38 snubby Taurus or Charter arms ??

[40calruler]

The price difference between a S&W J-Frame (637, 638, 642, 442) and the Taurus revolvers is only about $80. Believe me, the difference between Smith and Wesson's lifetime warranty and Taurus' version is light years apart. If you have a problem with your Smith, which in all likelihood you never will, S&W will pay shipping both ways, fix your gun right, and have it back to you in no time. If you send the Taurus in, most likely you'll pay shipping there and wait who knows how long to get it back. By the time you do that, you could have almost bought a Smith. I have five S&W revolvers -- a Model 36 .38 Special, a Model 442 .38 Special +P, a Model 638 .38 Special +P, a Model 29 .44 Magnum, and a Model 686 Plus .357 Magnum. They are all finely crafted firearms. I carry the Model 638 quite a bit as it offers the best of both worlds -- a smooth double action trigger and a snag free shrouded hammer that can be cocked for single action but doesn't have the likelihood of snagging on your pocket on the draw. Plus the different grips and other accessories available are pretty limitless. Just my two cents, but don't talk yourself out of waiting a while to get something that won't fail you when you need it. And if you don't get a Smith, get a Ruger LCR. Great trigger and a joy to carry and shoot.

Don't get me wrong as I have had and carried a couple LCRs in .357 as I consider a .38 pretty worthless when you can put them in your .357.
"Joy to shoot" is a stretch for that in anything but .38. A .357 feels like a hammer smacking your hands. Crap hurts. I did not like having a .357 I felt like I needed to load with .38 because of the monster recoil. I like carrying the SP101 snubby. The LCR is great for carry but just not a good fit if you want to be able to shoot all available ammo. As said I am just not a fan of just .38....might as well get a 9mm compact at that point.
The Rugers and Smiths in .357 have all been great in my experience. I do not remember Taurus charging anything to fix my 605 either and they only had it a little over a week...Not horrible turn around to me.

 

[SynapticSilence]

All of my references were to .38s. I had an LCR in .357 and didn't think it was that bad, although I much preferred my SP101. I had a PT1911 that they made me pay shipping on even though it was a problem straight from the factory and had to do a lot of explaining just to get them to let me ship it back to them when I knew it was nothing that I could or wanted to fix. Just assumed that was the case for Taurus, but that has been a few years. The OP was clearly asking about .38s, which is why I just assumed people would know my response was aimed at that caliber.

 

[40calruler]

All of my references were to .38s. I had an LCR in .357 and didn't think it was that bad, although I much preferred my SP101. I had a PT1911 that they made me pay shipping on even though it was a problem straight from the factory and had to do a lot of explaining just to get them to let me ship it back to them when I knew it was nothing that I could or wanted to fix. Just assumed that was the case for Taurus, but that has been a few years. The OP was clearly asking about .38s, which is why I just assumed people would know my response was aimed at that caliber.

I did. I understand the question is about a .38. I simply do not get buying one when it is the same price/frame for a .357 and you can do more.
All the guns you offered up are great but that is simply my revolver stance. No offense meant by it.

I heard Taurus was bad before but they seemed to have picked up the CS....Though you are correct that for the tiny bit more cash it is worth going with a smith or ruger that you do not really need to worry about ever having to call CS.

 

[Pandaz3]

Well I did get those ATI grips on my Taurus 605 but until Friday I had not shot it. I shot a whole box of 50 of regular 38, box of 50 38+P, and half a box of some hot 135 Grain 357.
The 38s were fun, the 38+P not so much, and the 357...well half a box was enough. I have shot all these before with the Taurus Boot grip, and with the longer Hogue grip, and the ATI grip is considerably more comfortable and controllable.

I have put a pair of smooth wood Altamont grips on my Charter Pitbull 40, but have not shot it, with those grips yet.