Reviews of the Charles Daly Classic 1873

Col. Riddles · July 30, 2005, 01:00:02 AM

Pards the importer is KBI Inc. of Harrisburg, Pa. Here is their lifetime repair policy verbatim from Charles Daly website.

"We are so confident in the quality of our firearms that effective September 1, 2001, we have instituted a new and unprecedented Lifetime Repair Policy. This policy, in addition to our standard warranty against defects in materials or workmanship, is as follows:

Charles Daly will repair your firearm purchased after September 1, 2001, at no cost to you, for as long as you own your Charles Daly firearm, provided that no service is performed on your firearm by anyone other than the Charles Daly Service Department and that you have registered your warranty with Charles Daly.

If your Charles Daly firearm does require service, contact our Service Department by email, letter, fax or telephone and we will issue a Call Tag to pick up your firearm, at no expense to you, and return it to us for service. We will repair your firearm as quickly as possible, and return it to you, at no expense to you.

This Lifetime Repair Policy does not cover repairs related to unreasonable use, corrosion, failure to provide proper maintenance, damaged or shopworn display guns, gun barrels damaged by an obstructed bore, guns damaged in shipment due to improper packing and handling, or wear of any parts including finishes of metal, wood, camo or chrome.

Unauthorized alterations or service not approved or performed by Charles Daly, or the use of handloaded, reloaded or other non-SAAMI standard ammunition will also void all warrantees. Charles Daly reserves the unconditional right to inspect any firearm before making any repairs or adjustments under this warranty.

You must mail in the warranty registration card that comes with your firearm, or Register Your Warranty online to be covered under this Lifetime Repair Policy. If you do not register your warranty, your purchase will still be covered under our traditional Standard Warranty."

Four-Eyed Buck · July 30, 2005, 04:46:03 PM

Notice the important line here, " Use of handloaded, reloaded, or other non SAAMI ammo voids the warranty". Kinda Covers a lot of CAS applications here...........Buck

Col. Riddles · July 30, 2005, 06:22:04 PM

Yeah it does Buck. But if you don't tell em they won't know. Most of us shoot lighter loads than standard SAAMI spec ammo.

Four-Eyed Buck · July 30, 2005, 08:18:48 PM

Yep, yer right, Col.. I believe most of the manufacturers have that line in their warranty's somewhere........Buck

Col. Riddles · July 30, 2005, 08:22:20 PM

Yep Buck it's been in every one I've ever read.

Riot Earp · July 31, 2005, 01:45:27 PM

Quote from: Cherokee Charlie on July 29, 2005, 09:53:44 PM
The metal seems to be a little soft. The guns are showing scratches from just handling and from going to and from leather.

Leather should not scratch steel. But it will take bluing off, of course. Is there some metal in your holsters that could be scratching the guns?

Col. Riddles · July 31, 2005, 01:54:52 PM

Riot's right. SS is softer than regular gun steel but it shouldn't scratch from holster wear. The CDs aren't high polished like the Ruger & Taurus so there may have been some slight scratches on the guns when you got them that you just didn't notice. I know there were a few on mine. They can be easily buffed out with a Dremel tool.

Cherokee Charlie · July 31, 2005, 05:40:11 PM

I line all my holsters and belts. I looked them over real good when I took them out of the boxes and little scratches keep showing up and I do not abuse them. If you guys knew how particular I am, you would know that these scratches are not self inflicted.
Hey, maybe that feller by tha name 'uv Jack sneeks in and does this whilst I sleeps. Recon!

Col. Riddles · July 31, 2005, 05:44:06 PM

Sounds like you got gremlins in yer safe Charlie.

Cherokee Charlie · July 31, 2005, 09:10:22 PM

Ya got a point there. Maybe my wife is sneaking into my safe at night and playing with Charles Daly whilst I sleep. Wud'nt be tha first time I caught her looking in my safe. Dang it, does she not know that safes are for safekeeping.

