At one time, the Charter Arms Undercover .38 above belonged to Arthur Bremer. Wikipedia.org informs us that Bremmer was “convicted for an assassination attempt on U.S. Democratic presidential candidate George Wallace on May 15, 1972 in Laurel, Maryland, leaving Wallace permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Bremer was found guilty and sentenced to 63 years (53 years after an appeal) in a Maryland prison for the shooting of Wallace and three bystanders. After 35 years of incarceration, Bremer was released from prison on November 9, 2007.” And now, seven years later, Rock Island Auctions will sell the revolver Bremmer used to try to assassinate the segregationist. RIA is no stranger to ghoulish guns and it’s a free market, but still . . . shudder. [h/t CO’D]
I had one of those revolvers about 30 years ago. I know that Charter has a spotty track record, but the one I had worked quite well.
Didn’t the guy that killed John Lennon also use a charter? And the Son of Sam. Though I believer his was a .44 special.
Charter has gone under 3 times. They’ve always focused on making affordable (cheap) revolvers, but I believe the first, third and four iterations were decently built and the second company (1990s) was the one that was awful. I’ve got the wife thinking she needs a revolver now, so I was thinking of the Bulldog.
Yes to both. And Hinckley used an RG and Sirhan Sirhan used an Iver Johnson 22. Assassins seem to favor cheap guns.
Easy to get, easy to get rid off. I choose work guns after those parameters two.
There is a strange market out there for crime guns.
I’d gladly buy the JFK Carcano. Mostly to see if the three shots could’ve been done with a bubba’d Carcano with a cheap scope. I like JFK too, nothing against the guy.
It’s a reminder of history. Not one that showcases the triumph of right over evil like a fine Garand or 1911, but then we don’t get to pick only the good parts of history to remember. We do not learn from success, only failure. Similarly, we tend to learn the most about our society when it fails. We should not forget our failures and we should not destroy our past. And we should not demonize a company that happens to deal in the legal transfer of items that were a part of that past.
How many people even know who Wallace is anymore? So what’s the big deal?
I’m old enough. Was a controversial figure who (perhaps sincerely) reformed from his segregationist ways.
“…it’s a free market, but still . . . shudder”
Good God. Charter Arms? You’re giving me the heebie-jeebies just *thinking* about a piece of crap gun like that.
Isn’t this case the reason anti’s freaked out and cried for Maryland’s Saturday Night Special law?
I’ve had a Charter Arms 32 S&W long for 40+ years. It was my grandmother’s “kitchen gun”. She kept it in an empty sugar jar by the back door. While 32 is a horrible SD round, that pistol has introduced a lot of friends and family to shooting. Slide in some S&W 32 shorts (I know the misnomer but it does describe the round) and you have a very comfortable, non-intimidating pistol for a first timer. It has functioned perfectly and has held up nicely. I think grandma paid around $60 for it brand new at her small town Western Auto.
That being said, I don’t think Wallace has enough name recognition to make this a pistol very valuable.
Western Auto, now there is a name from the past. I had forgotten that they sold firearms, but now remember the long gun rack in my local store when I was a kid. Western Auto was one of my favorite places to hangout at when I was a kid. It is where my bicycle came from. I lived in a rural area and there were no dept. stores any where close by, no Sears, no Walmart, just Western Auto. Lots of good memories for me, thanks!
I personally wouldn’t, but it’s a free market. I recently recall the pistol that Bonnie Parker was carrying on her when she and Clyde were killed was auctioned off. It’s worth what someone is willing to pay.
I don’t think it’s anymore ghoulish than the Walther P38 I saw at the range last weekend with ‘all the correct Nazi markings’. If a weapon was used in the slaughter of millions of people it becomes a valued collectable, but if it was used to kill or maim a single individual it’s ghoulish?
I’m wouldn’t buy a gun used in a crime. I do kind of want the Charter Arms in 9mm or .40. .45 because it never seems to be sold out even in ammo scare periods of time.
I have a Ruger .9mm revolver. I’m the 3rd owner.,Takes moon clips but surprisingly, readily available and very study. Ruger like are built like a tank. Nice back up for 9mm pistol and ammo is readily available and affordable. More fun to shoot than my 9mm pistol. Got mine off of gunbroker.com Was not cheap but did not break the bank either
“I have a Ruger .9mm revolver.”
Damn, another .9mm… 🙂
Since it failed 4 times, is there a discount?
I would neither buy a gun used in a single murder (notorious or not), nor would I buy a Nazi gun that may have been used to kill many.
Bad juju, karma, or whatever you want to call it. Nope. I’ll pass.
Man I wanna take your principaled stand, but I don’t think I could pass on a Luger if one fell into my lap.
A shooting buddy and I had an facetious idea (fueled by some drinking) to start a company called, “Infamous Arms.” We were going to buy up all kinds of examples of assassin guns, finish them up and have them engraved and make commemoratives out of them. We were going to have the Lee Harvey Oswald Carcano Carbine/Colt Detective Special Set, the Gavrilo Princip FN Model 1910 “The pistol that killed 8.5 million people” that started WWI, etc. I am now starting to think that unfortunately, we could have been successful.
If I was a collector or historian specializing in that era I would probably want that gun.
Bill Hickok was not a nice man. Would it be ghoulish to own one of his “used” guns. What about one of Jim Bowie’s knives?
Saddam Hussein’s Glock 18C was one of George W. Bush’s most prized possessions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/us/06gun.html
As far as a gun used in an ordinary murder? I don’t think I’d pay a premium for one but it wouldn’t bother me to own. I might buy it at regular price in the hope of reselling it to someone who likes that kind of thing.
I find suicide guns creepy though. I may be irrational, but it would take a significant discount for me to buy one. Maybe a few years of wholesome use would restore the gun’s mojo in my mind. Maybe not. I think I would just prefer not to know.
Yeah why not. I’m an antique dealer. Lots of things have interesting or macabre histories. And many millions of us remember George Wallace Skyler. BTW Wallace repudiated(repented?) his segregationist beliefs before he died…as did Malcolm X before he was murdered. You sure don’t hear THAT from anyone…
Wallace started his career as a populist and was considered a moderate on race issues. When he lost an election to an ardent segregationist and racist, Wallace declared “I will never be out-nxggered again.”
So rather than being just a segregationist, Wallace can be thought of as an unprincipled opportunist who would do or say anything to gain or hold power. I’m not saying that he deserved to be shot, just that when he was, I didn’t shed a tear.
It’s likely the most a charter arms will ever be worth.
How did it get into the public domain? Seems to me it would still be in evidence or destroyed after a requisite number of years. Who is having it auctioned off, I wonder.
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