Armscor/Rock Island M206 Thoughts?

T

TruthTellers

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I'm getting close to buying one of these, specifically the hammered model in black finish. The three big reasons this revolver has peaked my interest is low price, I like that it holds six rounds in a .38 snub revolver as that isn't common, and the gun comes with the small wood grips and large plastic grips, of which I would use the latter.

I figure before I buy one, I'd just like feedback from those that have owned one or handled or shot one so I know what to expect before I go through the process of getting one.
 
I ordered one for a customer and held it when it came in. The finish looks more like flat black paint but the fit was good and a trigger job wouldn't hurt. For what it cost you get a decent gun.
 
Have held a couple of them in a LGS.

It's a very basic, not pretty, but functional gun.

Seems to be well put together.

Pretty heavy at 25 OZ unloaded.
 
Here's a review of them:
http://ezine.m1911.org/showthread.php?140-Armscor-M200-Series-Revolver-Review

I own an M206 -- the snub-nose version. My late wife didn't like guns but, at one point when I was working a lot of nights, she expressed an interest in having something to defend herself with when she was alone in the house at night. I thought a revolver fit the bill nicely, so I bought the Armscor.

Out of the box, the trigger was FAR better than a Taurus .22 revolver that had been worked over to clean up an abysmal trigger pull. In fact, the FFL through whom I had the Armscor delivered told me flat out that he was surprised and impressed.

The factory grips on the M200 are ugly but serviceable. (Yes, I have shot it.) The tiny wood grips on the M206 are a joke. As suggested in the link I posted above, I installed a pair of Pachmayr grips for a Colt Detective Special, and they made a tremendous difference in how well you can hold and shoot the gun. However, I discovered that I can use a speedloader with the factory wood grips on the M206, but not with the Pachmayr grips -- the cylinder doesn'r swing out far enough to allow clearance for the body of the speedloader.

I'd say go for it. I think both the M200 and the M206 are among the few real "sleepers" on the firearms market today.
 
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I'd say go for it. I think both the M200 and the M206 are among the few real "sleepers" on the firearms market today.
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I don't disagree about them being sleepers, but I don't care for the M200, the 4 inch model. A 3 inch, let alone a 4 inch .38 Special doesn't appeal to me as if I want a revolver that big, I'd get a .357.

.38 Special is perfect for a 2 inch revolver.
 
I bought one of their spurless matte nickel M206s last year to satisfy my curiosity.

The nickel finish doesn't help to hide any of their typical imperfections in the finish, but it does look better to my eyes than their basic black.
I'm betting that it will stand up much better over time as well, but that remains to be seen.
Though the overall finish is rough, the fit is surprisingly tight.

The DAO trigger was impressive out of the box at only 10.5 lbs. It's smooth and crisp with zero stacking.
I've spent a good deal more money on revolvers with triggers that proved to be a good deal worse, even after a considerable amount of use.

Their factory rubber grips do fit my hand okay, but they're a little narrow through the palm and I'm not too fond of them.
The wood ones may only be a "two finger" grip for me, but the bulbous palm swell of them makes them more consistent and comfortable for me to shoot.
Besides, wood always looks better to my eye.

Accuracy is surprising, on par with any other snub I own or have shot.

After buying and trying the M206, I fully intend to purchase one of their M200 offerings one day when the right opportunity presents itself.
 
For the price, it is a pretty decent gun. Not pretty but works.

Mine came with the wood grips, which are terrible and the black grips they give you have issues. Both a friend and I bought one and with the black grips, his would not function as the mainspring hit something inside the grip. Mine would let the hammer function but when I shot it at the range I had many light strikes. Sent it back and they said the mainspring had been cut. They replaced it and it functions fine now. Have not tried to put the black grips back on.

I have also heard very good things about the colt aftermarket grips, which I will be sure to get.
 
I have one. It's decent for the money. Isn't rated for +P. Finish is Parkerized. More accurate than me. Goes bang every time. Nothing fancy. It's nice that it carries 6.
 
Onward Allusion said:
I have one. It's decent for the money. Isn't rated for +P. Finish is Parkerized. More accurate than me. Goes bang every time. Nothing fancy. It's nice that it carries 6.
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According to Ivan at Advanced Tactical (the Armscor U.S. distributor) it is rated for +P but, like most .38s, it is not recommended to shoot +P regularly.
 
I look at the Armscor revolvers and say it's best to shoot standard .38 Special for practice and recreation, but use +P when it's "business time."
 
I picked up the M206 with exposed hammer at my FFL and shot it at the range a few hours ago.

Here's my fast rundown:

-It was coated with oil. Seems all these cheap guns are smeared with rust preventative oil.
-DA trigger was fine, nothing to write home about, but it felt far better than the price would reflect.
-SA is amazing. In fact, it's SA is better than my Redhawk and every other revolver I have other than my Pietta 1851 Navy. It feels like a Smith SA pull.
-Lockup is good, some chambers lock tighter than others. Timing was flawless in both DA and SA.
-The smaller wood grips didn't feel nearly as bad as I thought they would, but recoil was heavy with these grips. I didn't use the big black grips during shooting, so Idk how they'll feel, but probably better.

-I only shot Blazer aluminum +P .38 in this and recoil was uncomfortable. Again, the other grips may reduce that, but right now, I only want to shoot standard pressure .38 in this gun, even for defense.

-The cylinder release latch was CRAZY stiff. I degreased and slapped a bunch of Slip 2000 into the latch area and worked it back and forth. It's still stiff, but originally, I was having extreme difficulty pushing the cylinder back in.

-The cylinder has a lot of back and forth movement when swung out. So much so that if you don't push it back towards the grip, the front of the cylinder will contact the forcing cone of the barrel and prevent closing. This in addition to the cylinder release made for a very slow and difficult reload at the range.

But after cleaning, degreasing, and lubing it has improved and pushing the cylinder back into the gun is much better now. Still, it's not smooth and feels clunky and there no positive audible click when it locks in.

-Ejector rod worked fine and felt very smooth.

Accuracy was fine at 7 yards, but the shots were all pulling to the right. I'm not sure if that's from the small grips causing an improper hold or the ammo. The shroud and front sight appear to be properly installed.

Overall, for the price, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
 
Glad you got a good one, How about some pix?

I looked at these several years back when they started showing up for import almost bought one but didn't.. I like the look of the grips and I hear they're really similar to a colt detective.

Only bad thing I ever heard about them was a few people complaining about cylinder binding when they get hot, but that could be just a really tight gap and not something I'd really complain about :D
 
I'll take some pics later and post them. One thing I noticed with mine after looking at some photos of others M206, I see that mine does not have a crown on the barrel.
 
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