RG Industries Model 26 .25 ACP?

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GunXpatriot

New member
So the only thing I really hear about RG guns is that they are bottom of the barrel, some of the worst guns ever made.

I heard one story (and I don't know if it's true), but as small cheaply made handguns are commonly called "Saturday Night Specials", I heard RG manufactured a .357 magnum revolver called the "saturday night special". Apparently, due to recoil, the crappy grips would actually scratch up your hands.

I really don't know anything about this company, or this gun. I see some of their guns on gunbroker, like one of those .22 short revolvers, and looking it up on youtube, they would actually throw gunpowder residue, or something, on your hands and burn you.

After a quick Wikipedia search, apparently, they are part of Umarex now. I also know (or, I think) it was the RG Model 14S that was used by John Hinckley Jr. in the attempted assassination of President Reagan.

Pertaining to the gun, I hear they have design flaws all over the place. I also heard the 26 can fire unintentionally.

I guess RG closed after losing it's insurance over several lawsuits pertaining to public safety.

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=13113

Besides that, though, I really have no information about this gun. That link kind of explains the company, though.

What do you think I should do with the thing? I don't think I can get too much money for it. Condition-wise, it's about this picture or better...

333247_01_rohm_rg_model_26_25_pistol_640.jpg


The good news is, I haven't heard of them blowing up. Actually, this is my Grandpa's. He used to carry it in his pocket, loaded. obviously, unintentional discharge wasn't an issue. He lost the magazine, though.

I was thinking of taking it off his hands :)

But really, I was wondering if anyone had experience with one of these? Seems like some were reliable enough and some couldn't fire a magazine without at least one issue.

Shall I just find a magazine and see how it works? I was thinking I'd go to a police gun buy-back and actually make money on the thing... What do you guys think?
 
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Aguila Blanca

Staff
Where are you in New York State?

Methinks an RG with no magazine would be an excellent candidate for some gun buyback program. Get a few bucks for the piece of slag, and use it as part payment for a real gun. Win-Win.
 
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Bill DeShivs

New member
Don't use "buybacks!" It gives the antis ideas that they actually work.
If you aren't going to keep the gun, sell it to a parts dealer like Numrich.
 
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Kev

New member
I agree AGAINST the buy backs!
I have heard people say that in other threads and it really irks me to death!
Why show them that their program is a success?

I'd melt mine into a glob of abstract art before using any of the antis programs
 
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GunXpatriot

New member
A magazine for one of those will cost more than anyone who knows what it is would give for the gun.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately :)

I seen one on gunbroker for like $25, maybe a year or so back.

I do agree with the problems concerning buybacks. I hate it when they show buyback "success" on the news, when looking at the firearms they get, almost no one but law-abiding citizens turned in their guns because "they didn't want them anymore."

Fine, but crap, find a responsible gun owner, sell to a pawn shop or LGS. The stupidity of some of these people baffles me. I see people trade in guns worth several hundred, and some worth several THOUSAND for $100 worth of grocery money. The only people getting ripped off are the idiots who use the program being law-abiding.

However, at least the RG Model 26 is worth trading in, no matter what you do, you make money on the thing. Even still, I'd like to have it inspected to see if it will fire safely. It's worth so little though, I'll likely just keep the thing.
 
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JohnMoses

New member
The Illinois State Rifle Association took a truckload of junk guns to a Chicago buyback and walked away with $26,000 that they used for range improvements and young shooter programs. A buddy of mine goes to a lot of auctions and will buy any junk gun for under $50 just to flip it at the next buyback stupidity. Just because a lot of people use gun buybacks doesn't mean they are 'successful' - the only thing they are good for is draining the coffers of whoever is paying the tab, letting some felon dispose of a hot gun no questions asked, or robbing some poor widow of a valuable heirloom. A successful gun buyback makes as much sense as reality t v.
 
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GunXpatriot

New member
Agree completely, JohnMoses.

It's frustrating IMO.

Anyone remember when they said they recovered an "AT4 Anti-Tank Missile", when it was a one-time use empty shell? It's that kind of nonsense that get's idiots to buy into these. Even still, I'm glad they got that much money out of it. As much as I hate these buyback programs, some good comes out of them. At least the Anti's picked up the tab for guns that didn't even work/ didn't work correctly to begin with. :p
 
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James K

Member In Memoriam
I don't know of many gun shops that will buy those guns or take them in trade; they can't sell them because they can't warranty them (no parts) and because of liability concerns. The time, effort and cost involved in replacing the magazine (if it can be done at all) will be more than the gun is worth.

Jim
 
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carguychris

New member
This piece looks a lot like a brand of 8mm blank firing pistols common here in europe. The manufacturer is called Röhm and it used the same plastic grip panels and also the abbrevation "RG" for its guns...
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Your link doesn't work for me, but AFAIK in the USA, you are correct- Röhm and RG were the same. IIRC the company also built some other (generally cheap) handguns sold by American distributors under other brand names during the 1950s through the 1970s.
 
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simonrichter

New member
oh, sorry - but just google "Röhm RG8" and you will see they look completely the same

Seems that it is basically the blank firing pistol's frame and system with a rifled barrel... No wonder it is considered kind of a crap...
 
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Vern

New member
A friend ask me if I could take his RG model 26 that would not feed a cartridge into the chamber and see if I could get it to feed. It had set on a shelf for approx. 30 years. I had never seen one but brought it home and cleaned an lubricated it, I racked it a couple times and It did not feed the cartridge into the chamber. I racked it a couple more times and wham, it fired and resulted in a hole in my wall, and no, my finger was not on the trigger. After reading these posts, I agree that it is a piece of junk. I will recommend that he dig a hole in his back yard and bury it,
 
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9x18_Walther

New member
You are the proud owner of one of the worst "Saturday Night Specials" ever made. A Raven MP-25 would probably be more reliable.

WARNING: The RG Industries, 25 Auto caliber, model RG26, pistol may potentially MISFIRE and/or UNINTENTIONALLY DISCHARGE. With the magazine loaded. The first five rounds failed to fire. No firing pin impressions were apparent in the primers of the first three rounds but the fourth and fifth rounds contained faint firing pin impressions. Examination of the underside of the slide revealed that the metal ridges bordering the firing pin canal were worn down. As soon as the magazine was moved a slight distance, the weapon discharged, even though there was no finger near trigger. The top round in the magazine was examined. It interfered with the forward motion of the firing pin.

Either keep it (because you can), sell it to Numrich, or go to a gun buyback.

Or if you are feeling lucky, remove some of the internal components, sell them to Numrich and then go to a gun buyback with what is left.
 
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James K

Member In Memoriam
A "zombie thread", but as long as it is back to life, the gun used by John Hinckley in the attempt on the life of Pres. Reagan was a RG-14 revolver in .22 Long Rifle, not a .25 Auto.

Jim
 
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DogTrot

New member
My spouse inherited hers from her dad. It would not operate reliably until I polished all the friction parts including the feed ramp and filed any sharp edges in the magazines. It has had hundreds of her reloaded rounds through it since then and it is surprisingly accurate. A little oil and TLC was all it took. It shot better than her Taurus .25 and was easier to handle. Now It fails to eject only every once in a while, but all in all it is fun to shoot.

Here is the before we polished the ramps and sliding parts with its attendant failure to ejects. I'll post the improved RG 26 video soon enough.

https://youtu.be/RVPtwC2j39E
 
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