serrated Blade
Rear Sight: Receiver Channel
Barrel: Full Underlug
Hammer: Serrated Spur
Double-Action Trigger Pull: 10-lbs. 9-oz. (As Tested)
Single-Activity Trigger Pull: iii-lbs. 5-oz. (As Tested)
Butt Length: ii.5"
Overall Length: 8.25"
Height: five.45" With Factory Grip)
Cylinder Width: 1.sixty"
Weight: 23 oz.
Chapters: 5 Rounds
Twist: 1:18" RH
Rifle Grooves: viii
Accessories: Hard Instance, Trigger Lock, Owner'due south Manual
Suggested Retail: $441

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Source: https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/review-charter-arms-41-mag-pug/

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