I remember the day, the exact moment and what I was doing/where I was, when I got the news about President Reagan being shot by John Hinckley Jr...one of those moments in your life that you never forget, like when the Challenger blew up, or the morning of 9/11...
Reading about the assassination attempt today, I can't believe his choice of firearm: a Rohm RG-14, 6-shot .22LR 'Saturday Night Special'...frankly I'm surprised he got all six shots off, because it's not exactly a high-quality firearm. However, he managed to fire six shots in only 1.7 seconds, nearly killing the President and putting Brady in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Wikipedia shows it as this:
![Image]()
Wikipedia even states "This gun is on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library". ...but I'm thinking it's just a generic pic...
The Reagan Presidential Library says the gun is on display with them, and it's shown with a much shorter barrel, and different grips...and there's a photo online of a young John Hinckley Jr holding a snubnose revolver against his head (I won't post it here but you can Google it) which supports it being a Rohm RG-14 snubnose barrel model. This is what is shown on the ReaganLibrary.gov website:
![Image]()
Had Hinckley used a longer barrel model, the round might have traveled one more inch and hit Reagans heart.
Tried to find the serial number of the gun Hinckley used in the shooting but couldn't find it anywhere online. I'm thinking I might have to buy one of these models for show-and-tell historical reference/cheapie toolbox gun...most of them on GunBroker are about $100-130...
As for the shooter John Hinckley Jr, he was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in 1982 and confined for 24 years. He was partially released in 2006 and then fully released from the psychiatric hospital in 2016.
Reading about the assassination attempt today, I can't believe his choice of firearm: a Rohm RG-14, 6-shot .22LR 'Saturday Night Special'...frankly I'm surprised he got all six shots off, because it's not exactly a high-quality firearm. However, he managed to fire six shots in only 1.7 seconds, nearly killing the President and putting Brady in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Wikipedia shows it as this:
Wikipedia even states "This gun is on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library". ...but I'm thinking it's just a generic pic...
The Reagan Presidential Library says the gun is on display with them, and it's shown with a much shorter barrel, and different grips...and there's a photo online of a young John Hinckley Jr holding a snubnose revolver against his head (I won't post it here but you can Google it) which supports it being a Rohm RG-14 snubnose barrel model. This is what is shown on the ReaganLibrary.gov website:
Had Hinckley used a longer barrel model, the round might have traveled one more inch and hit Reagans heart.
Tried to find the serial number of the gun Hinckley used in the shooting but couldn't find it anywhere online. I'm thinking I might have to buy one of these models for show-and-tell historical reference/cheapie toolbox gun...most of them on GunBroker are about $100-130...
As for the shooter John Hinckley Jr, he was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in 1982 and confined for 24 years. He was partially released in 2006 and then fully released from the psychiatric hospital in 2016.
