RG 38 Special

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Vacek

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One of several firearms I inherited was an RG 38 Special from the 70's. This is a snubnose. With moderate to light loads (I reload) was this gun safe to shoot? I know it was what we called Saturday Night Specials back in the day.
 
Not a handgun I would buy or keep. I have no use for a snub nose plinker or any barrel plinker only and would unload and buy something more usefull
 
I would have it checked by an unbiased gunsmith. If it is in good condition I don't see any harm in shooting light loads in it. Some of those cheep guns were surprisingly accurate.
 
A guy at work has one. A 4" fixed sight gun. It shoots about 6 to 8 inches left about 6 to 8 inches high at 7 yards. He had never shot it at anything until he went to the range with me the other day. I had told him they had a poor reputation. After the trip to the range he told me I was right, it wasn't that good a revolver, and is in the market for something else.

Serviceable enough I guess, but not top notch.

My under $300 S&W 10-6 HB blew it away for fit, finish, and accuracy. We were both easily popping an 8" steel target 5 or 6 out of 6 shots at about 40 yards with the Model 10. Not so much with the RG.
 
...it was what we called Saturday Night Specials back in the day.

You were being too kind (to the RG) and giving other junk guns a bad name by association.

I ran my own firearms training business for 10 years. I never had a student with an RG get through any training program or qualification. They are not worthy of the nick name Saturday Night Special.

Dave
 
Not gonna get anything for it if you sell it, so why not just keep it? Yeah, I'd have a smith check it over. RGs were pretty crappy and I'd wanna make sure it's safe before shooting. You might find it works for something, interesting paper weight. :D You'd get more at a buy back program, if your local government is that stupid, than you would trying to sell it to someone.
 
I had a friend in the pawn shop business years ago that made lots of money selling RG DA's and Buffalo SAA .22's.
Kept me in beer money just fixing the new ones that didn't work right out of the box.

It might check out safe today, then not be safe very long after you start shooting it.

The pot metal frames and soft internals just won't take it very long before going out of time.

rc
 
I'd keep it, but only for a garage, toolbox, tacklebox, or hideaway gun. Maybe a car gun if it's legal to carry in your car (it is in CO). A gun to keep in a place where you might need a gun but not necessarily have one on you.
 
I have the later 80's version, the RG40 in .38 Special. If the gun checks out by the usual revolver standards (not pitted and corroded, chambers line up with bore straight, timing is correct and lockup is ok), then keep it and shoot it with whatever you want. My gun handles +P just fine, no signs of wear after a few hundred rounds plus a thousand or more of standard pressure stuff. The major stressed parts of the gun are either steel or thick enough zinc alloy that you wont harm them by shooting the gun. IF you want to play it extra safe, keep to standard 130gr FMJ or 158gr LRN for practice, and buy Federal 125gr NYCLAD hollowpoints for defense (if the gun works well enough to count on. Mine does.)

You will wear springs and possibly some internal parts after lots of shooting, but the gun isn't collectable or worth much unfired anyway, and if you want, you can get most parts you might need at Numrich.

*EDIT* Hmm, post from May it seems. Oh well.
 
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