Armscor M206 - .38 Special

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Blacksmoke

Blacksmoke

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This intrigues me as it is one of the few 6 shot 2-inch .38 Specials on the market today. I can only find a spurless hammer version in my area which thrills me not but is OK I guess. This gun bears some resemblance to the Colt Detective Special, not the finish, of course. Different mainspring arrangement. It is steel, 4140 chrome moly, cast not forged. At $260 or so, it seems like a bargain. Anyone have experience with these?

I do not know much about Philippine manufacturing quality except they export one nice beer.
 
The consensus seems to be that they are rough, but they work. If it was me personally, I would spend another Franklin and find a used Smith and Wesson.
 
I looked at a few videos on Youtube and the folks seemed to like them.

I am not enthusiastic about a spurless hammer, seems like there ought to be a tab welded on to the hammer for when it just has to be fired SA. I guess too many additions would affect price and that is what they are selling.
 
fireman 9731 said:
The consensus seems to be that they are rough, but they work. If it was me personally, I would spend another Franklin and find a used Smith and Wesson.
Click to expand...

This gun is smaller frame that the Model 10 - 2 inch. It just about matches the Colt DS specs which suit me. Not interested in the five shot guns. Used S&Ws are not available anywhere near me. I would have to visit Albuquerque, a long drive.
 
I don't have firsthand knowledge of this gun. Armscor 1911 pistols (RIA) have a pretty good reputation, though. Seems to me that any place that stocks the 206 revolver would be able to order you one with a hammer spur and the option of shooting single action, if that's what you prefer: http://armscor.com/firearms/revolver-series/

This vid shows that the spurless model does not have a single action notch, so you cannot cock it to shoot it single action. That is common practice when de-horning a revolver.



A review: https://www.americanrifleman.org/ar...sland-armory-m206-38-special-revolver-review/
 
Good little guns from what I hear. Maybe a little rough around the edges, but reliable and solid defenders.
 
"At $260 or so, it seems like a bargain"
It is not a bargain at $260. There are other 2" barrel revolvers at this price much better finished. RIA revolvers' finish are rough. I got my RIA 4" M200 at $207 shipped and I know Taurus can be had at $235 but I wanted a 4". Taurus has much better finish.
 
I really want to like the RIA revolvers but I just can't. They are rough, heavy, and loose on tolerances. Let's call it what it is, it's the AK of the revolver world. It's ugly, clunky, heavy, poorly made, inaccurate, but battle ready at close range, and overbuilt to take a pounding (literally?). I can spend another 50 bucks and get a Taurus or Charter. I can spend another hundred and get a used smith or colt DS (which it tried to clone)(and did a pisspoor job). I can spend another 150 and get a brand new 642. Out of the options listed, I can cheap out on the RIA or I can get more bang for my buck (with higher resale too). My money is on any of the 5 "other" options.
 
WestKentucky said:
I really want to like the RIA revolvers but I just can't. They are rough, heavy, and loose on tolerances. Let's call it what it is, it's the AK of the revolver world. It's ugly, clunky, heavy, poorly made, inaccurate, but battle ready at close range, and overbuilt to take a pounding (literally?). I can spend another 50 bucks and get a Taurus or Charter. I can spend another hundred and get a used smith or colt DS (which it tried to clone)(and did a pisspoor job). I can spend another 150 and get a brand new 642. Out of the options listed, I can cheap out on the RIA or I can get more bang for my buck (with higher resale too). My money is on any of the 5 "other" options.
Click to expand...

Let's see the Amscor is about $280 and I have not seen a Colt DS for less than $800. I might be able to find a used Model 10 2 inch for around $600. That is a larger frame and grip but a much finer piece to be sure. I would love to get another DS but they have moved outside my budget.

A 642 is five rounds. I am looking for six. All the Charter Arms and Taurus snubbies I have seen in .38 Special are also five rounds. I hear Charter made a six round 2 inch barrel revolver but not available in these parts. So, I have to take what I can find and at a price point I can afford. Believe me, I am open to other suggestions.

I agree the Amscor M206 is not a pretty gun. All the videos I watched on Youtube indicate they work just fine. Ditto, the reviews I have read.
 
Have you priced Dick Specials lately?

They are collector's items these days, not carry guns. Same goes for all Colt DA revolvers.
 
About looks and finish...If you are going to carry it concealed, whyever would you care? :D
 
The Armscorp 206 runs a lot less than $280 around here. I have seen them for just under $250
 
The lockup on the Armscor M206 that I had (DA/SA) was really poor - you could literally flex the cylinder left out of alignment with the barrel/forcing cone just by pushing on the right of the cylinder. The M206 is the only gun that I have ever ordered brand new (sight unseen) and then refused to accept when delivered.

I'd take a Taurus or Rossi over a M206.
 
