Curious - How many folks own or have experience with the Chiappa Rhino?

Pat Riot said:

A friend bought a 5” Rhino and is pretty happy with it. I think the concept looks interesting, but I was wondering how reliable and accurate they are? I also see they have a nickel plated model(s) and some type of multi colored coating on one model.
I have experience with S&Ws and Rugers and I have a Colt DS, but zero experience or exposure to the Rhino.

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I have had a 6" version for many years. In fact my gun is so old (relatively) that my cylinder isn't cut for moonclips like the later models.

The gun is very accurate and comfortable to use. I actually use the gun often when I am teaching people to shoot. The biggest issue for many of those people seems to be wrestling the gun into single action.

At one time many years ago I did a minor torture test of sorts with my Rhino. A challenge was put to me by a range employee that the Rhino would fall apart after "just a few" full power rounds. IIRC I loaded up something like 550 full-power .357 rounds (all I had available at the time) and had the guy step on the range to observe. We - mostly me - ended up shooting all the ammo as fast as possible. There were several delays in the spectacle when the gun got too hot to hold. At one point the grips even started smoking - aluminum will definitely transfer heat! In the end, the Rhino was still putting bullets accurately on target and the guy was suitably satisfied with the gun (we had quite a bit of fun along the way too).

These days I don't load hardly any .357 ammo, mostly because it would be a waste to punch paper with. I have no doubt that my Rhino will continue to hold up no matter what kind of ammo I run through the gun.

Below is a goofy picture I took of the gun. It normally isn't all dressed up, but I may revisit the red dot since I have a few spares laying around.

I had a 40DS for a little while. Other than being a bit different, they are reliable and accurate. Mine was anyway.

The gun might look a bit ungainly, but its actually very comfortable in the hand and feels and points very naturally.

With the barrel being on the "bottom" of the cylinder, the recoil impulse is different, and more straight back with less muzzle rise. You do need to be aware of the little "blast chamber", for lack of a better term, that's just below the forcing cone. If you shoot thumbs forward, you really want to watch where that off hand thumb is.

Mine had a decent DA trigger. The hammer you see really isnt the "hammer", just something to cock the internal hammer with. There is a little cocking indicator next to it to let you know the gun is cocked in SA.

This was shot at 10 yards or so, DAO, and fairly quickly.

My friend has owned two that ive shot and both were quite pleasant. Very comfortable and easy to shoot, he has has no issues to speak of. It didnt seem as polished as a smith or ruger for a similar price but the experience is truly unique.

Don't own one, mainly because of its complex internal action, needed to fire from that low barrel.

I shot a cylinder through one once. Don't even remember what caliber. It didn't point or shoot easily for me, but I probably could have gotten used to it.

I really, really like my good friends rhino in 6". He put a vortex venom dot on it and the thing shoots really well. I like the stock grip, but you better hope you do because there are like ZERO options out there for that grip pattern. He got it because it's unique and fun, and it really is super cool.

I find them to be accurate and much softer shooting than top barrel revolvers.

Always wanted one 4" or longer. I don't view or use each and every gun I own as a self defense gun. Some are range toys, collection, or "just because I like it" guns, so I couldn't care any less about how complicated the internals are just as long as the gun works and has decent longevity.

The fact that the insides mimic a fine mechanical Swiss watch just makes the revolve more unique and appealing to me. I haven't heard about any recalls, reliability, or design issues.

Styx said:

Always wanted one 4" or longer. I don't view or use each and every gun I own as a self defense gun. Some are range toys, collection, or "just because I like it" guns, so I couldn't care any less about how complicated the internals are just as long as the gun works and has decent longevity.

The fact that the insides mimic a fine mechanical Swiss watch just makes the revolve more unique and appealing to me. I haven't heard about any recalls, reliability, or design issues.

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There have been a few problems reported with super-high round-count Rhinos. Mine has quite a few rounds through it, but I doubt very many people put heavy use on their Rhinos. My guess is that most owners view them as novelties and treat them the same.

Havok7416 said:

There have been a few problems reported with super-high round-count Rhinos. Mine has quite a few rounds through it, but I doubt very many people put heavy use on their Rhinos. My guess is that most owners view them as novelties and treat them the same.

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What problems are being reported with them? What problems have you personally experienced?

I like mine. A 4" older model also without the cut for moon clips. I had a 6" Security Six when I received the Rhino as a gift and compared the two similar revolvers. Full house recoil was noticeably more pleasant and time to get back on target was significantly shorter.

It fits my smallish hands well though I suspect those with larger hands wouldn't have an issue. It is more accurate than I am. It is my dedicated hunting sidearm. I read that the grip/grip angle was design specifically for double action shooting. At some point I'm going to test that theory out.

