Douglas McClenahan, a young gun designer who had previously worked for Colt, High Standard, and Sturm, Ruger founded Charter Arms in 1964 to produce handguns.

[1] McClenahan also reduced the number of moving parts used in the gun and created a transfer bar safety device for the firing pin that would later be copied by manufacturers such as Ruger and Colt.

David Ecker became the company's sole owner and brought his son, Nick, as part-owner to replace McClenahan.

Basing their new line of weapons on the basic Charter Arms design, the new company has made a few improvements such as the use of a one-piece barrel and front sight.

The new models feature a completely blocked hammer system so that the gun cannot fire unless the trigger is held in full rear position.

However, Charter Arms missed this deadline, and company representatives suggested a release date of "late July" of 2009.