Anyone own a Rock Island M206 revolver?

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Pat Riot

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I have been thinking about a cheap revolver for SD and one that I wouldn’t mind losing too much if it was ever needed for self defense. SD guns in California tend to never get returned to their owners, from what I understand.

Anyway, this post isn’t about “Kaleepornia”. It’s about these Rock Island M206 revolvers. I was in a gun shop today and saw one for the first time. What an unattractive snubbie, but in reading reviews it gets high marks for reliability and sounds fairly accurate for what it is. But, I really don’t trust reviews by folks that earn a living writing reviews, in many cases.

Does anyone here own one of these cheap revolvers and would you trust it as a self defense gun?

I own a few revolvers but none that I wish to give up in a bad situation.

I figure for under $300 one of these M206’s might be a good knock around gun.

By the way, it won’t hurt my feelings if your opinion is that the gun stinks. It’s just an idea I am considering.

Thank you.
 
As I understand it the 206 is a serviceable but pretty rough revolver. The one I picked up and messed with at the pawn shop was a bit of a brick, but assumed it would go bang when required. As a throwdown gun, it would do the job, but I would be more tempted to put my money in a Taurus 856 of some sort. A few more dollars, maybe, but a trigger by far, and generally better fit n finish.
 
Yes, bought specifically because I would cry much if it got damaged during use or seized for evidence for years.

The trigger both single & double is good, well better than a $250 revolver should have and lockup is fine. +P capable, just not something I would shoot more than necessary (i.e. checking POA/POI), the weight tames recoil, it's a 6 shot .38 snub, not common for some reason. I replaced the wood grips, they kept making me pull left, the oversize black plastic grips I shot much better with.

The biggest issue with them is when it comes time to reload. The cylinder "clunks" in and you have to have it in the correct position as it moves on the crane. If it's too far forward it gets stopped by the barrel. Even if you have it in the right position, it's not a smooth closing of the cylinder. Lately, I've been having an issue with the latch being very difficult to release the cylinder when I go to eject and reload.

IDK if something got stuck or something has been worked loose, but it's happening after shooting. Once I get the cylinder open it won't happen again until I shoot another round.

So, for the six shots you get, it's reliable, but reloading... IDK. I have been meaning to take it apart and see what's going on, just haven't.
 
So, for the six shots you get, it's reliable, but reloading... IDK. I have been meaning to take it apart and see what's going on, just haven't.

Thank you. That’s the kind of info I am interested in. Yeah, reloading “might” be important ;)

You mentioned changing the grip. I read somewhere that they come with another set of plastic or nylon grips. Did yours come with the plastic grips or did you have to buy them?
 
I would be more tempted to put my money in a Taurus 856 of some sort.


I don't have any experience with the RIA, but I do with Charter Arms, which are about $350. Lifetime warranty and made in the USA.

Thank you both for your recommendations.

The shop I was at did have 2 Taurus .38 snubbies but I didn’t really look at them. Maybe I should. I was dropping off my Colt DS for repair and there was a line of people outside so I felt rushed.

I have been in CA 2 years now and have yet to come across a Charter Arms revolver anywhere. :confused:
 
The day i played with the 206 was the day i played with the 856 and the day I bought my S&W model 49. Of the three, the 206 had the heaviest/least refined trigger pull. The 49 was best, and the 856 was a bit heavier in DA but just as smooth.

sounds like you also have some real-world range experience to go on in TTv2’s post above.
 
The day i played with the 206 was the day i played with the 856 and the day I bought my S&W model 49. Of the three, the 206 had the heaviest/least refined trigger pull. The 49 was best, and the 856 was a bit heavier in DA but just as smooth.

sounds like you also have some real-world range experience to go on in TTv2’s post above.

Thank you. After thinking about it I think that I might pick up an M206 as a novelty gun for the range but not necessarily for SD.
I was talking about this with a friend at work this morning and the old 1970's Bell motorcycle helmet ad popped into my head "You buy a ten dollar helmet for a ten dollar head"
In other words, don't scrimp on safety.

I think I may just not worry about getting a cheap gun and utilize my S&Ws. I have a 442 and a model 36, but a Taurus snubbie might be a neat addition to my growing Snubbie collection. ;)
 
The day i played with the 206 was the day i played with the 856 and the day I bought my S&W model 49

When I saw those Taurus revolvers I just assumed they were like S&W J Frames and that they were 5 shot revolvers. I just looked up the Taurus 856 that is certified for sale in California and this revolver is a 6 shot .38 Special +P. The MSRP is $357 and I am pretty sure the price tag on the ones I saw said $359.00. I may have to go back there...

Thanks again, Socblocgunfan
 
When I saw those Taurus revolvers I just assumed they were like S&W J Frames and that they were 5 shot revolvers. I just looked up the Taurus 856 that is certified for sale in California and this revolver is a 6 shot .38 Special +P. The MSRP is $357 and I am pretty sure the price tag on the ones I saw said $359.00. I may have to go back there...

Thanks again, Socblocgunfan
Get the 856, it is a much better gun then the 206 from RIA, as I have said in other threads the 206 is the best revolver chimps with rock tools can make, even with CNC machining it still takes more work to produce a revolver than an auto, those Filipino 1911s are pretty decent, idk what happened to their revolver lines, the 856 will serve up better and you get an extra shot.
 
