New Kit-Gun Revolvers from Charter Arms, S&W, Heritage

A Kit Gun, by definition, is a small-frame revolver that is packed up with rest of the kit when fishing, hiking, camping, hunting, or some other outdoor pursuit are being planned. The intention of the Kit Gun is to deal with pesky varmints raiding your cooler or a coiled viper in the middle of a foot trail that refuses to move. They also help decide bragging rights around the campfire after a session of plinking empty soda cans.

These revolvers have been called Kit Guns since after WWI, but S&W was the first to use the name in 1935 on the 22/32 Kit Gun, which was built on the now-discontinued I-frame. This original Kit Gun had an adjustable rear sight, a DA/SA trigger, short barrel, and a smallish grip. Since then, the features of a Kit Gun have come to include single-action triggers, fixed sights, and snubnose-length barrels. It could be argued the semi-automatic 22 rimfire pistols have usurped the revolver’s position, but that is for another test.

We took a look at three of the latest packable handguns, which included a S&W Model 317-3 Kit Gun, Charter Arms Pathfinder Lite, and Heritage Manufacturing’s Small Bore single action. We were looking for a lightweight revolver that was accurate enough to shoot the head of a snake at 10 yards, had the ability to accurately fire a variety of 22 rimfire ammo, and be safe should we accidentally drop the revolver while trekking through the great outdoors.

Range Data

We tested at 10 yards, which we thought was an optimum distance for these rimfires and used a variety of 22 rimfire ammo, including 22 LR with a range of bullet weights and types, 22 Short, and 22 Shot cartridges. Ammo consisted of commonly found CCI Mini Mag with a 36-grain copper-plated hollowpoint (CPHP), CCI Target 22 Short with a 29-grain lead roundnose (LRN) bullet, Browning BPR 37-grain fragmenting hollowpoints, and the hot Aguila Supermaximum loaded with a 30-grain CPHP. We also tested Federal Game-Shok Shot cartridges loaded with #12 shot. We used a rest and fired the revolvers in single-action mode to gauge accuracy. Then we let loose, plinking away in both DA and SA mode, using a two-hand hold until all the ammo was gone. Here’s what we found out.

Charter Arms Pathfinder Lite Model 52270 22 LR, $379

GUN TESTS GRADE: B

The Pathfinder had a great grip size, but the double-action trigger was too stiff, and it shot to the left for some testers. For the price, however, we’d settle and use Kentucky windage to compensate.

The Pathfinder Lite uses Charter Arm’s trademark one-piece frame mated to a 2-inch barrel and typical checkered finger-groove rubber grip. This had a new anodized frame with a matte-silver finish and the barrel, trigger, trigger guard, hammer, and cylinder have a matte-gray finish. The contrast is pleasing to the eye. All machining was well executed, with the only visible tool marks appearing around the front sight. We also noticed the barrel was twisted slightly to the right. Since the Pathfinder is equipped with fixed sights, we assumed the turned barrel was due to regulating the sights to the point of aim. We found it was a bit off and shot to the left. The sights are large and the contrast between the shiny silver rear groove sight and the gray serrated front ramp.

The trigger is serrated, and the hammer spur was large and provided plenty of texture to cock the hammer. The cylinder release is pushed in to swing out the cylinder, and the release was nicely serrated and proved to work precisely. The 6-shot cylinder had the chambers countersunk so the rear of the cartridges were flush with the ejector. The recessed chambers help keep 22 rimfire debris out the mechanism. We preferred a higher-capacity revolver like the S&W. A transfer bar in the Pathfinder prevents the revolver from discharging if it is accidentally dropped on the hammer or otherwise. Since these Kit Guns may be packed and accidentally dropped, say out of a backpack, we appreciated the built-in safety.

In hand, the Pathfinder felt like a large revolver due to the grip. In our opinion, the grip offers a compact size, yet allowed large-handed testers to accurately shoot the revolver.

At the range, we found it was not a tackdriver by any means, but five shots in a 1-inch group was not bad for the intended purpose of plinking. Hitting a snake head at 10 yards might take a few shots until you zeroed in. It shot a bit to the left, so testers had to compensate by aiming slightly right. Sure, it was easy to hit the soda can, but hitting the “o” in cola was more difficult. The DA trigger pull was 14 pounds on average, and that was too heavy, in our opinion. We also could feel the trigger stacking just before the shot broke. We used SA mode, and the relatively crisp 3.3-pound pull allowed us to finally drill the vowel. Initially, we experienced some splatter — debris from the fired round coming out of the cylinder gap — hitting on the support hand. After running rounds through the cylinder a few times, we did not experience further splatter.

The ejector rod ejected all empties except for the Federal Game-Shok Shot shells. These cartridges use a crimped nose that blows out and extends the length of the case once fired. We let gravity do its part to help those shells fall out.

At 10 feet, the Pathfinder produced a snake-killing pattern of 7 inches. With ubiquitous CCI Mini Mag 22 LR ammo, the Charter Arms gave a best average group of 0.7 inch inches with five shots.

Our Team Said: We could buy two Pathfinder revolvers for the same cost of the S&W. We liked the grip and slightly extra weight when shooting the Pathfinder, but we all know ounces are precious when you are toting gear into the back country. The fixed sights were a liability compared to the sights on the S&W and Heritage.