I like mine. It's ugly in a pleasant kind of way. I'm unconcerned about the complexity of the action. The only problem I read about was a single case where the recoil shield cracked. I remember thinking that the user, who was very vocal, probably hot rodded some hand loads. Certainly not a systemic issue and the shield is replaceable. I probably have about 500 rounds through mine mostly 357's though I dont run hot rodded 357's. Currently it is sighted for some 180 grain hardcast Bear Loads.

FYI - I would not have owned one except it was a gift. I wanted one but wasn't willing to pay what was being asked without knowing it actually did reduce felt recoil and muzzle flip. I'd buy one now knowing what I know. They're still expensive for what they are though.

I had a 2” for about a year. I really liked the gun except for the size and the sights. It’s a bit too big to be a defensive gun, but with the gutter sights and short barrel it was not the right gun for other purposes. It was kinda funky but it was extremely well built and I have intention to own another in an adjustable sight configuration… likely a 3”, but prices are wild and I’m not ready to jump into that kind of purchase right now because I would also want some custom stuff which is almost nonexistent for a rhino and expensive when you do find a supplier. Most of the custom stuff comes from overseas.

Styx said:

What problems are being reported with them? What problems have you personally experienced?

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I have personally experienced zero problems with my gun that were a fault of the gun (I will explain below*). I have heard one, maybe two stories of catastrophic failure involving a Rhino. The one I remember involved a recoil shield separating from the rest of the frame. There were pics and all that. It might have even been posted here at THR but I can't recall.

* I should have posted this with my original reply, but oh well. When I bought my Rhino I was eager to shoot it but out of ammo, so I loaded up somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,000 rounds of .38 Special for it and my other revolvers. Unfortunately I failed to detect a failure on my reloading press which caused around 50 of those rounds - confirmed much later - to be assembled with no powder. Normally this would have been no big deal in and of itself as I tend to be somewhat particular about checking for abnormalities while shooting. I also usually don't assemble so much ammo at one time but I was preparing to make a fairly large move to another state and I wanted to minimize my loose components (having moved at least 6 times with my reloading gear I can assure you it is a royal pain). It was a mid-range .38 Special load that I had used quite a bit before so I wasn't worried about it. Keep in mind I had no idea there was any problem at all - as best as I can tell, the failure on the press occurred right at the last 50 rounds. When I set up the press at my new location I noticed some things were out of whack with the press, but there always seems to be stuff like that after my gear has been jostled all over during a move.

Several months after moving I was at the range with my Rhino and I'm sure a gaggle of other weaponry. I was practicing rapid 6-shot double-action strings. Somewhere in the middle of the string I heard a small "pop" but I was too quick on the trigger and so this was immediately followed by a giant BOOM! I distinctly remember seeing flames coming out of the cylinder gap past both my shoulders.

Obviously I had squibbed a bullet. As best as the gunsmith and I can tell, the first bullet lodged right around the mid-point of the barrel (which also happens to be a 2-piece arrangment) and the second one slammed into the first.

The barrel on the Rhino is actually a steel insert in the aluminum frame. When the gunsmith called me I expected the worst. I glumly went to his counter expecting to pick up the ruins of my Rhino. Instead he informed me that not only did he get both bullets out without damage to the gun, but that there was no bulge in the barrel! I still have those bullets today in the Rhino's case to remind me to be careful. There have been no accidental squibs created on my bench since then.


As a result of this near-disaster I ended up going down quite a rabbit hole with squibs. I was able to narrow down the pile of suspect rounds mostly, although I still found one or two the hard way. More importantly to my squib education I went about purposefully MAKING squibs in various calibers to learn more about them. I discharged a total of 43 rounds in at least 5 calibers knowing good and well there was no powder in them. To this day I carry a purpose-made squib rod in my range bag. Most recently I created some 9mm squibs to help member @Union St with a novel he was writing. If I ever find my notes (or redo the squib testing) I may one day create a thread here detailing it.

I would be much more interested in it if it was a bigger bore. Its already too big to be a CCW so it might as well be a dedicated hunting arm.

WestKentucky said:

I had a 2” for about a year. I really liked the gun except for the size and the sights. It’s a bit too big to be a defensive gun, but with the gutter sights and short barrel it was not the right gun for other purposes. It was kinda funky but it was extremely well built and I have intention to own another in an adjustable sight configuration… likely a 3”, but prices are wild and I’m not ready to jump into that kind of purchase right now because I would also want some custom stuff which is almost nonexistent for a rhino and expensive when you do find a supplier. Most of the custom stuff comes from overseas.

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The 6" and possibly the 5" are the only 2 Rhino configurations that are offered with full fiber-optic sights last I knew. I agree the sights on the shorter barrels aren't much to write home about.

My 4" had fiber optic sights, front and rear. Ive never been a big fan of them, but they worked OK.