Charter Arms Mag Pug Review (2026): 800 Rounds, Ported Barrels and the 3 Inch Model to Buy

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Table of Contents

Review: Charter Arms Mag Pug, a 21 Ounce .357 With Holes in the Barrel

Our Rating: 7.2/10

• MSRP: $438.63 (13520, black), $444.07 (73520 stainless and 73521 DAO), $465.79 (73539, 3 in.), $490.24 (63520, Blacknitride+)
• Street Price: Our live card starts at $369.99 at Guns.com; Palmetto State Armory had a new stainless 73520 at $391.99 on October 2, 2026 (Use our live pricing for the best up to date deal)
• Caliber: .357 Magnum, and it fires .38 Special
• Action: Double action/single action; a double action only model is listed
• Barrel Length: 2.2 in. ported; 2.5 in. and 3 in. models are not ported
• Overall Length: 6.75 in. (2.2 in. barrel), 7.55 in. (3 in. barrel)
• Height: 5 in.
• Weight (unloaded): 21 oz (2.2 in.), 22 oz (3 in.)
• Capacity (cylinder): 5 rounds
• Frame Size: Large
• Frame Material: 416 stainless steel
• Grip: Combat full rubber
• Sights: Fixed (2.2 in.), adjustable (3 in.)
• Trigger Pull (SA/DA): 4 lb 2 oz / 12 lb 8 oz on our 73520 (Charter publishes no figure)
• Warranty: Lifetime, on guns made in Shelton, Connecticut

Quick Take

The Charter Arms Mag Pug is a five-shot .357 Magnum built on Charter’s large frame. It’s all stainless steel, it weighs 21 oz with the 2.2 in. barrel, and it has a full rubber grip where most snubs give you two fingers. It’s made in Shelton, Connecticut, and it sells for under $400.

I shot two: a stainless 2.2 in. 73520 for 500 rounds and a 3 in. 73539 for 300. Every round fired. I had sticky .357 cases after a lot of .38 Special, and the ejector rod on the 3 in. gun backed out once. Both are easy fixes, and neither stopped the guns.

Two things you should know. Every 2.2 in. Mag Pug has a ported barrel, which tames some muzzle flip and adds a lot of flash. And the 3 in. model, which almost nobody talks about, isn’t ported, has adjustable sights and costs about $29 more. For most people that’s the one to buy.

Best For: Buyers who want an American .357 snub they can shoot with a full grip and carry in a belt holster. Not for pocket carry, and not for anyone who expects a smooth trigger out of the box.

Which Mag Pugs Are Ported, and Which Aren’t

Charter’s product blurb says the same thing on every Mag Pug page: the gun “now sports a ported barrel to reduce recoil.” The spec line under it tells you whether that’s true for the model you’re looking at. On Charter’s own pages, it isn’t always.

Model	Barrel (Charter’s Wording)	Sights	Weight	Charter List
13520, black	2.2 in. (Barrel is ported)	Fixed	21 oz	$438.63
73520, stainless	2.2 in. (Barrel is ported)	Fixed	21 oz	$444.07
73521, stainless, double action only	2.2 in. (Barrel is ported)	Fixed	21 oz	$444.07
63520, Blacknitride+	2.2 in. (Barrel is ported)	Fixed	22 oz	$490.24
23570, Desert Storm	2.5 in. (Barrel is not ported)	Fixed	23 oz	$446.78
73539, stainless	3 in. (Barrel is not ported)	Adjustable	22 oz	$465.79
13535, black, with rail and micro optic	3 in. (Barrel is not ported)	Picatinny rail and micro optic	24 oz	$612.46

So the short guns are ported and the longer ones aren’t. That matters for how the gun behaves. In the 2.2 in. gun the ports send gas up, which holds the muzzle down a little and lights up the top of the gun at dusk. With full .357 loads it’s loud enough that people two lanes over look up.

The 3 in. 73539 lists $21.72 more than the stainless 2.2 in. gun and weighs one ounce more. For that you get adjustable sights, no ports and a longer sight radius. Palmetto State Armory had it at $420.99, which is $29 over the 73520. I’d spend the $29.

Design Intent: Why Charter Built It This Way

Charter builds the Mag Pug on its large frame in 416 stainless steel, and lists every one at 5 in. tall. That’s bigger than the small-frame Charter Arms Off Duty and Undercover, and it’s why the gun gets a full combat grip. Charter’s copy says the .357 chambers deliver “magnum force” and also allow “the use of the .38 Special round to reduce recoil.”

The rest is standard Charter: a one-piece frame with no side plate, a barrel that shrouds the ejector rod, three-point cylinder lockup and a hammer block transfer bar, all described on Charter’s company page. Charter doesn’t sell direct, so the list price is a guide and dealers set the real one.

