my ex wife pulled a RG 22 lr revolver on me once...
that's about all the experience i got with em.

 

that is because they are the worst excuse for a gun if there ever was one.total junk!

 

If I have the right pistol, it was a "cheap" German made pistol (one known as a "Saturday Night Special") sold by mail order, late 50's prior to 1968 law prohibiting mail order guns. I believe the outfit that had the mail order company was "Kleins" out of Chicago (LOL). It had plastic grips and a frame made from questionable metallurgy. I had an RG .22 pistol as a kid; it would sometimes fire one round out the barrel, and another round out of the cylinder at the same time. (It's a wonder I still have all five "digits" still intact on both hands after the experience.) Proceed with caution before you attempt to fire it!

 

Personal experience, no.

I found this from Wiki under Röhm Gesellschaft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Röhm_Gesellschaft

Police Officer Thomas Delahanty was shot by John Hinckley, Jr. with a Röhm revolver during his failed assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan in 1981. Delahanty later sued Röhm with the argument that small, cheap guns have no purpose except for crime, and thus that the company should be held responsible. The suit was subsequently rejected by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in a suit that has served as case law for other similar product liability cases.[SUP][6]
[/SUP]

In 1985, Kelley vs. RG Industries was filed over a 1982 shooting in which Kelley, a grocery clerk, was shot in the chest with an RG firearm.[SUP][7][/SUP]



Based on that, my impression is that RG was (no longer in production) a maker of very inexpensive handguns that likely poorly finished and not intended for anything but occasional use. I would think they would probably rate below way below S&W, Ruger, and Colt. And quite a bit below Taurus and Rossi. That is to say, better than a rock, and maybe just a little bit better than a baseball bat. Again I have not used one and I am unfamiliar with that maker, which suggests that they don't rise to the level of a dependable handgun.

But anyone else, please correct me if I'm wrong.

What kind of info are you seeking? Value? Price? Safety? Durability? Historical?
[SUP]

[/SUP]

 

THe one my family member has was made between the 70's and 80's and actually looks like a decent colt snubby copy. I'm more worried about Safety. I never paid much attention to the import revolvers except Korth which was extremely high end, and the price matched that...

 

Disappointed.
Looking for REAL information on a firearm that only had a ten year production run and get a slam fest.
I've handled this particular firearm myself and it's no junk gun 'saturday night special.' It's definitely nicer than a lot of what I see carried here in Phoenix.

Not something I would buy or carry,

but It's important to my Brother and I was merely trying to find out for him.
His wife passed away, and she gave it to him because it was her father's.

Fun is fun, and it is the net, but I had hoped for better here...

Sorry you feel that way, Just Plain.

You didn't ask for any specific information, so what you got was mostly general information.
There is one on GB right now for 85.00. There are two RG 38s on GB for 125.00

The Korths I see on GB are listed for $4500-6500 Draw your own conclusions.

Under the circumstances, your brother's RG has tremendous sentimental value. I can understand that. I'm sure he'll treasure it as a memory of his dear wife. I extend my sincere condolences to your brother and his family.

 

Picture of RG next to definition of Saturday Night Special in the dictionary.

AC

 

I do not think the R is short for Real and the G is for Good.

 

#1 handgun recovered from crime scenes and seized from bad guys in the 70's and 80's.

AC

 

I follow a firm that does court ordered gun distructions on GunBroker. I see a lot or Ruger LCPs and S&W M&Ps. Quite a few S&W 36. Surprised there are not more Hi-Points. They destroy the frame after stripping parts.
They had a Browning Citoria a few weeks ago. I have seen Colt Pythons, M29 Smiths, Colt Gold Cups and other high end guns there.
Even a few Marlins and some older Win 94s.

 

Disappointed.
Looking for REAL information on a firearm that only had a ten year production run and get a slam fest.
I've handled this particular firearm myself and it's no junk gun 'saturday night special.' It's definitely nicer than a lot of what I see carried here in Phoenix.

Not something I would buy or carry,

but It's important to my Brother and I was merely trying to find out for him.
His wife passed away, and she gave it to him because it was her father's.

Fun is fun, and it is the net, but I had hoped for better here...

 

Without looking at it, I think I own the RG-23 pistol. I think they don't make them anymore. Rohm Gmbh was a German company. And what, little, I have read about them, they opened a factory in Florida to produce pistols in Florida, due to the 1968 Gun Control Act, which obviously prevented them from importing their pistols into the U.S. Mine holds six rounds, not very accurate, as it is a snub nose. I usually have to poke the fired cases out. They don't fall out unless you hit the ejector rod pretty hard. And I do mean hard. Mine also has a very stiff double action trigger pull. However, it is very smooth, although, it will sometimes misfire. I do fire it on rare occasions just for S & G. I usually joke around about which one, of my kids, is going to inherit that revolver. None of them seem interested in it. No info on the 38 but I know that they are not worth much, IMO. At least I wouldn't give much for one.

I do believe that the 38's are probably built a little better than the 22 rimfires though. But I don't have one to compare to my 22. ​

Someday, they might have some collector's value, but I wouldn't hold my breadth on that. They were just cheap pot metal pistols. Hope that info helps.

