Rock Island M200 revolver 4" barrel (Review)

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Rock Island M200 revolver 4" barrel (Review)

Post by ProCroation » Sun Dec 27, 2015 11:07 pm

So I had some extra money burning a hole in my pocket and stopped in to the local Rural King a few days ago. I usually gander at the guns on display but don't very often bite. I'm usually after something pretty specific and they usually don't have what I'm looking for. This time around was different. I had no particular objective that I was shopping for. So when I came across the RIA M200, I was intrigued. Why? At first, it was strictly the price. $229.99 for something larger than .22 caliber sounded good. The plus side being that it's not so much money that I can piss the wife off.

I'll admit, I've never owned a Rock Island product, nor any type of revolver, or even a .38 Special before. I spent a considerable amount of time reading google commentary on this piece before making my purchase. I had to because I typically stick to what I know best; rifles, shotguns and springfield XD pistols in .40 caliber. So keep that in mind with this review because I'll probably miss some key points that I won't think to include. On the flip side to that coin, it may keep me honest as I don't have much to compare it to. Why not get my feet wet with something new though, right?

Appearance:

Boom, it looks like a million dollar gun. :llama: Okay, that's obviously not true. It has a minimalist look to it. The flat black surface of the steel almost looks dusty at all times. Straight out of the box, it reminds me of a gun that's spent its life in a holster somewhere in a drawer for safe keeping. Yes, a brand new gun that looks old...not just because it's a wheel gun style of yesteryear. I would venture to say this is a turn off for most wheel gun guys. The bare bones look of it, is not going to win you any medals. Oddly enough though, I have to say that I like it this way. I don't feel like I'm touching another persons gun and trying to be careful of maintaining the condition I found it in. The grip looks a little generic even to my untrained eye. It's more reminiscent of a BB-gun pistol grip but my understanding is you can swap it with a Colt Detective Special grip, if you'd like to. Pop the cylinder open though and it looks ultra smooth. That hints to me that this gun probably is geared more toward function than anything else.

Feel:

It has a good balance to it, slightly barrel heavy but in a good way. I'm keen on a gun that feels right in my hands. Despite the generic looking grip, it feels right in my hand. Not too thick, not too thin and it's just the right angle for me when aiming. Nothing about the gun feels loose, or less than sturdy. The cylinder is silky smooth when inserting shells into it and also ejecting them. The cylinder swings freely to open and close it but locks up nice and tight once shut. In single action, the trigger is smoother than I'd expect for this price point. The trigger break is predictable/repeatable. In double action, it's still just as smooth feeling, however the heavier pull definitely decreases my accuracy. It was hard to find my rhythm here. Although the trigger break was still predictable, I feel like my lack of experience got the best of me. Don't get me wrong here...we're not talking about a difference between life and death. I'm still center mass with double action, just not up to my own personal standards. That's all on me. Recoil is impressively smooth and light...comfortable even. Although my double action shots aren't great, I did make note that my reset time was nearly instant. Very minimal muzzle rise, allowed me to follow up shot after shot with the same point of aim very quickly. I guess that's the perks of a low energy round from a heavy barrel pistol.

Accuracy:

I'll upload the picture for those curious. I have circled the double action shots. The rest are from single action shots. I notice that at 21 feet (the distance I fired all of my shots from), that the point of impact is a few inches high. Rather than lowering my point of aim to compensate, I just stayed the course, aiming dead on the X in the center for all shots. Some of the wider pattern you see, came from my earliest shots fired. I was using Federal 158 grain lead RN (I like to pretend the RN stands for registered nurse, who won't be able to save you if hit by these rounds) the entire time. Yes I know it actually means Round Nose. I plan to put it through some trial with the Hornady Critical Defense soon, as well.

Overall:

I like the gun. It's a good back-up gun for around the house, or car. A budget minded, no frills, weapon of defense, that you don't have to be afraid of tossing into the glove box or under your seat. I wouldn't choose this as my every day carry piece, nor would I waste money on a holster. Instead, buy this thing with peace of mind that it's going to go bang, with good enough accuracy to keep you safe. It's just a gun. Not THE gun but a gun none-the-less.
I should probably throw this little tid-bit in. Nothing in the paperwork would lead me to believe that you can shoot +P ammo through the M200. However, if you reach out to Arsmcor and ask them about it, they say yes you can indeed put +P down the pipe just not to make it a regular happening. I don't know how one would decipher from that, exactly what is a safe consumption of +P so personally I'll avoid it for the time being.

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Re: Rock Island M200 revolver 4

Post by guncrank1 » Sun Dec 27, 2015 11:35 pm

Good review

Gun is a copy of Dective Special

My current EDC is a M400 Modified Fitz Special
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Re: Rock Island M200 revolver 4" barrel (Review)

Post by Marcus » Sun Dec 27, 2015 11:43 pm

I had the snub nose version (206 I think). Good guns for the money and a good review.
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Re: Rock Island M200 revolver 4

Post by Frailer » Mon Dec 28, 2015 9:57 am

guncrank1 wrote:Good review

Gun is a copy of Dective Special

My current EDC is a M400 Modified Fitz Special
There's an awful lot of trigger guard left for a Fitz Special. ;-)

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Re: Rock Island M200 revolver 4

Post by guncrank1 » Mon Dec 28, 2015 6:54 pm

Frailer wrote:
guncrank1 wrote:Good review

Gun is a copy of Dective Special

My current EDC is a M400 Modified Fitz Special
There's an awful lot of trigger guard left for a Fitz Special. ;-)
The term is Modified and Harry did not always have a good ideas

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