Charter Arms Mag Pug Variants

A few notes on that list. Black is the cheapest finish at list, $5.44 under stainless, but Palmetto State Armory had the stainless 73520 at $391.99 and the black 13520 at $396.99, so the street flips it. The double action only model costs the same as the standard gun. And only the 13520 and 73520 carry a “CA & MA” compliance line on Charter’s pages.

Competitor Comparison

Small .357 revolvers run from about $320 to over $900. The Mag Pug sits near the bottom on price and in the middle on weight.

Taurus 605 ($317.99 to $359.99)

The 605 is the gun that undercuts the Charter. Palmetto State Armory had one at $317.99, $74 less than the Mag Pug. Taurus lists the 2 in. 605 at 24 oz, so it’s 3 oz heavier. If price is the whole question, the Taurus wins it. Our Taurus 605 review has the details.

Ruger SP101 ($729.99 to $943.99)

Ruger’s spec sheet for the SP101 5720 gives a 2.25 in. barrel, 5 rounds, 7.20 in. overall and 25 oz, at a suggested retail of $939. Palmetto State Armory had it at $729.99, which is $338 more than the Mag Pug. The Ruger is 4 oz heavier, and that weight is a big part of why it’s the easier gun to shoot with magnums. It’s also the better finished of the two by a wide margin.

Smith & Wesson 640 ($766.99 to $820.99)

The 640 is the J-frame .357 with an internal hammer and a 2 1/8 in. barrel, according to dealer listings. Guns.com had it at $767.99, almost twice the Charter. It’s the one to buy if you want a snag-free .357 with a Smith trigger and you have the money.

Rock Island AL3.1 ($599.99 to $799)

A six-shot 2 in. .357 in stainless, per dealer listings. Palmetto State Armory had it at $599.99, $208 more than the Mag Pug. The sixth round is the reason to look at it.

Verdict: The Taurus 605 is cheaper and the Ruger SP101 is better. The Mag Pug’s case is that it’s the lightest of the three, it has a full grip, and it’s made in Connecticut. For the wider field, see our best .357 Magnum carry guns and best snub nose revolvers.

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Testing Protocol

We shot two guns: a stainless 2.2 in. Mag Pug (73520) and a 3 in. Mag Pug (73539). That’s 800 rounds over five sessions in September at an outdoor range, from 58°F to 89°F, with one session run at dusk to look at the ports. I carried the 2.2 in. gun in a belt holster at 3 o’clock for ten days.

Ammunition Log

• Mag Pug 73520, 500 rounds: Federal American Eagle .38 Special 130 gr FMJ (200), Winchester White Box .38 Special 130 gr FMJ (100), Federal American Eagle .357 Magnum 158 gr JSP (100), Remington UMC .357 Magnum 125 gr JSP (50), Speer Gold Dot .357 Magnum 125 gr (50)
• Mag Pug 73539, 300 rounds: Blazer Brass .38 Special 125 gr FMJ (150), Federal American Eagle .357 Magnum 158 gr JSP (100), Hornady Critical Defense .357 Magnum 125 gr FTX (50)

Phase 1: Break-In

Both revolvers came dry and a little gritty. I oiled the crane and the ejector rod and started with .38 Special. The double action pull was heavy and uneven for the first 150 rounds or so, then smoothed out some without getting lighter.

Phase 2: Reliability

All 800 rounds fired. No light strikes, no binding.

I made the classic mistake with the 73520. After 300 rounds of .38 Special without cleaning, the first cylinder of .357 Magnum stuck in the chambers and I had to tap the ejector rod on the bench to get the cases out. The shorter .38 cases leave a ring of fouling right where the longer magnum case needs to seal. A chamber brush fixed it, and it didn’t come back once I cleaned between calibers.

On the 3 in. gun, the ejector rod started to unscrew around round 180. The cylinder got hard to open, I tightened the rod by hand, and it stayed put for the rest of the test.

Phase 3: Accuracy

From a rest at 15 yards, single action, the 2.2 in. gun averaged 2.9 in. for five shots with American Eagle .38 Special and 3.3 in. with the 158 gr .357 load. The 3 in. gun did better: 2.3 in. with the same 158 gr magnum and 2.6 in. with Blazer .38. The adjustable rear sight let me put it dead on, where the fixed-sight gun hit about 2 in. high with 158 gr loads.

Our trigger gauge read 4 lb 2 oz single action and 12 lb 8 oz double action on the 73520, and 3 lb 14 oz and 12 lb on the 73539. The single action break is good. The double action pull is long and heavy, and it’s where most of your practice should go.

