Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
In a recent video, Brandon Herrera, known online as The AK Guy, took a deep dive into one of the most unusual firearms ever tied to an attack on a sitting U.S. President: the German-made RG14S.
The .22 caliber six-shot revolver was used by John Hinckley Jr. in his March 30, 1981 attempt to assassinate President Ronald Reagan.
The firearm, sold at the time for roughly twenty-nine dollars, became a historical footnote for its low cost, crude construction, and surprising role in a major national event.
Herrera walks through the mechanics of the revolver, noting its toy-like feel, cast construction, and unusual loading system.
Instead of a conventional swing-out cylinder, the RG14S requires the user to pull out the ejector rod entirely before loading.
SEE ALSO: ‘There are too many guns in America’ Says The Man Who Shot President Reagan
As he demonstrates, the same rod must then be used to punch out spent casings because the design lacks an ejector mechanism.
The video blends Herrera’s typical humor with an overview of Hinckley’s motives, including his obsession with Taxi Driver and actress Jodie Foster, as well as his fixation on The Catcher in the Rye.
Herrera highlights that Hinckley’s motivations were personal rather than political, even though the attack reshaped national gun-control policy years later.
Reagan was one of four people hit during the attack, along with James Brady, Tom Delehanty, and Tim McCarthy. Herrera revisits the well-known details: the bullet destined for Reagan first ricocheted off the limousine’s hood before entering his chest, puncturing his left lung.
In a ballistic reenactment, Herrera manages to duplicate a similar ricochet effect into a ballistic dummy, demonstrating how the small .22 LR round could follow an unpredictable path through soft tissue after deflection.
SEE ALSO: Reagan Gave Us the Answer for Rejecting Gun Control
The video also recounts Reagan’s famously calm remarks following the shooting, including “Nancy, I forgot to duck” and “I hope you’re all Republicans” to the surgeons preparing him for emergency care.
Herrera closes by noting the long-term political impact of the incident, including the eventual passage of the Brady Bill and the creation of federal background check requirements.
The episode continues his series exploring historical assassinations and the firearms connected to them, offering a mix of education, dark humor, and ballistic experimentation for viewers.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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As a former FFL, we referred to it as the “Brady Bunch” law and the Dems probably considered Brady as the sacrificial lamb to get it passed. They sure ran it in the ground in the left-wing media. And it sure cost the gun industry a lot of money and scared once-great companies like Colt into submission and turning their backs on their customers, except the military of course. I remember! That’s why I’ll never own a Colt.
If Mr. Herrera is going to do historical research on this “stuff”, as he called it, and then comment on it in his expletive-laced video channel, I wish he would dig just a little deeper and report ALL the facts. Google is your friend …
Hinkley may have been psychotic but he was intelligent enough to know the limitations of the .22LR round as a man stopper. So he had the bright idea to use exploding tipped ammo that was available back in the day that was manufactured by Bingham Ltd., so he wasn’t THAT crazy. The .22LR versions were the least effective versions back then and usually failed to explode because it was so small. I tried some exploding tipped .44 magnums on an old 8″ cinder blocked wall back in the 80’s and it blew holes in it large enough to stick your head through. ALL of those detonated and it was quite spectacular!
If my old memory serves me from reading articles back in the day, the only round that actually detonated was the round that hit Brady in the head. Hence the extensive brain damage. The round that hit Reagan failed to explode due to the deflection off the car, thank goodness. Otherwise it probably would have killed him. I don’t think any of the other rounds exploded either, but I may be wrong.
One thing I’ll agree with Mr. Herrera on, the ‘Catcher In the Rye’ IS hard to read, especially if you have the attention span of a gnat, like I do. But it is considered a literary masterpiece and one of the top 10 ever written. I wasn’t fortunate enough to read a page or two, get bored, slam the cover, and toss it aside. My 10th grade English Lit teacher tortured us by forcing all of us to read it and write a detailed report on it. At least she gave us all year to do it. There’s a reason the book is considered a masterpiece. By the time I finished it, I liked it! It’s a very complex and deep book. Probably the reason a screen play will never be written of it.
“I hope you’re all Republicans”
Back then we thought that statement was a funny, feel-good joke. Looking back on it today, I’m not sure he was joking.
The good US POTUS’s all face assassination attempts. The very best will either be killed or face more than one attempt by the un-American deep state.
Two successful deep state, high level, regicide operatives, Alan Dulles and Edwin Stanton.
One of the interesting facts that was not brought up is the type of ammo that was used. Hinckley used .22 LR Devastator ammo which was a round that had a explosive tip to increase the damage caused, and that the projectile that struck President Regan failed to function.