Identify this Revolver

[Aggie's Revenge]

A friend of mine inherited a revolver from his grandfather.

It is a 38S&W Double action. It does have Ruger wood grips on it, but they appear to be too small for it.

Markings on the right side are: Made in Germany (on barrell just above the ejector rod

Markings on the left side are: Rohm GMRH Sontheim/BR
CAL 38S&W
DOUBLE ACTION (stacked like this along the barrell)
A crescent shaped emblem with a "Z" on the barrell.

"66" on the frame forward of the cylinder (along the axis of the cylinder pin)

On the butt: Five digit serial number starting with "27XXX"

I am pretty sure it is not a Ruger but need an expert opinion.

 

[hexidismal]

Well, you already know what it is really..heh
Oh BTW its GMBH, not RH, anyway.. he has a Rohm gmbh sontheim revolver. (Most often shortened to just Rohm in conversation, OR RG-'insert model number here') Thats the name of the maker, so no it's not a Ruger.

Made in Germany in the 60s/70s. A bit unusual is that it says '66'. The rg66 is a single action in 22lr or 22mag only. I cant determine what model it is, but definitely not a 66.

The value would unfortunately most likely be very little.

Please be sure your friend is aware for the sake of safety that .38S&W is not the same thing as common modern .38 special.

 

[dfariswheel]

Back in the 60's it was said that "RG" stood for "Rotten Gun".

The Rohm/RG was basically a Saturday Night Special level gun of poor quality.
They often went out of time or had other issues quickly.
As I recall, Rohm was finally sued out of the real gun market, and finished it's days as a company making cheap European gas pistols.

Before firing it, I'd have a gunsmith look it over.
Even if it's safe to fire, don't expect much.

 

[Aggie's Revenge]

Thanks for the help. He and I both agreed this thing should go to the armorer first. The extractor rod assmbley has completely came off the weapon. And it looks like the timing is off. He just wanted to know if it was worth fixing. Sounds like it needs to become a boat anchor.

 

[S&Wfan]

Hi,

Sorry to tell you this, but those RG 38 Spls. were terrible POS "Saturday Night Specials. Made super cheap with lots of pot metal, they were almost worse than having nothing on you for protection. Back "in the day," they were the super-cheap weapon of choice for the street thugs and lots of folks got killed by them before Congress passed the "Saturday Night Special" laws to get these super-cheap guns off the streets.

I had one once (back in the day) and the danged thing "keyholed" (tumbled) the bullets into the target at ten yards and it naturally couldn't hit the broad side of a barn!

They aren't worth fixing. I found that out too . . . back "in the day" when mine had a trigger spring break. When I took it to the gunshop and asked about getting it fixed, the gunshop owner announced, VERY LOUDLY to the many customers in the shop that day, the following words that cut to the bone:

"Hell son, that's a F@#$ing RG! I wouldn't fix that piece of schidt if you paid me $1,000. I'll tell you what, if you want to tell someone you threw away twenty bucks, tie it to that thing and toss it in the river."

I've never been so embarrassed in my life. That was in 1975 and I was a starving college student who'd bought it for protection when out delivering fuel oil at night in the bad sections of town.

I'd recommend saving it as a relic . . . or simply destroy it so no one can get hurt with it.

I eventually disassembled mine . . . took a hammer to to it, and destroyed it . . . and then threw the parts away in different locations.

Sorry for the bad news . . . but it is, what it is.

T.

 

[Beagle-zebub]

That's a really good story.

 

[32winspl]

To S&Wfan and all others, I don't know squat about the gun in question, BUT
DON'T SHOOT 38SPL in a 38S&W. It's not the same. (ask me how I found that out)

 

[32winspl]

sorry hexi, I missed your warning in my first read.