Good morning fellows- a question for those who know more than me.

I have one of those cheap RIA m206s with the short barrel. For no good reason, I’d like to get one of the 4 inch barrels and have both a short barrel and long barrel option. I cannot defend my desire, other than I’d like to have a larger revolver, and not enough to spend another $300 to have one.

Two part question:

1) For the RIA or the Colt it’s cloned from, can the barrel be swapped off the frame?

2) If 1 is possible, is it something someone with basic tools and medium competency can do themselves?

Thanks to all who have answers/share their knowledge.

There is a lot more to barrel swaps than screwing one out and putting the other one on.  It's surprisingly easy to damage the gun in the process.  For the RIA I can't see it being financially practical.  I've guessing a barrel (if you could find one) is going to be half the cost of the pistol.

Help a fellow understand who accepts people know more and say it's not worth it but when he looks at a parts diagram, all he sees is what looks like threads going into a frame.

That said, the barrel(s) in question can be found on ebay for $25-$60. Now, I understand I'm trusting a parts kit/salvaged barrel that might have been from a "kaboom", but it's far less than 50% of the value.

If I shot said 38 more often, I'd get another one, but it gets primarily moved from one side of the safe to another as I grab other guns.

It may require fitting to get the sights to line up correctly and get the cylinder gap correct.  Which requires a lathe.  Removing the old barrel needs to be done correctly or you can torque/bend the frame.  Almost nothing on revolvers is a drop in fit.

Ah. I did not consider headspace/cylinder gap. Even if I were to get said old barrel out without damaging the frame, I'd have no way of properly fitting the new barrel if it's needed to be adjusted.

Seems like it's $50 in parts but $5000 in equipment and $10,000 in training. Now I understand why its "cheaper" to buy another one.

Ok- thanks.