Tracking & Observations

The dusk session settled the port question for me. With 125 gr magnums the 2.2 in. gun throws a bright V of flame out of the top of the barrel, and you see it in your sight picture. With .38 Special you barely notice the ports at all. After 500 rounds the ports and the top strap were black with carbon, and it took a brass brush to clean them. Both guns had tool marks inside the frame window and a sharp edge on the cylinder release.

What This Means for You

• Reliability: It fires every time. Check the ejector rod is snug before each range trip.
• Ammo Preference: 158 gr .357 shot best in the 3 in. gun; .38 Special is the pleasant practice load.
• Accuracy Expectation: 2.5 to 3.5 in. at 15 yards from a rest.
• Maintenance: Brush the chambers before you switch from .38 to .357, and scrub the ports.
• Upgrade Impact: A few hundred dry fire pulls do more for the trigger than any part.

Performance Testing Results

Reliability (8/10)

No failures to fire in 800 rounds. The stuck cases were my doing. The ejector rod backing out is the gun’s, and it costs a point.

Accuracy (7/10)

Single action from a rest, both guns shoot well enough for a short barrel. The 3 in. gun with its adjustable sights is clearly the better shooter. Double action at speed, the trigger holds you back.

Ergonomics & Recoil (7/10)

The full rubber grip is the best thing about this gun. All three fingers get a home, and that makes 21 oz of .357 manageable. Recoil with 125 gr magnums is sharp but not painful. The blast from the ports is the tiring part.

Fit, Finish, and Quality Control (6/10)

The outside polish is even and the markings are clean. Inside it’s rougher, with visible machining and a couple of sharp edges, and the action feels gritty when new. It’s a working gun at a working price.

Value (8/10)

At $391.99 new with a lifetime warranty, it’s $338 under an SP101. The Taurus 605 keeps it from a higher score.

Features (7/10)

A ported barrel on the short guns, adjustable sights on the 3 in., a full grip, and a model list that runs from double action only to a rail and optic. Plain fixed sights on the 2.2 in. guns.

Technical Deep Dive

Frame and Cylinder

Large frame, 416 stainless steel, five-shot cylinder. Charter lists the 2.2 in. guns at 6.75 in. long and 5 in. tall. The black 13520 is the same steel with a black passivate finish, and the 63520 wears Charter’s Blacknitride+.

Barrel

The 2.2 in. barrel is ported and stamped MAG PUG on the left side. The 2.5 in. and 3 in. barrels are listed as not ported. Charter says all its barrels are cut with eight grooves and shroud the ejector rod.

Trigger (SA/DA)

Standard models have an exposed hammer you can cock for single action. The 73521 is double action only with a compact grip. Charter publishes no pull weights. Ours measured about 4 lb single action and 12 lb double action.

Ammunition

It fires .357 Magnum and .38 Special. Charter’s recommended ammunition page says its revolvers are rated for +P, and that +P loads give more flash and recoil in a 2 in. barrel. For picks, see our best .357 Magnum ammo and our .357 Magnum vs .38 Special comparison.

Parts, Accessories and Upgrades

Upgrade Category	Recommended Component	Why It Matters	Cost Estimate
Holster	A belt holster cut for a Charter large frame	At 5 in. tall it’s a belt gun, not a pocket gun	$40 to $80
Reloads	Five-shot speed strips	Flat to carry and they fit any .38 or .357	$10 to $15
Cleaning	A .38 caliber chamber brush	Clears the fouling ring before you load magnums	$5 to $10
Practice ammo	.38 Special 130 gr FMJ	Cheaper and far easier on the hands than .357	$22 to $30 per 50

Common Problems & Solutions

• .357 cases stick after shooting .38 Special: Brush the chambers before switching. The shorter case leaves a carbon ring.
• Cylinder hard to open: Check the ejector rod. Ours unscrewed at about 180 rounds. Snug it by hand, or use a drop of blue thread locker.
• Flash from the ports: It’s part of the 2.2 in. gun. Use a low-flash defensive load, or buy the 3 in. model, which isn’t ported.
• Shooting high with heavy bullets: Our fixed-sight gun hit about 2 in. high at 15 yards with 158 gr loads. Try 125 gr, or get the adjustable-sight 73539.
• Gritty trigger: It improves with use. Dry fire it a few hundred times on snap caps.

.38 Special or .357 Magnum in a 21 Ounce Gun

Every Mag Pug shoots both cartridges, and choosing between them is the most important decision an owner makes. Here’s what we saw in our two guns, with groups from a rest at 15 yards in single action.

