I was lucky enough to be given my first revolver from my boss for free. He knew it was in the house, he knew he had some ammo in the house, he just didn't have a good idea where they were. He did not need his one year old son to find it before he did, so it came home with me

It is a Charter Arms "Off Duty" in .38 special serial number 89XXX, wood grips, groove for a rear sight, and a faded orange dot on a ramped front sight. I apologize if I am not using the proper verbage for such things, but I am sure everyone can figure it out.

After running 20-30 rounds through it, the cylinder became extreamly hard to open. The release would not even move. Any ideas what would cause this? I would like to report that the thing is a joy to shoot. It points well, trigger is even, and crisp and it makes a hole where you intended to put a hole.

If I were looking for some nice rubber grips for this thing where would I look? Or is this thing even worth putting new grips on? Are they worth anything over the price it could be recycled for?

Any help would be nice.

First, I would get ahold of a spray can of 'Break Free' and hose down the release mechanism while working it back and forth. Might be nothing more than 'gummed up' and in need of a good cleaning.

If you like the gun, I think it would be a great idea to get good grips for it. I'd look to see if Hogue or -- better -- Pachmayr makes grips for it. Almost certainly. And I'd also take it to a gunsmith and get an idea of what it would take to degunk the cylinder release. Probably not a whole lot -- maybe just a trip to the parts washing machine at the auto shop.

I have the Charter Arms "On Duty" .38 spl. I love the gun. Fully reliable, very light, and shoots great! I think it would be well worth trying to get yours cleaned up and ready to shoot. Charter sells grips on their website, too, if you want to check them out:

http://charter2000.site.aplus.net/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=CFAE&Category_Code=1GRP