What’s old is new again, with Charter Arms, and that’s no mistake and no diversion from their regularly scheduled programming. If Charter Arms is good at anything, they’re good at remixing an old formula to bring wheelguns back into practical use as carry pieces. That’s the idea behind the just-released Charter Arms Boomer.
Wait, you say—wasn’t there a Boomer model in Charter Arms’ lineup before? Yes, but it disappeared for a while. Now they have revived the Boomer and first showed off the new concealed carry cannon at the SHOT Show in January. Here’s what we know about the 2026 version of this revolver.
Carry revolvers @ TFB:
Hide-away hitting power
The Boomer comes with a lot of hitting power in a small package, depending on what caliber you buy it in. Currently, Charter Arms offers the revolver in .357 Magnum, something that no sensible shooter would discount in a self-defense scenario. But Charter Arms also offers the Boomer in a range of other useful self-defense rounds, including the old revolver standby of .38 Special. Many shooters are going to opt for .357 Magnum so they (or a future buyer, if they sell the gun later) have the option of shooting either cartridge, but if you want a .38 Special-only revolver, that’s an option. The advantage of buying the .38 Special version is that it is a six-shooter; the other chamberings are all only available with five-shot cylinders.
Interestingly, Charter Arms also offers the Boomer in 9x19mm. While nine-mil revolvers have never been a big seller historically, there have always been a few models available. In the past few years, it appears this has picked up, especially with Colt SAA clones. This is likely tied to the fact that auto pistols in 9x19mm have long displaced all other handguns in popularity with police, military and civilians.
This means cheaper ammo, and it also means that gun buyers are more likely to have a few boxes of 9x19mm at home already. This makes a revolver chambered in that round more practical, as long as recoil doesn’t cause the ammo to “jump the crimp,” with the bullet pushing past the cartridge mouth and jamming the cylinder to prevent rotation.
Finally, Charter Arms also offers the Boomer in their classic .44 Special chambering. This is the cartridge that helped the company make their name decades ago when they introduced the first Bulldog revolver.
A familiar formula
What, exactly, was changed with the Boomer? Charter Arms didn’t say, beyond announcing the new calibers the handgun was available in.
“We couldn’t be happier to offer this updated version of our hugely successful Boomer revolver,” said Nick Ecker, the owner and big boss at Charter Arms. “Customers have praised its concealability, accuracy, and design. This new series offers the ultimate in defensive revolvers.”
Taking a look at the revolver, you can see that the same design features that Charter Arms intended to optimize it for carry purposes at its original launch about a decade back. The Boomer is built on Charter Arms’ large frame platform, same as their classic Bulldog concealed carry piece (see our review from long-ago here). Thanks to its stripped-down form, the Boomer is supposed to only weigh 20 ounces.
It’s a double-action-only revolver; there is no external hammer to hang up and catch on your clothing when you’re trying to draw in a hurry or discreetly—this is made to be a deep concealment handgun. For the same reason, there’s no front sight; the bobbed two-inch barrel is ported, and there is a trenched rear sighting system on the revolver, but there is no front blade. This is a handgun made for use at bad-breath range.
There is also no protective underlug on the ejector rod; this probably doesn’t save much weight, though, and might actually make it more likely to snag.
In an era where plastic fantastic autos have proved themselves but some shooters are still doubtful. The Boomer’s frame and cylinder are made of 416 stainless steel, with the internals made of the same material to ensure long-lasting reliability you can stake your life on. The grips are made of what Charter Arms calls “combat rubber”, so you can settle the gun down when blasting away with high-power loads. If you have the .357 Magnum version, chances are you’ll appreciate the manageability.
All four caliber offerings for the Charter Arms Boomer are available in two finishes, either Black Passivate or classic stainless steel. For more details, check out Charter Arms’ website here, where you’ll see all versions of the gun priced at $500. Considering how much prices have risen on everything in the past five years, it is surprising to see you can still buy a self-defense revolver made in America for that kind of money.