 

RG are not the best quality.

 

No disrespect intended; I didn't classify an RG as a "Saturday Night Special", the "anti-gunners" did back in the '60's to take down mail order sales. At that time in history, all small snub nose guns of various manufacturers fit in that category to promote the anti-gun agenda - as now with the "assault rifle" term. I own, and have owned many firearms others would not give two cents for; but they have a particular historical or sentimental value for me that keep them around as a reminder of special people or events I cherish.
This gun site is populated with "gun enthusiasts", particularly in the case of Marlins made firearms; RG's don't have a "blog" dedicated for their discussion (just yet). No gun "snobbery" on this site, except maybe where it comes to who made the best lever action rifles in existence. Regards.

 

They make a good throw-down, if one has a need for one.

 

I wouldn’t want my Bro shooting a RG, especially a 38sp. Let’s be real they aren’t of the highest quality. If gun has sentimental value put in shadow box and hang it on the wall. I would rather hurt feelings than have someone hurt. The saving grace of RGs is they usually broke before they were shot enough to become loose.

 

OP,
I would take the gun to gunsmith if you are worried about safety and intend to shoot it. I have my grandfathers RG-22. I keep it for sentimental value. It not something that I would ever try to shoot. The 38 that you have sounds like it may be a much better gun than the RG-22. I have not handled one myself so I cannot comment on it. I doubt that posting pictures here would allow for anything other than a cursory comment.

 

I did a write-up on a friend's RG back about ten years ago. The thread can be found here.

https://www.marlinowners.com/forum/handguns/43842-rg-revolvers-good-gats-godawful-grenades.html

 

I did a write-up on a friend's RG back about ten years ago. The thread can be found here.

https://www.marlinowners.com/forum/handguns/43842-rg-revolvers-good-gats-godawful-grenades.html

Looking at your very good photos it appears on 2 of the photos the top strap is cracking behind the barrel pin. #4 and #8 I believe.

If I correctly recall, The H P White lab tests used SAAMI spec proof rounds on many brands, including Colts and S&W's. The RG survived, other failed.

AC

 

I have an RG-23 that I picked up somewhere many decades ago. With a 3" barrel and fixed sights, it's not the most accurate revolver I own. It is not in the same class as a Colt, S&W, or Ruger. The only functioning problem I had with mine is that it would occasionally misfire one chamber, but would fire it on the second strike. Of course, my brother-in-law had an H&R 999 Sportsman that he got new that did the exact same thing. Definitely a keeper for sentimental value in your case.

 

You boys providing friendly information and first hand accounts of poor quality, got rewarded by an ass-chewing. It's too bad none of you had H P White and NRA published Laboratory test results to offer.

Not much info on the Internet, and you misguided friendly folks are a disappointment, so another crabby Citizen goes humbugging down the trail. You people that offered up what you knew about RG revolvers should be ashamed of yourself for being so lame and for daring to help. No good deed goes unpunished.

 

I beg to differ. I'm neither a 'crabby citizen', and did no real ass chewing. There were one or two posts on first hand experience. The rests were not. I've been a member here for a very long time and have always gotten good advice and helpful experiences. I apologise If I sounded gruff. Perhaps I was having a bad day when I wrote that. Perhaps I was merely frustrated my Brother wasn’t listening to tge advice I already gave him. Who knows, but I apologize if I came across poorly.

 

I almost hate to jump in here, but I actually owned an RG.22 in the 70's. It was a 4", I think 8 shot. Not sure about that.
As I recall, the frame and vent rib barrel shroud were made from a material called, I think, "Zymac". It was a sort of pot metal. The barrel, crane and cylinder on the other hand were steel.
It was close to K frame size as I had it in an old K frame holster. It was a clubby, ungraceful revolver. I looked at several of the .38's at the gun shows because I wanted to graduate up to a center fire revolver. But every one of the used .38's I looked at were loose at the crane, and I suspected that the gun just wasn't up to .38 pressures.
In the mid 70's RG's were all over the used gun tables. To find one on a table now is a rarity.
Cris and I were broke as church mice and it was all I had. I shot the pee outa that gun, and it worked. It wasn't laser accurate, but it was beer can accurate and went bang every time. It did start shooting loose toward the end of it's service with me.
I recall it had a really crude rear sight that was somewhat adjustable, but really fiddly. Some sort of black finish I was never sure was paint or maybe parkerizing.
My personal opinion is that the gun is priceless to you. Put it away for safekeeping and buy another gun to shoot.
No difference than inheriting a gun passed down that is too rusted or broken to shoot. Doesn't make it any less valuable to you.

 

Thank you for the input.

 

I have a 22 that apparently belonged to my great grandmother at one point. When I was a kid I took it out in the yard and tried to shoot it. First three pulls nothing happened, the forth it went back and I got hit in the face with pieces of the front sight, which had disappeared.

It goes bang about once out of every 6-8 trigger pulls. Obviously not very accurate anymore since it has no front sight.

It sits in my dresser drawer. I've thought about tossing it but I guess it's a "family heirloom" LOL

The "drop gun" description probably best suits it, although in a situation like that I'd be scared it wouldn't fire when I needed it to.