Heritage Mfg. Small Bore Revolver Model RR22B4 22 LR, $195

GUN TESTS GRADE: A-

The Heritage Mfg. functioned fine, offered a manual thumb safety, and shot to point of aim. This is an economical option.

The Small Bore Revolver was the largest and easiest to shoot of the three revolvers tested. It features a 4.75-inch barrel, 6-shot cylinder, and a smooth cocobolo wood grip. The hammer is left in the white with a silver finish. It is a smart-looking revolver, but we suspect the finish on the alloy frame would wear quickly. We noticed the sharp edges were beginning to show bare metal. For a revolver that lists at $197, but has a street price of $133 at CheaperThanDirt.com, we wouldn’t complain too much.

The Small Bore uses a traditional SA mechanism. The hammer needs to be at half-cock to rotate and load the cylinder, though the loading gate can be opened with the hammer in any position. If you carry the Heritage loaded, follow the old-school method of ensuring the hammer rests on an empty chamber. A manual thumb safety is built into the left recoil shield on the frame. Rotated up, the safety blocks the hammer from hitting the firing pin. Rotated down allows the hammer to contact the firing and fire a round. This is a good feature, especially when introducing new shooters to revolvers. The grip allowed most shooters to have all fingers on the grip. Large-handed shooters needed to curl a finger under the butt.

The trigger was smooth save for the mold mark down the center of the trigger face. The trigger had no creep and constantly broke at 3.7 pounds. The sights are cowboy style — fixed with a blade front and groove rear. They were well regulated and shot to point of aim at 10 yards. Empty shells are shucked using the ejector rod, which fully kicked out empty shells. The rear of the cylinder is recessed so cartridges are loaded and flush with the outer rim of the cylinder. Any dry lube that shaves off a bullet can collect in this recess so the revolver can still operate, even if gunked up.

Using a rest, we were able to average 0.8-inch five-shot groups. With CCI Mini Mag ammo, we shot a best group that averaged a little over 0.5 inch. Since the Small Bore uses a small frame, the landing gate is also smaller, and some fat-finger testers had a harder time loading the revolver. Shooting the 22 Short Target ammo offers low noise and nearly no recoil, making it a good round for a novice shooter. The Heritage also gave us a smaller shot pattern due to the longer barrel.

Our Team Said: The Heritage Mfg. revolver is fun to shoot and inexpensive. As a Kit Gun it is heavy and large. You can’t easily slip the Small Bore in a back pocket. If you don’t mind toting the weight, however, the Small Bore is good option.

Smith & Wesson Model 317-3 Kit Gun 22 LR, $759

GUN TESTS GRADE: A-

The 317-3 Kit Gun had a good trigger and grip size. We thought the front sight was easy to see and was fine for informal plinking, but not for more-detailed precision shooting.

The Model 317-3 has the DNA of the original Smith Kit Gun but with a J-frame. This revolver is a featherweight at 11.7 ounces, and offers a small but hand-filling grip, plus has an 8-round capacity. The S&W Kit gun was well constructed with a nice matte-silver finish. Working the cylinder-release latch was smooth and precise. There was plenty of hammer spur to cock the hammer back and fire it in single-action mode. The trigger face was smooth. The Smith uses a hammer block, so if the revolver is dropped, it will not fire. The chambers in the cylinder were recessed, and the cylinder locked up tight with no wiggle.

As we started to use the little revolver, a ring quickly appeared around the cylinder. The same occurred with the Charter Arms. We also noticed the front sight was bent to the right. The front sight blade is replaceable, so we thought this suspect. At the range it fired to point of aim, but for the cost it was not aesthetically pleasing. The front sight consisted of a green fiber optic that was easy to pick up and a V-shaped notch in the adjustable rear. With the dot set in the V-notch, the top edge of the sight was flush with the top of the rear sight.

The precision shooter on our test team wanted to line up the top edge of the front-ramp sight with the top edge of the rear sight, but the green dot was distracting. He finally settled on the green dot touching the bottom edges of the V-notch. The sights as equipped meant this Kit Gun was a plinker, not a precision shooter, and we felt we wanted to squeeze more accuracy out of this petite revolver. For blasting empty aluminum cans, the sights sufficed.

We really appreciated the light weight of the 317-3. It was easy to tote and easily slips in a back pocket. When shooting in DA mode, we noticed the heavy 15-pound trigger pull was not that user friendly. It was fine plinking at the aforementioned tin cans. For accuracy, the SA mode was crisp at 3.2 pounds, a nice SA trigger pull. We liked the grip because it was not too small and not too big. We could get our entire hand on the grip without curling a finger under the butt.

As with all the Kit Guns, residue builds up with extended shooting, and we had to be sure to seat the cartridges fully or the cylinder would not close. All cases ejected easily. We preferred the 8-shot capacity of the Smith. Again, the CCI Mini Mag ammo with its 36-grain CPHP performed well, with average groups measuring 0.7 inches.

Our Team Said: The 317-3 is a well-built revolver with features we like: light weight, comfortable grip, and 8-shot capacity. The sights are quirky for precision shooting, but they suffice for plinking. With a street price of $642 from BudsGunShop.com, it is the most expensive, but it also offers all the best features of a Kit Gun. We’d slip this one in our pack.

Written and photographed by Robert Sadowski, using evaluations from Gun Tests team testers.