Chiappa Rhino 50DS

[Old Stumpy]

Yes, clearly traditional revolvers are the better design. That's why there have been so many of them designed for the military in the last hundred years, or for law enforcement in the last 50.

If what you are attempting to say in your convoluted way is that traditional revolvers have not been designed for the military in the last 100 years, that's not really true. But you are right in your contention that revolver design of any kind was becoming obsolete by 1920.

One thing that is true is that a 6 o'clock barreled revolver was never designed for or adopted by the military EVER or ANYWHERE because it was universally realized what a stupid idea that it was.

Likewise while police revolver design did include some excellent designs like the Chief's Special Model 36 by S&W in the 1950s, no 6 o'clock barreled revolvers were ever designed for and adopted by any police department EVER or ANYWHERE.

Such Rube Goldberg contraptions belong back in the 19th century with all the other goofball ideas that never went anywhere.

 

[8strings8rounds]

Unica 6 is wild! Never heard of it. I applaud the design though. Very out of the box

Designed by the same guy who helped design the Rhino. You can see the similarity. They're really nifty.

 

[8strings8rounds]

Welcome to the group @8strings8rounds .
Does the the grip angle bother you? Or is it just a appearance thing?

It's certainly a more aggressive angle than a traditional revolver, but I don't even notice it after spending some time with it. Just can't pick it up expecting it to be like every other revolver Haha

 

[8strings8rounds]

I love my 3". Doesn't have the ridiculous (for a carry revolver) underbarrel rail of the 4"+ models, but does have real sights (unlike the snubby).
View attachment 924602

The stock grips aren't bad, really, but the "Charging Rhino" grip that mine came with is much more comfortable. They are available from Chiappa if anyone with a different model wants to try one out.

I've heard some ridiculous claims about the recoil on these around the internet. ".357s feel like a .38, .38s feel like a .22" and goofy stuff like that. It's crap. You still know you're shooting a Magnum round. But it is a massively different feel than you might be used to. Like others have said, the push is almost straight back. The muzzle rise is negligible; follow-up shots are very fast for an alloy .357.

The D/A trigger is actually very nice. The S/A on mine is VERY light. I was surprised the first time I tried it - was not expecting it to be that light.

My first trip out with it, I fired around 120-150 rounds (had a 1-hour window at the indoor range) and wanted to keep going. Never had that happen with a lightweight .357 before.



I hope that's true, since that gun's been on my "weird crap that I badly want for no justifiable reason" list for years. From what I heard, though, their US importer (who has been making the announcements) is known for vaporware, so we'll see.

Actually, what I really want from them is a 6 Unica with a decocker, so that it could actually be carried safely. THAT would be an instant buy from me.



C'mon, you know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it...

Yes. It certainly does not make the 357 kick less, but makes the muzzle flip closer to, if not less than a 38sp. This revolver is a great representation of what its designer was trying to do for all those years. The ability to get back on target with a 4" 357 in the time I can get back on target with a 6" 22 is impressive.
Take the M2006 for instance, as heinous as it looks, he got that bore nice and low.

As far as the Mateba, their site can be read in a way that hints at them moving some operations to the US. Maybe even production of the 6 Unica.. but it's hard to tell with their translation.
The company importing them hasn't had a real update in a few months, even though they showed a couple in stock a while back- I am unaware of any new pieces in the US, currently.
Mateba does post a decent amount of pictures on their Instagram of newly milled action pieces. So that's promising.
As far as a decocker model, that's an interesting idea. Be a heck of a time incorporating it into an already complex design. Shame Emilio isn't still around.

 

[kemikos]

If what you are attempting to say in your convoluted way is that traditional revolvers have not been designed for the military in the last 100 years, that's not really true. But you are right in your contention that revolver design of any kind was becoming obsolete by 1920.

One thing that is true is that a 6 o'clock barreled revolver was never designed for or adopted by the military EVER or ANYWHERE because it was universally realized what a stupid idea that it was.

Likewise while police revolver design did include some excellent designs like the Chief's Special Model 36 by S&W in the 1950s, no 6 o'clock barreled revolvers were ever designed for and adopted by any police department EVER or ANYWHERE.

Such Rube Goldberg contraptions belong back in the 19th century with all the other goofball ideas that never went anywhere.

I read your original post in a light ribbing tone, mainly due to the "smiley" you used, so I replied in kind. Since I didn't realize you were taking it so seriously: What I was trying to say, in my convoluted way, is that judging the worth of an innovation by the fact that it wasn't ever adopted as a service pistol is disingenuous at best, particularly when the type of firearm we're discussing hadn't been commonly used in that role for decades at least.

And while we're on the subject, I wonder what basis you have for calling the Rhino a "Rube Goldberg contraption"? The lockwork in a Rhino has exactly one more part than a traditional double-action revolver - the cocking lever that sits where the hammer normally is. Every other part inside the Rhino is directly analogous to and performs the same function as one in a Smith and Wesson double-action revolver. In fact, there are two fewer springs in the Rhino, because the trigger return slide is operated by the mainspring instead of a separate spring, and because the cylinder stop is mechanically held in the locked position by a pin on the trigger rather than by a spring.

I didn't see anyone here saying that traditional revolvers aren't fantastic guns or that you shouldn't enjoy them. We like our Rhinos (in addition to other revolvers, not exclusive of them).

 

[kemikos]

As far as a decocker model, that's an interesting idea. Be a heck of a time incorporating it into an already complex design. Shame Emilio isn't still around.

Yes. To be clear, I'd probably still buy one if they ever make it here at a reasonable price point. It doesn't seem that Mateba is doing much in the way of new designs since Ghisoni passed, so I don't expect updates to what they have either. But with a decocker, I'd actually carry one.

 

[Old Stumpy]

I didn't see anyone here saying that traditional revolvers aren't fantastic guns or that you shouldn't enjoy them. We like our Rhinos (in addition to other revolvers, not exclusive of them).

But, as I said, no 6 o'clock revolver design was EVER adopted for police or military use though the concept was known.
The reasons can not be explained away by prejudices.
Were this the case semi-automatic pistols would never have succeeded.
Some few people like their rhinos, but they remain a specialty fan club.

 

[kemikos]

But, as I said, no 6 o'clock revolver design was EVER adopted for police or military use though the concept was known.
The reasons can not be explained away by prejudices.

I would say it has as much to do with the fact that there was never one on the market during the period when police and military buyers were buying revolvers as with anything inherent to the design, but what do I know? And even then, that only matters if you accept that the only criteria by which a design can be judged is whether it was issued by a military or police organization, which I do not.

Some few people like their rhinos, but they remain a specialty fan club.

And what's wrong with that?

This is the last I'll say on the subject, but there are literally hundreds of threads in this forum about the kind of guns you evidently like. 8strings8rounds made one thread about something he liked. I don't understand why people who don't like those things feel they need to go into those threads and crap all over them.

Peace, Stumpy.

 

[Old Stumpy]

This is the last I'll say on the subject, but there are literally hundreds of threads in this forum about the kind of guns you evidently like. 8strings8rounds made one thread about something he liked. I don't understand why people who don't like those things feel they need to go into those threads and crap all over them.

This is a discussion forum, not a mutual admiration society.
When you present a firearm and invite discussion, you WILL get it.

I am not attacking 8strings8rounds at all. I did not even notice that he was a new member. If he feels put upon, then I apologize. Don't take it personally. It wasn't meant to be.