Description
The Charter Arms Target Pathfinder Lite 22 LR is a small-frame eight-shot rimfire revolver that weighs 22 ounces and carries a 4.2-inch barrel with a fully adjustable rear sight. It is the kind of gun that lives in a tackle box, a pack or a nightstand and gets shot far more than most centerfire handguns, because a box of .22 costs less than a sandwich.
Light Frame, Real Sights
The frame is 7075 aircraft-grade aluminum, which is where the weight savings come from. Twenty-two ounces on a four-inch revolver is genuinely light for the barrel length, so it hangs on a belt or rides in a pack without pulling. Charter did not cut the sights to save money, though: a LitePipe fiber optic front pairs with an adjustable rear, so the gun can be zeroed to whatever load shoots best rather than living with a fixed notch.
Charter Arms Target Pathfinder Lite 22 LR Cylinder and Action
The eight-round cylinder gives two extra shots over a traditional six-gun, which matters on a trail gun where reloading in the field is a nuisance. The action is a standard exposed hammer, so it can be fired single action for precise shots at a can or a squirrel and double action when speed is the priority. Charter’s one-piece frame design has no side plate, which keeps the frame rigid for its weight.
Finish and Grips
The frame wears a black anodized finish with black passivate components, giving a uniform matte look that resists handling marks. Grips are checkered rosewood, sized for the small frame, and they fill the hand better than a boot grip while keeping the overall height to 4.25 inches. Overall length is 8.45 inches. Charter Arms builds these in Shelton, Connecticut.
Shooting It
The 4.2-inch barrel is the sweet spot for a rimfire revolver. It is long enough to give a useful sight radius and squeeze real velocity out of a .22 cartridge, but short enough that the gun still balances in the hand rather than dipping at the muzzle. Off a rest, most shooters can keep a cylinder inside a soda can at twenty-five yards once the rear sight is dialed in.
Fired single action the trigger is light and predictable, which is where the adjustable sights earn their place. Double action takes more deliberate follow-through, but that is exactly the skill worth practicing if a small-frame defensive revolver is also in the safe. Cleaning is straightforward: rimfire ammunition is dirty, so the cylinder face and forcing cone want attention every few hundred rounds.
Specifications
- Model: Target Pathfinder Lite (12243)
- Caliber: .22 Long Rifle
- Action: double action / single action revolver
- Capacity: 8 rounds
- Barrel: 4.2 in.
- Overall Length: 8.45 in.
- Height: 4.25 in.
- Weight: 22 oz.
- Frame: 7075 aircraft-grade aluminum, small frame
- Finish: black anodized frame, black passivate components
- Grips: checkered rosewood
- Sights: LitePipe fiber optic front, adjustable rear
- UPC: 678958122435
Why Buyers Choose the Charter Arms Target Pathfinder Lite 22 LR
Rimfire revolvers are the cheapest serious practice a shooter can buy. The trigger press, the grip and the sight picture all transfer straight to a centerfire wheelgun, but the ammunition costs a fraction as much and there is no recoil to flinch against. Eight rounds and adjustable sights make this one useful beyond practice as well.
Worth knowing before you buy: rimfire ammunition is less consistent than centerfire, so an occasional dud is normal in any .22 revolver, and the double action pull on a small-frame gun is heavier than a target trigger. Neither is a defect, but both are worth expecting.
Who Should Buy It
Trail and camp users, small game hunters, new shooters learning revolver fundamentals, and anyone who wants low-cost practice that carries over to a defensive revolver will get real use from this one. Competitive bullseye shooters should look at a dedicated target pistol.
Learn more from Charter Arms, or browse the rest of our firearms selection.
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