When I saw those Taurus revolvers I just assumed they were like S&W J Frames and that they were 5 shot revolvers. I just looked up the Taurus 856 that is certified for sale in California and this revolver is a 6 shot .38 Special +P. The MSRP is $357 and I am pretty sure the price tag on the ones I saw said $359.00. I may have to go back there...

Thanks again, Socblocgunfan

no problem. Although they sure look and handle like a J-frame, I’ve heard reports they fit holsters for Colt D-frames. I don’t know if that makes any difference whatsoever, but if you pick one up you may want to check into holster sizing.
 
I have one, I've held a lot worse revolvers and of those.....a lot were Charter Arms.

Mine has been great, it's trigger is decent. Accuracy is better than I expected from a snubby. Came with both the wooden grip and the plastic grip. Wooden is much much easier to conceal but the plastic grip is easier to shoot with.

I paid $209 and bought it on a whim, you can do a lot worse.
 
I've owned three Taurus Model 85 variants. One had a great trigger, one had an okay trigger, and one had a lousy trigger. They all went bang every time.

The only RIA 206 I handled was used at a gun show. Its trigger was very nice.
 
Thank you. That’s the kind of info I am interested in. Yeah, reloading “might” be important ;)

You mentioned changing the grip. I read somewhere that they come with another set of plastic or nylon grips. Did yours come with the plastic grips or did you have to buy them?
They come with both.

The tough cylinder release is a recent issue, the first few times I had it out it wasn't doing it. As to the clunky nature of closing the cylinder, you'll get the hang of it. My method is when closing the cylinder, I'll put my thumb over the crane and push the cylinder back as that allows it to clear the barrel.
 
They come with both.

The tough cylinder release is a recent issue, the first few times I had it out it wasn't doing it. As to the clunky nature of closing the cylinder, you'll get the hang of it. My method is when closing the cylinder, I'll put my thumb over the crane and push the cylinder back as that allows it to clear the barrel.

Thanks very much.
When I looked at the one I saw the other day I do recall opening and closing the cylinder several times because I deciding if I liked the cylinder release. I saw no issues. Perhaps you should call RIA. It sounds like you have a defective revolver.
 
I bought two of the RIA, 4” models a year or so ago to see how bad they were. Turned out they were pretty decent. I didn’t keep them long but they did the job I expected them to do do. Shot fine. No errors. Hit about where I was aiming and so on.

Ugly? Yea. But other than that not too bad. I had to trim off some flashing from the grips with a pocket knife on one and on the other i had to shim the grip with a piece of card stock to stop a slight wiggle, but they were $200 guns, not registered magnums.

I got bored with them and sold them for what i paid with no problems.
 
I decided I’d like to get one of the 206s with the 4-5” barrel( can’t recall the length) as soon as I did the pandemic hit and I haven’t seen one for the proper $200ish dollar price tag since. I’m not paying an inflated price for a budget gun, but i do want one.
 
Has anyone round here tried to polish the innards of a 206? Can springs be swapped out a'la Wolfe springs kinda deal?

Can that cylinder and crane issue be fixed with a shim?

Is there any potential for a guy that just does not have the extra $100 right now?

-kBob
 
My biggest issue with the 206 is the fact that lockup of the cylinder/crane in the frame is not solid; the cylinder latch area of the frame (under the cylinder release) is a thin sheetmetal insert, and pressing on the cylinder from the right will cause the cylinder to bulge significantly out of bore alignment. It's just a bad (and IMO unsafe) design.
 
I decided I’d like to get one of the 206s with the 4-5” barrel( can’t recall the length) as soon as I did the pandemic hit and I haven’t seen one for the proper $200ish dollar price tag since. I’m not paying an inflated price for a budget gun, but i do want one.
4 inches is the barrel on those and I was thinking of getting one too, but used Charter .357's from the 70s/80s are all $300 of less and if I'm gonna get a 4 inch revolver that can shoot .38, it may as well be a .357
 
My biggest issue with the 206 is the fact that lockup of the cylinder/crane in the frame is not solid; the cylinder latch area of the frame (under the cylinder release) is a thin sheetmetal insert, and pressing on the cylinder from the right will cause the cylinder to bulge significantly out of bore alignment. It's just a bad (and IMO unsafe) design.
This doesn't happen on mine, the one you got must have been broken.
 
This doesn't happen on mine, the one you got must have been broken.
I bought two of them brand new, when they were first introduced, and both did it. I took the cylinder latch apart and verified the construction (stamped sheetmetal over the cylinder plunger, under the cylinder release), and returned both of the units to the dealer as unservicable. This was not a fluke observation.

It is completely OK with me if you like 'em. Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances. I chose to NOT spend that money - a used K frame seemed to me to be a far better investment.
 
A must read review on the M200/206
http://ezine.m1911.org/showthread.php?140-Armscor-M200-Series-Revolver-Review
I have a M200, it is a reliable revolver, but rough. 1st one I sent it back when I received new because cylinder gap was large, RIA replaced it. I found it missed in DA, sent it back again, RIA found a bur and fixed it. RIA has transferrable life time warranty and takes care of you if any problem. For $200, it is a great value.
Edit - I have not experienced the cylinder loose lockup issue described in posting above, just took out my M200 and checked again. RIA revolver had an earlier version M100 when they first came out. Possible talking about M100?
 
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The cylinder "clunks" in and you have to have it in the correct position as it moves on the crane. If it's too far forward it gets stopped by the barrel.
You may wish to send it back, mine doesn't do that. RIA pays for shipping both ways but the turn around may take 6 weeks.
 
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