Rock Island Armory RIA M206 .38 Special Revolver Opinionions

I bought the snub nose and the for inch barrel one to test.
Accuracy was good. But neither one will ignite CCI primers reliably. Factory ammo is a crap shoot on whether they go off.
I currently have a new hand for retiming the 4" barreled one.
This is pretty poor for only a couple thousand rounds through them.

This in no way mirrors their 1911. It's a great, low priced handgun.

I see them for sale at my LGS for $249 and was curious about them, too. I guess my curiosity is cured.

Gun1 said:

I'm considering getting a new firearm on the low-cost side of the spectrum. Amongst the firearms I'm considering I'm also considering a Rock Island Armory M206 .38 Special Revolver. I thought being a revolver I didn't have to worry about any malfunctions but I recently saw a number of reviews where pressing the trigger double-action raised the hammer to the point of release but the cylinder was not timed correctly, it was a bit off. I wasn't aware of this problem and wanted to see if anyone had any experience with these revolvers prior to me making a decision as to whether or not to purchase one.

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Have you looked at Charter Arms offerings yet?

Todd.

while I would have no concerns with a RIA 1911, I'd defer from their revolvers at this point. for a lower end revolver I'd go with the Charter Arms even over a Taurus, even with its skinny cylinder stop bolt allowing cylinder wobble their warranty program is exceptional.

If the Armscor-made revolvers are anything like the ones RIA shows off on their website, I'd stay far, far away. Look at the crane (and sideplate) fit on this miserable little thing.

AustinTX said:

If the Armscor-made revolvers are anything like the ones RIA shows off on their website, I'd stay far, far away. Look at the crane (and sideplate) fit on this miserable little thing.

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The crane fit looks like my Rugers!

My 206's crane fit does not look like that at all, it's very good. The side plate looks like the picture, although I don't think anyone buys these to look like a work of art, they buy them to just work and that they do quite well.

Taurus 856 ... or Charter Arms Police Undercover for a lower cost 6 shot 38spl’s .. Colt D frame sized
They would be hard to beat

ApacheCoTodd said:

Have you looked at Charter Arms offerings yet?

Todd.

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Good question.

IMO, the price difference is money well spent based on 1st hand touchy feely & general indirect knowledge

ETA, at one point in time I was fairly convinced I'd get the RIA snub just to have and play with. I'm not really into revolvers much and based on reviews, seemed like an ok risk for what I thought I wanted. Then 1 day a LGS had both. The price difference seemed to favor the CA given what I felt and saw but I wasn't mentally prepared to but the CA and never bought either one.

I have the RIA M200. It always fired for me. I got for a 150.00 OTD.

I don’t have a RIA revolver. However, I have heard from owners that their customer service is very good and they will fix any issues with the revolvers. The factory QC is not great with the revolvers, but one quick trip back to the warranty center to get it done right might make it worth the low price.

RIA sells decent "you get what you paid for" M200 & M206 .38 Special Revolvers.

I have sold a number of Armscor/RIA Firearms and did need to eventually send two (a .38 Spl. revolver and a .45ACP 1911) back for Warranty Repairs. Their Customer Service operation was exemplary with a prompt turn around time.

I like their products a lot, but then I suppose I have to - the .22TCM cartridge is one of my absolute favorites in both their 1911 and bolt action rifle models.

My four inch model 200 has not given me any problems. The sights are dead on and any ammo I've tried has gone bang. Trigger pull in both SA and DA is OK, not a S&W, but not bad. Timing is also OK.

I have 11 1911's. 8 of them are RIA'S. Yeah i like RIA.

Took My RIA M200 out for the first time the other day and it went bang quite well. No issues whatsoever. For the money it'll make a good truck gun.

I was looking at the m200 before the pandemic hit, was going to pick one up for fun but I haven’t seen them back to their pre covid prices yet. If I was going to spend more I’d look to a charter arms or Taurus 605

Gun1 said:

recently saw a number of reviews where pressing the trigger double-action raised the hammer to the point of release but the cylinder was not timed correctly, it was a bit off.

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I had this issue with my M200, 4" model. Occurred occasionally, sent it back to RIA and they fixed it. Said there is a burr on the finger linkage that pushes the cylinder. RIA Customer Service and Life Time transferrable warranty is the best and they pay shipping both ways. Buy with confidence for function, not for the look! It is an economic working gun but fit/finish can be rough. If you want a 2", there are several offerings in the price range, such as Taurus. I also have a 5-shot 2" barrel Taurus, much better finish and tighter cylinder fit, was $180 after $50 rebate.

I would look at the Charter, which is a better gun. But, in today's market, you can only buy what you can find.

I have a M200 and I've never had any problems with it.

I Have one. Accuracy is great for a 200 buck revolver. My wife mostly likes it, it is heafty and soaks up recoil well. The fit and finish is poor at best but what do you expect for 200. It is what it is a cheap revolver, I have no worries about it getting scratched or any blemishes. It has well over 500rnds through it and the only failures that have ever happened are due to user error. In DA if you do not pull the trigger completely and smoothly "if you stop half way or go slow" it will sometimes lock up the trigger mechanism. This has only happened with a tentative shooter with the shooter not completing the firing cycle, it had never happened to me. I was able to reproduce the failure by stopping mid pull and then re-applying trigger pressure and yep, no go. so if your going to fire in DA make sure to teach or use a firm solid semi quick trigger pull.

You might check out the Taurus 82. I have one. It's not especially pretty, and it's got a heavy trigger, but it's built like a tank, and it shoots straight and does it 100% reliably. I had some fun with mine just yesterday out at my local indoor gun range. RIA makes great guns, though, and I've got nothing against the RIA - I've got a couple - I only suggest the Taurus as an alternative if the RIA doesn't work out for you.