Really not bad! Rock Island 206

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Boriqua

Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2018
Messages
3,424
Location
East Mesa
My wife had adopted (read Stolen in plain sight) my 3" Ruger gp100. :)

I was thrilled she found a revolver she had fun shooting and at 63yrs old it had been a long path to finding one she enjoyed. Problem was ... she was never going to carry it or even have it near her ever. Its a big gun and while she enjoyed it at the range, it stayed in the box. Having said that ... I carry it often. Great gun with thousands of rounds through it. One of the "I will never sell it" guns.

Spent about 2 years as a daily carry

I wanted her to have something that she would have with her .. at least in the car so if she broke down she could slip into her pocket while waiting for me or triple A. She is a good shot but just prefers the simplicity of a revolver.

She tried my ariwieght but as I suspected even with fairly soft ammo she didnt care for it so ... Something heavier about the same size.

I was set to pull the trigger on an SP101 and then she said .. its to nice .. I want something I wont be afraid of scratching up. I wouldnt carry anything nice ... Sigh ... ok back to the search.

So I got her a Rock island M206 Spurless! It came with a wood grip and a poly grip and a color that is somewhat reminiscent of Nickle in that it is some type of silver wash.

Alright so the good ... I looked at a ton of reviews and videos and 99% of them were very positive.

Price was not to bad at $270. A touch high maybe but the rush has bumped up pricing a bit. We picked it up in the beginning of Arpil this year

The gun ONCE CLEANED snicks and snaps with the best of them. I mean .. the parts that are supposed to work .. really do well. Tight as a drum, a very satisfying SNAP when you close the cylinder, Trigger is a touch rough but a little lighter than my airweight and smooth pull without any freaky stuff right through the hammer drop. Ejector rod is smooth as silk and .. well .. the working bits feel amazing for sub $300.

Its about the same size as my airweight and I think its a knock off of the colt detective.

It weights in at just about 1lb 10 ounces unloaded and it comes with small wood grips which look great on the gun and a Larger polymer grip. I put the poly on because while the wood looks awesome .. she would hate shooting with them.

Last good .. Its a Rock Island. I have had about 6 of their 1911's of them 5 were flawless from day one and one had a feed ramp issue and they fixed it and had it back to me working fine in under 2 weeks.

The bad ... Its a Rock Island. While I have loved their guns at their price point the finishes are applied with a large cheap chip brush and they scratch if you look at them to closely and heaven forbid your eyelashes touch it. The finish is horribly uneven and looks like water color art work.

The things that arent mechanical is where you see the sub $300. The barrel which is just about 2 1/8 inches looks like it was cut off from a length of pipe and then .. just installed. So the edges are noticeably sharp. Seriously .. cut a piece of pipe with a hack saw .. then run your fingers around the outside edge ... SAME.

The frame has some sharp points here and there and the finish is uneven under the top strap.
It comes in a plastic bag FILLED with mystery goop! I am not joking .. at the ffl I picked up the gun with two fingers at the grip and the gun literally dripped.

You can not use the gun until you clean it. The cylinder release latch would not go back without some force and the gun seemed unusable. Took it out to the shed and stuck the nozzle of my Lucas CLP in the various opening and started spraying ... eww the stuff that came out.

Turned it this way and that .. let it sit for an hour and gave it another hosing and WALA! The gun was perfect.

I have since opened it up and did a better clean and some oil and grease and we have sent about 350 trouble free rounds through the gun. Out to 7 yds .. it hits what you aim at with little work on your part. Trigger is still a little rough but I didnt stone anything and I figure it will work itself out.

The wife loves it and shoots it like a champ. She takes it now loaded with Fed 38+p HST and I have every confidence it will work when needed. Probably going to put another 50 rds through it on Thursday.

Its not a Ruger or a Smith but it puts bullets where you aim it and it shoots every time you pull the trigger so if you are looking for a beater .. I think I can recommend it. No mag springs to worry about no racking .. drop some rounds in some holes and she is ready to go.

Its to bad I didnt grab one when they were sub $200 but .. still .. I dont feel ripped off paying $300 all in

M206.jpg

M206 2.jpg
 
Good you found a pistol she likes, my better half informs me she is still in search of the perfect handgun and husband?
 
The inside is very....colt-ish. Lots of fiddly bits and springs.
I like mine that I got on this board back in January. The fixed sights are just a touch off but I can live with it for a knock about 175 dollar plinker.

I've got about 600 rounds through it so far and no problems yet.

If you do any work on it. Take a couple of pictures to show you where everything goes again.
 
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