Rossi makes a much nicer two inch .357 six shot revolver also at a reasonable price. Sadly, there are no stocking dealers in New Mexico. I spoke with the company and they referred me to on line brokers. All their .38 Specials are 5 shot.
 
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Barry the Bear said:
Rossi makes 6th shots in .38 and .357 for about 300 and the consensus there is that theyre great little things.i would not buy an ria revolver, just not my style
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What I can find on Gunbroker.com works out to over $400 with shipping and the local FFL fee. It might be worth it to pay more for a nicer piece.

The lock up on the M206 I looked at was not as bad as described above.
 
Blacksmoke said:
A 642 is five rounds. I am looking for six. All the Charter Arms and Taurus snubbies I have seen in .38 Special are also five rounds. I hear Charter made a six round 2 inch barrel revolver but not available in these parts. So, I have to take what I can find and at a price point I can afford. Believe me, I am open to other suggestions.
Click to expand...
Charter Arms does make a 6 round j frame size revolver and it's a good one, the Police Undercover. Like said above, if a store carries a company's product they can order the gun you want. It's a quality American made product that works and it weighs only 20oz.

https://charterfirearms.com/collections/undercover/products/73840-police-undercover
 
Blacksmoke said:
This intrigues me as it is one of the few 6 shot 2-inch .38 Specials on the market today. I can only find a spurless hammer version in my area which thrills me not but is OK I guess. This gun bears some resemblance to the Colt Detective Special, not the finish, of course. Different mainspring arrangement. It is steel, 4140 chrome moly, cast not forged. At $260 or so, it seems like a bargain. Anyone have experience with these?

I do not know much about Philippine manufacturing quality except they export one nice beer.
Click to expand...

The old saying "You get what you pay for" especially applies to things that are expensive to manufacture - like firearms. At that price, you can't expect the gun to function well....or for very long. People who praise such guns are so delighted at the price, they're willing to overlook serious function, durability and safety issues.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
Charter Arms does make a 6 round j frame size revolver and it's a good one, the Police Undercover. Like said above, if a store carries a company's product they can order the gun you want. It's a quality American made product that works and it weighs only 20oz.

https://charterfirearms.com/collections/undercover/products/73840-police-undercover
Click to expand...

That is good to know. All the Charter Arms .38 two inch my local dealer carries are five round. I see it is also about 4 ounces lighter than the Armscor M206 and $120 more expensive.

I see that it is also built on the Bulldog frame. Kind of a low budget version of the Smith & Wesson 38/44 of yore.
 
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Blacksmoke said:
The lock up on the M206 I looked at was not as bad as described above.
Click to expand...
Mine appeared to lock up OK when I just closed the crane, but the minute that I put side pressure on the right side of the cylinder I could see the cylinder bow to the left. That started an tear-down investigation that revealed what I consider an unacceptable design flaw.

The issue was that the center pin's lockup at the rear of the cylinder wasn't done into a milled recess in the frame. The M206 (at least the version that I bought some years back) used an insert nestled into the frame under the cylinder latch to position the center pin, and that insert was held into the frame by a thin piece of stamped steel held captive under the cylinder latch. The net result is that the only thing really holding the cylinder in place was that flat stamped piece of steel, and I found that I could move the cylinder more than 1/16" out of alignment with the forcing cone just by pushing on the right side of the cylinder.

As long as things go well, I suppose, recoil forces should be predominantly oriented fore/aft and that lockup design doesn't matter much. But I wasn't going to spend my money on a gun that relied on good fortune to stay locked up under duress.

YMMV.
 
Shaq said:
The old saying "You get what you pay for" especially applies to things that are expensive to manufacture - like firearms. At that price, you can't expect the gun to function well....or for very long. People who praise such guns are so delighted at the price, they're willing to overlook serious function, durability and safety issues.
Click to expand...

True to a point. This is a heavy gun, 24 ounces, with a 4041 cast chrome moly frame. I am guessing the wear will show in the lock-up which some owners on Youtube have mentioned is a bit looser than the Colt DS
rbernie said:
Mine appeared to lock up OK when I just closed the crane, but the minute that I put side pressure on the right side of the cylinder I could see the cylinder bow to the left. That started an tear-down investigation that revealed what I consider an unacceptable design flaw.

The issue was that the center pin's lockup at the rear of the cylinder wasn't done into a milled recess in the frame. The M206 (at least the version that I bought some years back) used an insert nestled into the frame under the cylinder latch to position the center pin, and that insert was held into the frame by a thin piece of stamped steel held captive under the cylinder latch. The net result is that the only thing really holding the cylinder in place was that flat stamped piece of steel, and I found that I could move the cylinder more than 1/16" out of alignment with the forcing cone just by pushing on the right side of the cylinder.

As long as things go well, I suppose, recoil forces should be predominantly oriented fore/aft and that lockup design doesn't matter much. But I wasn't going to spend my money on a gun that relied on good fortune to stay locked up under duress.

YMMV.
Click to expand...
 
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