Load	Gun	Group	Notes
American Eagle .38 Special 130 gr FMJ	2.2 in. (73520)	2.9 in.	Ports barely noticeable; the load to practice with
American Eagle .357 Magnum 158 gr JSP	2.2 in. (73520)	3.3 in.	About 2 in. high on fixed sights
American Eagle .357 Magnum 158 gr JSP	3 in. (73539)	2.3 in.	The best group of the test
Blazer Brass .38 Special 125 gr FMJ	3 in. (73539)	2.6 in.	Adjustable sights put it dead on
.357 Magnum 125 gr (Gold Dot, UMC)	2.2 in. (73520)	Not grouped	A bright V of flame from the ports at dusk

For carry, the best load is one you can shoot fast and accurately, and full .357 Magnum in a 21 oz ported gun asks a lot of most people. Many owners will be better served by a good .38 Special +P defensive load, which Charter’s ammunition page says its revolvers are rated for, keeping the magnums for when they’ve built up to them. Our .357 Magnum vs .38 Special page goes deeper, and our best .357 Magnum ammo page has picks.

Ten Days on the Belt

I carried the 2.2 in. Mag Pug in a belt holster at 3 o’clock for ten days. At 21 oz it’s light for a steel .357, and the full rubber grip, the feature that makes it shootable, is also the part that’s hardest to hide. It isn’t a pocket gun. At 5 in. tall, it needs a belt holster and a gun belt stiff enough to hold it tight.

Speed strips are the practical reload. A five-round strip lies flat in a pocket and fits any .38 or .357. Practice with it, because a revolver reload is slow until you’ve done it many times. Buy a holster cut for a Charter large frame and your barrel length, since the Mag Pug is bigger than Charter’s small-frame Off Duty and Undercover.

Why I’d Buy the 3 Inch

The 3 in. 73539 was the better gun in every way except size. Charter lists it at one ounce more than the 2.2 in. gun, and it adds adjustable sights and drops the ports. It shot the best group of the test, and without ports it doesn’t throw the flame the 2.2 in. gun puts in your sight picture at dusk. Palmetto State Armory had it at $420.99, $29 more than the stainless 2.2 in. gun. For a belt-carried .357, that’s money well spent.

Buying a Used Mag Pug: What to Check

• Timing and lockup: With the gun unloaded, cock the hammer slowly on each chamber and make sure the cylinder locks before the hammer is fully back.
• The ejector rod: Make sure it’s snug. Ours worked loose at about 180 rounds.
• Ports and top strap: On a 2.2 in. gun, look for heavy carbon from a lot of magnum shooting. Ours were black after 500 rounds.
• The model: Check whether it’s a ported 2.2 in. or an unported 2.5 in. or 3 in. gun. The barrel length decides the ports and the sights.
• The warranty: Charter’s lifetime warranty covers guns made in Shelton, Connecticut. Ask for the original box and paperwork if you can.

The Cleaning Routine That Stops Sticky Cases

The one real problem we had, stuck .357 cases after a lot of .38 Special, is a cleaning problem. Short .38 cases leave a ring of fouling in each chamber right where a longer .357 case needs to seal. After any session with .38 Special, run a .38 caliber chamber brush through each chamber before you load magnums. Once I cleaned between calibers, it didn’t come back. Then clean the ports with a brass brush, wipe the cylinder face and the top strap, and put a drop of oil on the crane and the ejector rod.

Who Should NOT Buy This Gun

The Mag Pug is a lot of gun for the money. It’s the wrong gun for some people.

• Pocket carriers: It’s 5 in. tall with a full grip. The Charter Arms Off Duty is a 14 oz .38 that fits a pocket.
• Buyers who want the lowest price: The Taurus 605 was $74 less.
• Shooters who want a smooth trigger and finish: The Ruger SP101 costs more and shows it.
• Anyone who shoots at night a lot: The ported 2.2 in. barrel throws flash into your sight line. The 3 in. Mag Pug 73539 doesn’t have ports.

Final Verdict

The Charter Arms Mag Pug is a light, plain, American .357 with a grip you can hang on to, and both of ours fired all 800 rounds. The trigger is heavy and the finish is rough in places. For under $400, I can live with both.

Pick the barrel on purpose. The 2.2 in. guns are ported, which helps a little with muzzle flip and costs you flash and noise. The 3 in. 73539 isn’t ported, has adjustable sights and shot better for us, for about $29 more. If you’d rather have Charter’s bigger bore, see our Charter Arms Bulldog review, and for the 9mm version, our Charter Arms Pitbull review.

Final Score: 7.2/10. An honest .357 for the money, and better with the longer barrel.

FAQ: Charter Arms Mag Pug