I'll restate that although the old .44 Special has it's fans, any quality guns available to shoot it are uncommon these days. I'm sure that the old S&W .44 you have is a nice old gun made with good old craftsmanship.
However, Charter Arms are low-grade guns. Taurus makes guns built like a tank though they have a reputation for highly spotty quality and reliability. Neither of these points are in question in the shooting community.
BTW, I also have S&W, Ruger and Colt firearms, not to mention Winchester long guns. My so called "cheap gun" have held up as well as all of them.
I will continue to buy Charter Arms and Taurus as well as the other brand names I mentioned.
CC