Cherokee Charlie · August 01, 2005, 11:49:44 AM

Wow I have never been this impressed with two SA guns since I could hold one. Finally got to the range to try them out. Both guns shoot point of aim. I tried a factory load and some mouse farts(can I say that?)and both loads shot point of aim in the center of the target. Twenty rounds and you could cover the group with the palm of your hand. I have a small hand. Now that ain't bragging. I shot slow and deliberate, course that's how I shoot anyway. I fired a total of 100 rounds and the center of the target was just one big lead splatter. I stepped it up a notch (over my head speed) and still didn't miss a target out of 100 rounds. My advice to would be owners to go ahead and purchase the CD and you will not be disappointed.

Riot Earp · August 01, 2005, 07:14:54 PM

Quote from: Col. Riddles on July 31, 2005, 01:54:52 PM
Riot's right. SS is softer than regular gun steel but it shouldn't scratch from holster wear. The CDs aren't high polished like the Ruger & Taurus so there may have been some slight scratches on the guns when you got them that you just didn't notice. I know there were a few on mine. They can be easily buffed out with a Dremel tool.

I've gotten mixed answers on whether stainless is truly softer than carbon steel. Some say it is, but others say it isn't. Ruger's stainless is wickedly hard, according to my gunsmith.

Col. Riddles · August 01, 2005, 08:21:13 PM

My gunsmith said the same thing about Rugers.

Cherokee Charlie · August 02, 2005, 09:19:02 PM

Well, it happened. After I had such a good day on the range with my CDs. As ya'll know by my previous posts these guns shot very well. Came home and started to clean guns. Removed the ejector housing to clean the powder residue. Well, the durn thing wouldn't go back on. Not even with a brass headed hammer. Called service at CD. Was told to remove the ejector rod on the other gun. It would not come off. Call tags are being sent. Have to part with my new babies. Wo is me! Well, back to loading 45 lc.

Marshal Halloway · August 02, 2005, 09:49:57 PM

Keep us posted, CC! I am really interested to learn about their turnaround time. If you want me to follow up on this with the Charles Daly staff, let me know. I am in contact with them several times a week.

Col. Riddles · August 03, 2005, 12:03:28 AM

Charlie, I'm curious as to why you would remove the ejector rod housing to clean the gun. In over 45 years of shooting I've never done that on any revolver. Nor have I ever heard anyone else mention that they removed the ejector rod housing to clean it. I just spray it down with brake cleaner. I used to use Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber until they changed the formula several years ago. Then I found that brake cleaner is just as effective & a lot less expensive.

Cherokee Charlie · August 03, 2005, 07:29:32 AM

Hello Col,
Well, the best way I can explain it. If it has a screw in it I am going to see what happens if I unscrew it. The real reason is the ejector rod was very rough when shells were ejected. I was going to smooth out the rough spots. Nothing worse than a rough shell ejector. It should be as smooth as the action. When I removed the housing there was quite a bit of the cosmoline behind the housing. This in itself is a good reason to remove it. When the gun is fired several times the heat will break down the junk and cause it to darken and harden. My opinion is that if the gun has a part that is removable it should do just that. It should also fit back upon installation. Just some of my off the wall reasoning.

Cherokee Charlie · August 03, 2005, 07:32:01 AM

Hello Marshall,
I will keep you informed. If need be, I will call on you for assistance. Let's play this one by ear.

Col. Riddles · August 03, 2005, 08:08:02 AM

Charlie that makes sense. Maybe I sould check mine.

Cherokee Charlie · August 05, 2005, 09:36:58 AM

Well Cowpeople, I had to send my CDs back to the factory. They sent call tags and FedX picked them up yesterday. One of the ejector rod housings would not go back on and the other one would not come off. This is a small problem and does not effect the quality of the gun. I am still pleased with the way they shoot and the smooth action. The saga continues.